MSc student in Evidence-Based Health Care, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Brazil

Mylena first discovered The Global Health Network through an ICH Good Clinical Practice course during medical school. Years later, she was selected for the NDM Summer Studentship Programme and joined TGHN’s AI4GH team, where shaping Impact Stories showed her how collaboration and design help research speak to real-world audiences.

Personal journey & motivation – What motivated you to join TGHN as an intern and how has this experience shaped your perspective on research and global health?  

My journey with The Global Health Network (TGHN) started during medical school, while I was studying clinical trials. When I searched for an ICH Good Clinical Practice course, I found TGHN. This led me to explore the platform’s many resources, each one guiding my first steps into research. I remember watching the inspiring TGHN video titled “Strengthening community-led evidence generation for healthier lives”. It felt like someone had put my own hopes into words. Years later, while pursuing my master’s in Evidence-Based Health Care, I came across the NDM Summer Studentship Programme and discovered the opportunity to apply for a placement with TGHN. Opening the acceptance email was a moment I will never forget.

Skills & learning – What new skills or knowledge have you gained during your internship and how do you see these supporting your career as an early or mid-career researcher?

I began my placement eager to understand how global teams collaborate to address complex health challenges. I wanted to learn what makes collaborations thrive and how partnerships are built and nurtured. Working with the Artificial Intelligence for Global Health (AI4GH) team, I experienced all that and much more. AI4GH is a global initiative advancing the use of AI in the Global South, with a focus on sexual, reproductive, and maternal health, as well as epidemic preparedness and response.

Overcoming challenges – What has been the most challenging aspect of your internship or any other role, and how did you overcome it? What did you learn from this experience?  

In the first few days, it was challenging to understand the structure of such a vast network, with dozens of grantees and subgrantees across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Looking at the list of stakeholders, I wondered how everything connected together. Thanks to the team’s guidance, I was able to learn quickly. Through meetings, observation, note-taking, and asking questions, I began to understand the Community of Practice (CoP) model that holds this network together. I learned how knowledge is shared, capacity is built, and leadership is strengthened. This experience changed how I think about research. I no longer see it as something led by individuals in a certain institution, but as a collective process built on trust, exchange, and shared goals.

Contribution & impact – In what ways do you feel your work at TGHN has contributed to building capacity, strengthening collaborations, or advancing research outputs? Can you share a specific example?  

One of my contributions to TGHN was supporting the Impact Stories project within the AI4GH initiative. Using interview transcripts from principal investigators and end-users, I helped shape narratives that captured the context, solutions, results, lessons learned, capacity built, and next steps from projects applying AI to public health challenges in the Global South. I also designed the visual layout for each story, combining storytelling and graphic design. Through this process, I came to understand the unique power of stories in global health research. They reveal meaning that data alone often cannot, showing the impact within communities, the people behind the research, and the learning behind each success or setback. Stories also give research teams visibility and recognition, while serving as practical tools for building capacity. Other teams can learn from these experiences, find inspiration, and apply those insights when facing similar challenges.

Advice to peers – What advice would you give to other early career researchers or students who want to grow their careers in research and global health?  

I would never have imagined that my background in design and creative writing would find meaning in global health. It taught me that no experience or interest is ever wasted. Everything you have done, every skill you have developed along the way, can become part of the impact you create. That is my advice to early-career researchers: explore your interests widely, even if they seem unrelated at first. Do not limit yourself to one path, because everything is connected. Global health needs minds that can think across disciplines and stay open to learning from every direction. My time with TGHN enabled me to learn much more than I imagined. I gained insight into global organizational structures, impact storytelling, and the science of knowledge sharing. Most of all, I met incredible people who gave me clarity, encouragement, and the confidence to keep moving forward. I am deeply grateful for this experience.