University of Chicago swimmer Yifan Mao has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to continue her work with those suffering from sickle-cell disease.
Mao, a sprinter on the Maroons, started working with sickle cell patients as a freshman and sophomore. As a health mentor for STRIVE Mentoring, she led after-school programs for children with the condition at La Rabida Children’s Hospital.
The Fulbright award will take her to Nigeria, where she will work for 2020-21 with populations suffering from sickle cell.
“I am going to be doing sickle cell disease (SCD) public health research at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Lagos, Nigeria under Dr. Kalejaiye,” Mao said in a university release. “The purpose of my study is to assess patients’ disease management, study healthcare disparities, and identify gaps in public knowledge about SCD that may lead to lower health outcomes (non-compliance to prescribed medications, high frequency of ER visits due to acute manifestations of SCD). I will be doing an educational intervention with patients at the SCD out-patient clinic at LUTH to help improve their knowledge of SCD and hope to improve the aforementioned health outcomes.”
In the pool, Mao was a key relay cog, helping the Maroons set a school record and earn All-American status in Division III in the 200 freestyle relay as a freshman in 2016-17. She was part of an all-University Athletic Association relay as a sophomore. Mao, a native of Lake Oswego, Oregon, was named to the UAA All-Academic Team three times and was named a CSCAA Scholar All-American in 2020.
Mao also won a Ted Mullin Fund internship to work at a lab at UChicago Medicine’s Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. She continued working at the lab for three years and plans to apply for medical school after her Fulbright Scholar term. Mao said she has reached out to SwimPro Nigeria and a local club in Lagos, Crawford Swimming, to work as a swim instructor during her time in the country.