Supporting Minority Medical Students To Increase Diversity In Hematology

Main Category: Blood / Hematology
Also Included In: Medical Students / Training;  Conferences
Article Date: 09 May 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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The American Society of Hematology (ASH) is proud to announce the selection of 15 participants for its 2008 Minority Medical Student Award Program (MMSAP), which encourages minority medical students to purse an interest in hematology research. Under the program, each award recipient will receive the support of a research mentor and a career development mentor, travel stipends to attend medical meetings, and a subscription to the scientific journal Blood, the official journal of ASH.

"Since the MMSAP's beginning in 2004, ASH has been strong supporter of this pioneering award," said ASH President Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, of the University of California - San Diego School of Medicine. "I'm pleased to announce that this year's program has the largest number of participants yet, including three returning students. This program is an important tool in encouraging our brightest students from traditionally underrepresented groups to enter careers in hematology research."

For an eight- to 12-week period, MMSAP participants will work closely with their mentors on a hematology-related research project. The subjects investigated by this year's students include lymphoma, leukemia, sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, and stem cells. The awardees will also have the opportunity to present the results of their research at ASH's annual meeting in December, one of the largest medical meetings in the country with more than 20,000 attendees.

The 2008 MMSAP winners are:

• Awet Abraha
  Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI
  
  
• Olabunmi Agboola
  University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, Chicago, IL
  
  
• Nnenaya Agochukwu
  Louisiana State University School of Medicine, Shreveport, LA
  
  
• Alana Biggers
  University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, Chicago, IL
  
  
• Jaime Brewer
  University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, Chicago, IL
  
  
• Andres Bur
  University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
  
  
• Jose J. Echegaray
  Ponce School of Medicine, Ponce, Puerto Rico
  
  
• Daniel Hayward Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA
  
  
• Candace Johnson
  Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI
  
  
• Nicole Jones
  Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI
  
  
• Christina Lawson
  Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC
  
  
• Edward E. Robertson
  Keck School of Medical of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
  
  
• Akram Shayeb
  University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
  
  
• April Szafran
  University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, Chicago, IL
  
  
• Nadine Thompson
  Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA

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The program is offered to medical students from the United States and Canada in the early years of their DO, MD, or MD/PhD programs. Click here for more information about the MMSAP.

This award program is supported through 2009 by a grant from Genentech BioOncology.

The American Society of Hematology (http://www.hematology.org/) is the world's largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders. Its mission is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic, hemostatic, and vascular systems, by promoting research, clinical care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology.

Source: Becka Livesay
American Society of Hematology

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