Darina Lewis of Bloomfield College Participates in LIVE Summer Program

Over the summer, Bloomfield College senior nursing student Darina Lewis, was chosen to participate in the Learning in Virtual Environments (LIVE) Summer Program through the Mount Sinai Health Systems Center for Nursing Research and Education. For the duration of the highly competitive program, Darina participated in a multisite community health research project entitled "Prevalence of Social Determinants of Health Among Adults Residing in Newark, NJ".

The LIVE Summer Program is a ten-week paid research experience for undergraduate nursing students from accredited institutions with limited access to research opportunities. The program provides research experience, mentorship, and resources to help students explore future roles in cardiovascular nursing. Funded by the American Heart Association, participants are immersed in mentored research, structured didactics, and interdisciplinary collaboration, with a strong emphasis on addressing social determinants of health and advancing equitable outcomes in cardiovascular care.

“Being part of the LIVE Summer Program has been such a meaningful experience for me. I had the opportunity to learn more about the research process and see how research can be used to better understand real health issues in our communities. My project focused on hypertension and cardiovascular health in Newark, which is especially important to me as a nursing student because I was able to look beyond the diagnosis and explore how things like access to healthy food, neighborhood conditions, physical activity, and access to healthcare can affect a person’s health. This experience helped me grow as a student, challenged me to think differently, and gave me a much better understanding of how research and healthcare come together. I’m really grateful that I had the opportunity to be part of the program, and I know I will carry what I learned with me as I continue my education and career in healthcare." - Darina Lewis