Alyssa Roberts (MS4) was recently awarded the Psoriatic Disease Research Fellowship grant from the National Psoriasis Foundation.
Alyssa hopes to address issues involving out-of-pocket costs that burden patients and draws on experiences she has had from living in Hawaiʻi.
This grant is normally awarded to MDs, but she was able to win it as a medical student! We caught up with Alyssa to learn more about her, her research, and those who helped her secure this grant.
Q: Where are you from/where did you attend high school?
A: I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and attended high school at Punahou School (Class of 2017).
Q: Where did you attend college and what was your major(s)?
A: I attended college at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) through the Doctor of Medicine Early Acceptance Program, which granted ten high school seniors acceptance into JABSOM upon completion of their undergraduate degree at UHM. During college, I majored in Molecular and Cell Biology with a minor in Business and minor in Chinese.
Q: Why do you want to be a doctor and furthermore, what inspires you to be a physician-scientist?
A: My interest in medicine initially began with my grandmother’s Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. Growing up, I spent a significant amount of time with my grandmother. She worked tirelessly as a waitress at a local Chinese restaurant, and I always admired her willingness to go above and beyond for all her customers and her compassionate nature towards everyone she met.
Sadly, my family learned of my grandmother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis while I was in high school. As I watched her struggle with an incurable condition, I gained a profound appreciation for the impact that medical care can have on improving a patient's quality of life. These experiences sparked my desire to pursue medicine, as I wanted to contribute to a field that combines compassion and patient care to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
Through my grandmother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, I also learned that research, especially in the absence of a cure, is crucial. Even the smallest discovery or piece of new information can significantly impact patient outcomes and open doors to potential treatments. Furthermore, health services research can address systemic issues like access to care, treatment affordability, and the overall healthcare infrastructure. Becoming a physician-scientist would allow me to not only care for patients directly, but also conduct research to improve access to care and ensure that the patients I see can actually receive the treatment they need.
My interest in dermatology stems from my clinical experiences. I particularly felt a strong connection to patients with psoriasis, many of whom I witnessed suffering from recurring and debilitating symptoms. The enduring nature of my patients’ symptoms were reminiscent of the difficulties that my grandmother had faced with Alzheimer’s. The resilience of these patients truly inspired me and fueled my desire to pursue dermatology.
Q: Securing this NPF-funded grant is remarkable, as it’s typically reserved for MDs. Can you share what your research is about?
A: For patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, adhering to consistent treatment is crucial for long-term disease control. However, many psoriatic disease patients must pay out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for their medications. If a patient finds it difficult to afford their treatment, they may skip doses, delay refilling their prescriptions, or abandon their treatment altogether. Thus, assessing the impact of OOP costs on treatment patterns is fundamental to inform the healthcare community and health policymakers on the real-world implications of high OOP costs.
Our research aims to determine OOP costs for psoriatic disease treatments among U.S. adults, using commercial and Medicare insurance databases. We will then assess how OOP costs impact rates of treatment adherence and discontinuation.
We hope that our research will contribute substantially to NPF’s ongoing advocacy efforts to reduce OOP costs and to NPF’s mission of improving the lives of those with psoriatic disease.
Q: Do you have a personal connection to this project or research? What do you ultimately hope to accomplish with your research?
A: Having worked with patients suffering from psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, I have seen firsthand the physical and emotional toll that these diseases take on patients. In spite of advancing treatments, proper care is still inaccessible to many, especially those in underserved communities. In Hawaiʻi, resource disparities across the islands often necessitate inter-island travel that not all patients can afford. These challenges highlight health inequities and have inspired my commitment to caring for underserved populations while investigating barriers to care.
Our NPF-funded research, which aims to assess the impact of out-of-pocket (OOP) costs on treatment adherence and discontinuation for psoriatic disease, is important because it highlights a key barrier to effective care. If we can understand the real-world impact of OOP costs, we can advocate for policy changes that improve access to treatments. Through this research, I hope to contribute to a body of work that empowers policymakers and healthcare providers to make informed decisions that improve the lives of people with psoriatic disease.
Q: Do you have pets, play sports/instruments or have an interesting hobby you would like to share? It's fun to learn what interests you have outside of school!
A: I have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Buttons, whom I absolutely adore! Some of my hobbies include baking cookies, watching documentaries, and going to the gym. I also really enjoy writing, which is a hobby I turned to when I first learned of my grandmother’s Alzheimer's disease diagnosis. I authored a memoir that detailed my experience with my grandmother's illness in hopes of providing support and comfort to others navigating similar challenges. I was fortunate to have this memoir published in UHM’s undergraduate journal,
Manoa Horizons.
Q: Anything you want to say about those who helped you get to where you are today?
A: I am beyond grateful for my family, friends, and mentors who have been instrumental in helping me get to where I am today. I am especially thankful for my parents, whose tireless efforts and sacrifices have provided me with invaluable educational opportunities. Their support, along with the encouragement, wisdom, and guidance of the rest of my family, friends, and mentors, have shaped my journey and inspired me to keep moving forward. I could not have made it this far without all of them, and I feel incredibly blessed to have such a remarkable support system.
