Hikari Shumsky

Hikari Shumsky is a rising senior at Columbia University studying Human Rights with a specialization in East Asian Studies and concentrating in Ethnicity and Race Studies. With that, she is especially interested in issues of collective and intergenerational mental health and trauma: how different groups—ie. nationalities,  ethnicities and races—process and grapple with disastrous events. She works closely with asylum seekers in New York City navigating the federal immigration system, and has further developed an interest in trauma-informed social work and legal assistance.

This summer, Hikari is working with Dr. Sabrina Hermosilla to conduct a systematic review on the consequences of migration on youth health outcomes. She is currently working on completing the title phase of the review, and works closely with Dr. Hermosilla and the research team to develop and discuss review parameters. She is also developing the data extraction form for the later stages of the review process. She is grateful for the opportunity to complement her experiences in immigration law and policy with work in broader scale health research. She has gained invaluable insight into the meticulousness and rigor of the research process this summer, and is incredibly excited to continue with the team as the review progresses.