ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2021
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. In 2021, over 25,000 young leaders on 2,000+ campuses across 153 nations applied to join the Class of 2021. 136 campuses worldwide (just 6%) were selected to host the 2,000+ Millennium Fellows. The Class of 2021 is bold, innovative, and inclusive.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT DAGNY CHASE REESE, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2021.
University College London | London, United Kingdom | Advancing SDG 3 & UNAI 3
" One of the huge motivations behind my work are the people I know who have been affected by immune-related disease and they challenges they have faced in relation to accessing care or availability of infrastructure. One of the main issues in solving this issue is the lack of awareness of the issue itself and the scale of the issue, which is what I am largely addressing through my project.
The Millennium Fellowship will elevate the reach and impact of my project to a whole new level, providing me with resources, skills, and a network that otherwise would have taken years for me to develop on my known. Through the MCN, I am excited to bring more awareness to the UN sustainability goals and principles, as well as the issue of immune disease burden and health infrastructure on both my campus and on a wider scale. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: "Immunknowledge" - Addressing The Impact of Immune-Related Disease
Autoimmune and other immunological conditions are a considerable burden on global health, with 10%+ of the population affected by autoimmune disease and even more affected by immunodeficiency or infection. With many international efforts focused on other urgent issues, including conflict, the recognition, diagnosis and treatment of chronic illness is often neglected. Additionally, with the popularisation of the hygiene hypothesis, many individuals have even come to believe that immune conditions do not or rarely occur outside of the world’s richest nations. As a result, many people are unaware of the signs of such conditions that are generally underdiagnosed, or believe harmful misconceptions, such as that psoriasis or AIDS can be spread via a handshake. The end goal of “Immunknowledge”, a project being led by Dagny Reese with the help of UCL Immunology Society, is to address these misconceptions, especially regarding visible or more stigmatised immune conditions, including vitiligo, AIDS or cutaneous lupus. Through educational outreach, such as seminars, social media campaigns, and collaboration with other organisations, we hope to increase awareness of the global disease burden of these conditions, educate people on these conditions and common misconceptions, and to engage and encourage investment of both time and money into projects to improve the lives of those living with immune conditions globally.
About the Millennium Fellow
Dagny Chase Reese is a motivated Biomedical Sciences student currently attending University College London for her Bachelors of Science.
Growing up in South Africa, early on she become aware of global disease burden, particularly in relation to infectious disease and the importance of health infrastructure. While her passion began with infectious disease such a TB and HIV, throughout the years she has become more interested in diseases generally affecting the function of the immune system - such as autoimmune diseases and immunodeficiencies.
Throughout her time at UCL, she worked to found and establish the UCL Immunology society to bring more awareness to not only the disease burden of these illnesses, but also the importance of health infrastructure and addressing the social burden these diseases impose on individuals. Moving forward, she hopes to work in a field where she can work towards finding solutions for those affected by diseases of the immune system and the issues they face.
