Eleven rising second-year medical students have been selected for the fourth class of the UAB School of Medicine’s Health Equity Scholars Program. Created in 2017, the program’s goal is to develop physician leaders with the knowledge and skills to promote health equity for medically underserved communities.
The 2020 Heath Equity Scholars are:
Akshay Aluri
Ankit Bansal
Madeline Farmer
Paris Long
Emily Ness
Ricky Pigg
Ansley Smoak
Shefa Suhaila
Natalie Wire
Hannah Woodard
Jocelyn York
“We were overwhelmed by the quality of applicants this year. This was the most competitive group of applicants we’ve had for the program to date,” said Caroline N. Harada, M.D., assistant dean for community-engaged scholarship. “I look forward to seeing the incredible things these students will do in medical school and in their future careers. Our Health Equity Scholars astound me with their passion for learning and their commitment to finding ways to advocate for vulnerable people.”
The Health Equity Scholars Program helps students develop expertise in the social determinants of health and health disparities through five different components: service learning coursework, extracurricular service work, a scholarly project, a fourth-year teaching apprenticeship, and annual training retreats.