Iribarren earned her bachelor's degree in biology but knew she wanted to pursue some kind of medical career. She studied one year in Ecuador and volunteered for a few months in an indigenous clinic there. That led her to nursing, but it also sparked her interest in international health care. It was her first time outside of the United States, and she "loved the different cultures, all the diversity, people, learning a new language and the challenges that go with it."

After receiving her nursing degree, she became health-care coordinator for a migrant Head Start program in Oregon. She then went back to nursing school for an advanced degree. She wanted critical-care experience "crucial to any setting," and she now works in the medical intensive care unit at theVeterans Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

But research and policy captivate her. "That's where change can be made," she said. Last summer, she went to Ghana in Africa with the U. School of Medicine, which has an ongoing community-based research project.

The scholars will all meet at the group headquarters in July for an orientation, then a shorter session at either Vanderbilt or Tulane universities. They are expected to be on site in their assigned clinics Aug. 1.

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E-mail: lois@desnews.com