Camerin (Cami) Rencken

Camerin (Cami) Rencken (she/her) is an Epidemiology PhD student at the University of Washington. Cami was with the START Center from 2022 -2023. Cami received her ScM in Global Public Health from Brown University and her BS in Global Disease Biology from the University of California, Davis. While in school, Cami lived in Durban, South Africa working as a part of an injury research group identifying barriers to continuation of care for burn survivors. Additionally, she led a team exploring the role of peer support on ART adherence amongst adolescents living with HIV in Cape Town. Before joining START, she worked at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Boston developing computer-based instruments to measure the long-term biopsychosocial outcomes in children after injuries. Her research interests include global injury and violence prevention, using epidemiologic data to inform public health policy and practice, and improving access to healthcare through evidence–based interventions with a particular focus on LMICs.

Cami worked on nine projects during her two-year engagement at START, acting as the Project Manager for three and being the START Center’s Flex RA. Below are highlights from two of the projects Cami worked on:

• Private Sector PrEP Delivery Policy and Regulatory Landscaping in Sub-Saharan Africa: The primary objective of this project was to conduct a landscape assessment of regulatory and policy barriers to PrEP (oral and long-acting) delivery through private sector pharmacies and clinics across Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Water Reuse Standards & Regulations: The objective of this project was to better understand the scope of existing water reuse standards and regulations in LMICs. The WSH team has collaborated with START to conduct a landscape analysis of the existing or adopted standard and regulations for reused/recycled/reclaimed/treated water in LMICs.

Reflecting on her time at START, Cami said, “I will always be grateful for my time with the START Center. The START community welcomed me from my first day at the UW and gave me a community in which I could learn, grow, and develop both professional and personal relationships that I hope to continue building long after my time at the START Center has ended. Over the last two years, I have improved my communication, management, and leadership skills through consistent and intentional engagement with my teams and clients. I look forward to watching the START Center grow over as I transition from being an RA to an alumna, and will continue to support the students, staff, and faculty as I progress through my career. Thank you to all that were a part of my time with the START Center!”