University at Buffalo (UB)
Fellowship in Social Justice, Equity Administration and Leadership
About the Fellowship
The Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences seeks medical students or biomedical sciences graduate students to work on projects that address social, educational or health care inequities.
This fellowship provides an opportunity to develop leadership skills to advance equity and justice in institutional and community settings, and advance the Jacobs School’s mission to create a supportive learning environment.
Applicants will work with a primary mentor in the Jacobs School to address reasearch questions focused on equtity. The projects can be based on community engagement, curriculum/educational advancement, innovation in addressing disparities and/or development of a quality assesment tool/methodology.
Fellows will work on the research and design, implementation or analysis of their project over a 12 month period.
At the completion of the 12 month period, fellows will present their findings at the annual Social Justice Fellowship Symposium scheduled for the month of April 2025.
2024 Recipients
Amanda Bahgat and Danielle Falkenstein
“Exploring and Addressing Gaps in Medical Education Regarding Indigenous Healthcare (Part 2)"
Shyon Small
“Evaluation and Implementation of a School-Based CPR/AED Training Program: Fostering the Next Generation of Diverse Community-Engaged Healthcare Providers"
Nitya Murali and Henry Burton
"Beyond the Books: Evaluating Mental Well-being and Barriers to Care among Medical Students at Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences"
Zoe Arditi, Berkley Sawester and Madison Clague
“Abortion & Gender Affirming Care: Provider Experiences & Support Needs"
George Ghanatios, Kaswanna Phiri and Shyon Small
"Empower the youth: educating on immigrant health care inequities in the Buffalo Community"
Moriah Martindale and LaShon Webb
“Barriers to Utilization of Campus Support Services faced by Underrepresented Minorities in Medicine”
Rhonda Drewes
“AED Registration Strategies in Buffalo: Increasing Access to Lifesaving Devices"
Zakwan Uddin, Josef Iqbal and Hannah Igbal
“Exploring Socioeconomic Obstacles to Mammogram Screening in South Asian Communities: Crafting Screening Strategies for Health Equity Restoration"
Amanda Bahgat and Danielle Falkenstein
Black and Hispanic Post-Operative Ophthalmologic Health Outcomes
Megan Conrow-Graham, Oluwadahunsi (Dahunsi) Okunlola, Rahima Hussain
Parent Perceptions and Alternative Treatments for Anxiety in ADHD
Eligibility
Medical, master’s and doctoral students at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Faculty Mentor must have a primary appointment in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Funding
$3,500 per project to be used for fellowship-related supplies and travel to present project findings at local or a national meeting.
Award Selection and Announcement
Applications will be reviewed by our Social Justice Felowship Committee
Funded applications will be communited via email
Contact
For questions about this fellowship, please contact smbs-inclusion@buffalo.edu.
2023 Recipients
Maria Urbina Castillo, MD ’26 and Fernando Bomfim, MD ’26
“Unidos por la Salud: A Pathway to Improving Latino Health in Buffalo”
Alyssa Reese, MD ’24
“Integrating Community Resource Utilization to Decrease Length of Administratively Necessary Hospital Stays of Pediatric Psychiatric Patients”
Salma Attai, MD ’24
“Health Literacy Amongst WNY Refugees and Immigrants”
Patrick Crossen, MD ’26 and Perya Bhagchandani, MD ’26
“Hidden in Plain Site: Adressing Structural Barriers to Dermatological Care in Buffalo, NY”
I’Yanna Scott, MD ’24
“Identifying Barriers to Bystander CPR Training and Use Among Communities of Color in Buffalo, New York”
Amanda Bahgat, MD ’25; Danielle Falkenstein, MD ’25; Andrea Alfonsi, MD ’24 and Ascharya Balaji, MD ’25
“Exploring and Addressing the Gaps in Medical Education Regarding Indigenous Healthcare”
Malaika de Weever, MD ’25 and Mackenzie Cronin, MD ’25
“Understanding Socioeconomic Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening in African American Communities in Order to Develop Effective Screening Initiatives Grounded in Restoring Health Equity”
In Collaboration
Maeanna Merrill, MD ’26 and Clayton Shanahan, MD ’25
“Connecting Communities: MedEd and LGBTQIA+ Advocacy”
Juliana Greene, MD '26, Elisha Earley, MD '26 and Madison Clague, MD '26
“LGBTQ+ Healthcare in Buffalo, NY: Climate and Paths to Equity”
Afreen Siddiqui, MD ’23
“Physician and Physician-Trainee Attitudes Toward Providing Health Care for the Incarcerated: A Qualitative Analysis”
Adetayo Oladele-Ajose, MD ’23
“Impostor Syndrome and the Illusion of Performance”
Nat Voos, MD ’23
“Creating a Learning Environment Conducive for Members of the LGBTQ+ Community (Part 2)”
Olatoyosi Olafuyi, MD ’23
“Application of Race-Based GFR Among Emergency Physicians”
Daniel Popoola, MD ’23
“Mapping-Out Socio-Economic Mitigators of Healthcare Access Inequality in Buffalo, NY Using Emergency Acute Ischemic Stroke Care as a Case Study”
Abena Ansah-Yeboah, MD'24, Mario Carrillo, MD'24, Olumayowa Adebiyi, MD'24.
“Voices of the Fruit Belt Community: Amplifying and Empowering Our Neighbors”
Tatiana Amaye-Obu
“Examining Curriculum That Aims to Develop Change Agency and Critical Consciousness in Medical Students”
Jinx Lioi
“Creating a Learning Environment Conducive for Members of the LGBTQ+ Community (Part 1)”
Trinithas Boyi
“Vaccine Equity: A Campaign to Increase Vaccine Access Within Communities of Color”
Ellen Lutnick
“Non-Elective TURP - To Better Understand the Gaps in Care Related to Racial Disparity in the Diagnosis and Treatment of BPH, and Develop a Screening Process to Better Address These Gaps in a Non-White Population”
Hijab Khan and Brie Jackson
“Pre-Matriculation Curriculum on History of Racism: Implement and Evaluate Pilot Curriculum, Including Filing Reports Required by IRB”