Ashley Chory's Path to Global Adolescent Health

"I was on a very different path," Chory said. She entered Sacred Heart University on a seven-year track to earn a bachelor’s in exercise science and nutrition and then a doctorate degree in physical therapy. During her sophomore year, she had the opportunity to support a global health program in Guatemala, where she continued to work for several years. "I went with the intention of doing pediatric nutrition capacity development work and ended up working across public health domains for adolescents and young women,” she said. "I fell in love with what we call global health systems development. But I didn't have that language at the time."
 
"I have goosebumps thinking about my time in Guatemala because it's very sentimental to me," she said. "This time in my life was essentially where my world, particularly around career aspirations, changed."
 
Chory didn’t pull the plug on a career in physical therapy until the end of her undergraduate studies. "I remember two or three weeks before I graduated undergrad is when the idea of a career in ‘public health’ was made aware to me," she said. “I remember this moment very specifically because suddenly, I was like, 'Oh, this is what I'm meant to do. But I'm graduating in two weeks. What comes next?'"
 
Chory served as an AIDS United Fellow, conducting research and community outreach programming with people living with HIV at an HIV clinic in New Mexico.  From there she went on to earn her M.P.H. with a concentration in global health from the State University at Albany School of Public Health. 
 
Now at Mount Sinai, Chory provides overall strategic leadership for the Department and Institute’s Global Adolescent Health programs. With much of her time spent working in Kenya, Chory manages a research program that supports children born with HIV as they grow into adolescents and young adults. 
 
"We understand and know how difficult the teenage years can be for anyone, but when the experience is confounded by a highly stigmatized health condition, additional supports are critically needed," she said. "What we're seeing right now is the first generation of children born with HIV who are surviving into adulthood—this is a beautiful thing that I’m delighted to witness myself – but it means that there are newly evolving challenges to consider for this population."
 
At New York Medical College, Chory’s dissertation work around youth pregnancy has been inspired by years of experience working in global adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Chory’s dissertation, titled, "Predictors of Adolescent Fatherhood in Kenya: A Retrospective Study Using the Kenya Demographic Health Surveys," focused on the factors that put Kenyan boys at risk for becoming fathers during their adolescent years. "When it comes to sexual and reproductive health there has always been this focus on girls and young women, rightfully so," said Chory. "But there has been no attention on the non-birthing partner, in the Kenyan context, boys, and what puts them at risk for early parenthood."
 
Chory’s dissertation research has been accepted for presentation at the 25th International AIDS Society Conference, in Munich, Germany, in July.
 
For what’s on the horizon for Chory, she looks forward to continuing to work to grow global adolescent health programs at the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at Mount Sinai. 
 
"My hope for the world is that adolescents have the resources, tools, and support to make educated health decisions for themselves. Adolescents are the next generation of thought leaders – investments in them are an investment in our collective futures."