MONGOLIAN FULBRIGHT ALUMNUS CONDUCTS RESEARCH

Ulaanbaatar, /MONTSAME/ Awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2007, Ariuntsatsral Erdenebeleg returned to Mongolia in July of 2009 after successfully earning her Master's degree in Public Health and Policy Management from Georgia State University.
She said, "The Fulbright Scholarship was both a reward for my hard work and an opening of a whole new door for my professional development."
Ariuna is one of very few female cardiologists in the nation and her specialty in pediatrics makes her all the more an anomaly. "A key to any success is whether or not you have a passion for what you do. If you care about what you do, then you can overcome most barriers. For example, in our country, doctors do not have perfect working conditions in terms of equipment, resources and salary. But when there is a patient, we are there, most of the time armed with little more than our passion and love for our profession." she said.
Ariunaa's passion for her work and her young patients is evident in each and every one of her endeavors. As a volunteer cardiologist for the Children's Heart Project (a branch of Samaritan's Purse), she helps provide surgery for children residing in countries lacking certain medical expertise and equipment and her many first-of-their-kind heart procedures have garnered her attention well beyond the borders of Mongolia.
Before receiving the Fulbright award, she had been invited to Boston's Children's Hospital as well as to the University of Texas San Antonio for a variety of professional trainings. During these sessions, she made the acquaintance of Dr. David Bush, a pediatric cardiologist at UTSA hospital, who became the head of her thesis committee and instilled in her the research skills necessary to further her career aspirations.
Ariunaa also had the unique opportunity to meet Dr. Adolfo Correa, a highly respected epidemiologist at the CDC, whose study of congenital heart disease in infants became the basis of her Master's Thesis.
Under the guidance of her thesis committee, Ariunaa explored the possible relationship between expecting mothers' headaches and the congenital heart defects of their infants. She concluded that the child of a mother who experienced noticeable headaches before and during pregnancy had a twenty percent likelihood of being born with a congenital heart defect. The study was groundbreaking and Ariunaa's thesis committee viewed it to be research worthy of a Ph.D. Ariunaa is back to work at the Shastin Central Hospital. In the weeks, months and years ahead, she hopes to help facilitate the translation of medical textbooks from English to Mongolian as a means of providing up-to-date international studies and research. Further, she believes that an expansion in exchange programs such as the Fulbright can provide her colleagues with the skills, studies and medical insights necessary to bring meaningful change to the health care system at home in Mongolia.
B.Khuder
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