Partners in Health | Boston, MA

Aaron Abai is a first-generation Ethiopian-American born in Las Vegas, Nevada and raised in Littleton, Colorado. A rising-senior at Harvard College, Aaron studies Molecular & Cellular Biology with a secondary in African and African-American Studies. Aaron’s passion for social justice and health stems from his experiences witnessing the effects of social determinants of health on his loved ones and communities. Aaron is broadly interested in science, medicine, social advocacy, and its various intersections. On campus, Aaron is employed at the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, where he works with other interns to support students with marginalized identities through programming and re-imagination. After spending the summer after his first-year researching HIV at the heart of the global AIDS epidemic in Durban, South Africa, Aaron began conducting HIV and women’s health research in the Kwon Lab, where he will be conducting his senior thesis project. Aaron also served as the President of the Harvard Society of Black Scientists and Engineers and is the founder of the STEM & Social Engagement Coalition. Aaron is also a member of the Global Health Student Advisory Committee and Harvard’s chapter of Partners in Health Engage.

This summer, Aaron will be interning with Partners in Health, a social justice, global health non-profit organization, where he will be working on global COVID-19 vaccination advocacy. Ultimately, Aaron seeks to help make the world a more equitable place by advancing global health-justice through science and advocacy.