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Milken Institute School of Public Health student Riley Lima has been recognized for her outstanding contributions to community health through the prestigious Knapp Fellowship for Entrepreneurial Service-Learning. Her project, The School-Based Asthma Telehealth (SAT) Intervention: A Case Study, seeks to address a critical public health disparity: asthma disproportionately impacts school-aged children in Wards 7 and 8 of Washington, DC, as they face significant barriers to care.
Lima's project received $7,500 in research grants from the 2024–2025 Knapp Fellowship and the Sigelman Undergraduate Research Enhancement (SURE) Award, as well as the Class of 2005 9/11 Memorial Scholarship for Public Service ($2,500), recognizing Lima’s significant contributions to public health in the local community.
She presented her research findings at multiple campus-wide events, including GWSPH Research Day, the University Honors Program Research Showcase, and the 2025 GW Innovation Fest, where her work garnered acclaim and a research poster prize.
For Lima, this issue is deeply personal and informed by real-world experience. As an Emergency Department Technician, she’s often the first point of care for pediatric asthma patients in crisis.
“Children born in Wards 7 and 8, both majority Black communities, are ten times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma than children in other parts of the city (IMPACT DC). This stark disparity reflects systemic inequities in access to preventative care, medication, and consistent follow-up.” she explained. “This School-based Asthma Telehealth intervention meets children and parents where they are. Literally. Virtually connecting IMPACT DC doctors and educators with children in school and engaging parents at their workplaces alleviates logistical and financial stress. It minimizes the time-consuming and often costly burden of traveling to a clinic without a car or reliable public transportation, where parents must take off work and children miss class.”
Through regular mentorship with faculty advisor Dr. Maranda Ward—herself a former Knapp Fellow—Lima designed the intervention to ease barriers to care while reducing preventable ER visits. “This school-based intervention promotes educational attainment by reducing absenteeism and protects parental employment by eliminating the need to choose between work and an appointment," she said. "By eliminating these conflicts, we can reduce ER readmissions in these communities, and implement a more accessible model for asthma management that respects the time, dignity, and needs of these families."
Her passion for equitable care is especially timely given recent federal cuts to public health research and the removal of language around health disparities from CDC materials.
“In this climate, we recognize it is becoming increasingly difficult to execute this work. Thus, it is critical that we communicate the impact and necessity of our works," she added. “Stakeholders need to understand the importance of sustained investment in community-based interventions.”
Looking ahead, Lima plans to become a physician with a continued focus on integrating public health into clinical practice. She is currently working on an honors thesis investigating social factors contributing to emergency room outcomes.
Read more about her work here.