Breaking Barriers: 15-Year-Old Research Intern Shares Lessons from His First Global Conference
Correlation of Physical and Mental Health Symptoms to Scoliosis Risk: International Research Presented at the 2025 American Public Health Association (APHA) Conference in Washington, D.C. by Okechukwu Nathan Mezu, an Mezu International Foundation intern and junior at North Ridgeville High School in Ohio.
During the summer of 2024, I participated in an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved research project, orchestrated by my cousin OlaRose Ndubuisi, a freshman at Syracuse University. The research was conducted in Imo State, Nigeria during a medical mission, and focused on identifying children at risk for scoliosis. Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine that can cause uneven shoulders or hips, difficulty standing upright, or back pain. The research was conducted by examining correlations between physical symptoms, mental health symptoms, physical activity, and angle of trunk rotation (ATR).
During the medical mission, I administered a questionnaire that evaluated each child’s physical health, mental well-being, and physical activity levels, while Olarose screened 37 children using a scoliometer, a tool used by healthcare providers to screen for and track scoliosis.
The results of our findings revealed that higher physical and mental symptom severity scores were linked to greater trunk rotation angles, suggesting a potential relationship between overall well-being and risk of scoliosis.
I presented this research with OlaRose on a poster at the 2025 American Public Health Association (APHA) Conference in Washington, D.C. on Monday, November 3, 2025. According to the APHA website, this is the largest public health conference in the world with over 12,000 global public health professionals. The poster was titled “Physical and Mental Health Symptoms Correlate with Angle of Trunk Rotation to Predict Kids at Risk for Scoliosis in Imo State, Nigeria.” I shared insights with global professionals, answered questions about the research, helped raise awareness about the importance of detecting scoliosis early in kids and emphasized the significance of educating people about scoliosis, especially in communities that have limited access to healthcare and medical tools like Imo State, Nigeria.
The event was very inspiring as presenting the research to public health professionals and experts showed me how the connection between science and health can have a positive real-world impact. As a high school junior, being the youngest presenter in the midst of world scholars presenting their work became even more motivation for me to pursue research-based opportunities that can make a difference for the entire world regardless of my young age.