Manya Balachander

  • 2020 Summer Intern
  • 2022 Management Interns

Manya Balachander was a summer intern with the Global Mental Health Programs in 2020 and returned to serve as a Management Intern in 2022. As part of her work with the Center, Manya worked with Dr. Sabrina Hermosilla on two separate projects: Child Friendly Spaces in Nepal, and Mental Health First Aid. Both projects assessed the effectiveness of these interventions across various different settings. Through this experience, she assisted in drafting parts of these manuscripts, proposed various ways to visualize the data in each project, and learned how to perform data extraction from multiple sources to assist in the drafting of each project. In addition to her work in the internship, Manya stayed on after the internship to work with Dr. Hermosilla on various research projects including systematic reviews, programmatic implementation and efficacy boards, and writing and proofing grants. Manya continues to also work with Dr. Ohemaa Poku through the GMHP program on qualitative coding and analysis of transcripts on HIV, stigma, and mental health. As a 2022 Management Intern, Manya interviewed and selected candidates for the internship, facilitated weekly seminars with various experts in the global mental health field, provided weekly mentorship for students, and co-collaborated on the end-of-program report to funders. 

Manya enjoyed work with the Global Mental Health Programs because it provided her with a lot of useful technical and theoretical skills that she will take with her throughout her academic and professional career.

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