Cornell University Cooperative Extension in New York City (CUCE–NYC)’s 4-H program, led by Lucinda Randolph-Benjamin, prepares youth to become student leaders, exposing them to an array of professional development, educational, and technical opportunities. This exposure allows students to explore the varied Cornell colleges, programs, and departments outside of the extension program, and to actively participate in interdisciplinary activities that draw upon their own interests, educational background, and skill sets.
4-H teen leaders include Erica Liu, a junior at The Bronx High School of Science and president of her school’s 4-H club, and Ivelys Cuenca, a senior at Francis Lewis High School and co-vice president of her 4-H club. 4-H/Positive Youth Development Program Liaison, Juan Carlos Espinal, connected the students to the community advisory board (CAB) of Weill Cornell Medicine’s Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) based on the student’s commitment to 4-H as club leaders, as members of 4-H holistically, and their expressed interest in making a difference in their communities.
Members of the CAB provide guidance to clinical and academic researchers on community-centered recruitment and engagement practices for research studies involving human subjects. In their first year–2024–on the CAB, Ivelys and Erica received mentorship from staff and faculty of the CTSC’s Community Engagement Research Component (CERC) to complete reviews of submitted pilot study grant research proposals involving community-based research studies and outreach projects. As active members of the CAB, the students can expect to complete proposal reviews and present their feedback and scoring justifications to the CAB on a yearly basis, continuously honing their community-engaged lens.
The 4-H students are successfully deploying their new training in translational science and human subjects research in opportunities, like youth-targeted competitions. For example, Erica won first place in the United States-based high school student category for the 2025 Maurice R. Hilleman Essay Contest. This contest, hosted by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (VEC), invites Middle and High School students from the United States and Canada to write an essay in response to the prompt: “Not everyone will be a prolific scientist like Dr. Hilleman, but all citizens need to understand how science works. Use an example to discuss why this understanding is important given the role of science and technology in society today.” Members of the CAB, such as Jeff Zhu, Co-Director of the CTSC’s Community Engagement Component, introduced Erica to this opportunity and provided content feedback and overall application guidance.
As an active participant of Bronx Science High School’s Biology Research Program and Dr. Christopher Stephen Lange’s cancer stem cell research lab at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Erica has observed how biology research has progressively incorporated artificial intelligence (AI) tools and computational methods, like predictive models for disease and data analyses. The increasing influence of AI in many facets of our society, like work, transportation, or communication technologies have fascinated her. Inspired by the innovations in AI and how it is shaping medical research and treatment, Erica was prompted to explore this topic further in her essay.
Erica’s first-place winning essay is titled, “Can You Trust a Surgeon That’s Not Human?” In her essay, Erica recognizes the current integration of and reliance on artificial intelligence in medicine for non-invasive activity, such as enhancing image quality in computerized tomography (CT) scans, while she ponders the moral, legal, safety, and knowledge questions that arise for both the physician and patient if AI is used in more medically invasive types of treatment, such as surgery.
“While patients are accustomed to giving consent for human doctors, the use of AI introduces ambiguity. Do the patients fully understand the AI’s role in their care? And are they truly consenting to a procedure where AI plays a significant part? Moreover, there are concerns regarding data privacy and security. AI systems rely heavily on vast patient data, and breaches or misuse of this information could have serious consequences.”
Erica asks similar questions when she reviews research proposal submissions to the CTSC. In particular, she draws upon the three fundamental ethical principles outlined in the Belmont Report that guide research involving human subjects: (1) respect for persons, (2) beneficence, and (3) justice. She recognizes that the increased scope of AI technology in the medical field might violate these central tenets, while also existing in the penumbra of medical and translational science and research. The slower pace by which laws and policies evolve presents a sharp contrast to the breakneck speed at which AI is increasingly being integrated in our lives.
“So, while not everyone will develop over 40 vaccines and save millions of lives like Dr. Maurice Hilleman, and while not everyone can be a computer scientist who codes algorithms, develops neural networks, or creates complex machine learning models, everyone can and should have a basic understanding of science…While you don’t need to be an expert in AI or biomedical engineering, having a general understanding of how these technologies work helps you make informed, confident decisions about your own healthcare.”
In the concluding paragraphs of her essay, while recognizing that we may not be content experts in artificial intelligence in medicine, Erica still stresses the importance of knowledge and making informed choices. The topic of her essay draws parallels to her and Ivelys’s experiences as members of the CTSC community advisory board.
“Being part of 4-H has taught me the value of community leadership and encouraged me to pursue opportunities where I can amplify youth voices. My work on the CAB has deepened my interest in the intersection between science, ethics, and public engagement. Through reviewing pilot research proposals and applying research principles, I have started to see how youth can play a role in making research more accessible and community-centered,” stated Erica.
While the students may not yet be content specialists in the research areas for which they are providing feedback, they have prioritized asking critical community impact questions that allow for the demystification and democratization of complex research proposals for themselves and potential future participations, as well as the amplifying youth voices in community-engaged research.
Erica received a $500 cash prize and a winner’s certificate as a first-place winner. She and all essay contest winners were recognized during a virtual event on May 2, 2025. Click here to read Erica’s and other 2025 Maurice R. Hilleman Essay Contest winning essays.
As a rising senior, Erica will stay involved with 4-H and the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA), a program of the New York City Department of Education (DOE) that provides leadership training to students who serve on its citywide Borough Student Advisory Councils (BSACs). This summer she will begin computational research on lymphomas involving RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis with Dr. María Victoria Revuelta’s lab at Weill Cornell Medical College. Erica will draw from all of these experiences as she seeks to bridge community gaps, especially through equitable innovation in health and medicine.