Hi, I'm Anita Roach at FARE. We're ensuring that every individual living
with food allergy has equitable access to vital care and support.
Our flagship Diversity Scholars Program is primed to do just that.
32 million Americans live with life-threatening food allergies
that includes a disproportionate number of Black people and other communities of color.
Unfortunately, we also know that the health outcomes of Black and
Latino people with food allergy can also be worse.
But this does not have to be the case.
Our FARE Diversity Scholars Program is an investment in
the future to break down these disparities.
Studies have already shown that representation in medicine is
critical to building trust and saving lives.
Our ultimate goal with the Diversity Scholars Program is that it will build
a pipeline of racially and culturally diverse physicians and public health
professionals in food allergy who are committed to investigating,
evaluating and addressing social-economic factors that impact access to care.
Particularly with Black and Latino food allergy patients.
Hi, my name is Adeela Abbasi.
I work to coordinate and lead several of FARE's health equity initiatives.
We are thrilled to be embarking on our inaugural year of the FARE Diversity Scholars Program.
Which aims to support rising second, third and fourth year graduate level
medical students from populations that are traditionally underrepresented in medicine
and who demonstrate an interest in the field of food allergy and community engagement.
FARE has employed the expertise of National Medical Fellowship - also known as NMF.
To help shape and manage the program, leverage their extensive medical and
academic network and create programmatic best practices as
we continue to iterate and improve through comprehensive program evaluation process.
Hello everyone my name is Vanika Spencer and I am
a service learning program manager with National Medical Fellowship.
Why is representation in medicine important?
Equity-minded health professionals from the very communities that endure the
highest levels of health inequity in this nation are needed more
than ever to address the well-earned mistrust in the health care system.
Let's look at how the program works.
FARE and NMF begin the institution selection process mid-January.
We look for academic and medical institutions that have the bandwidth to support the students.
This means they're able to offer a mentor
no more than one for every two students
and are able to provide the resources, training, opportunities and one-on-one
time needed to allow the students to thrive while grasping the concepts of food allergy prevention,
management and understanding barriers to accessing food allergy care and safe foods.
The program also offers mentor and site stipends.
Hi, my name is Tricia Lee.
I'm an allergy/immunology physician here in Atlanta,
Georgia where I am an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Emory as
well as the Associate Program Director for our Allergy/Immunology Fellowship Program.
Representation is important to me on so many different levels.
I'm part of a national committee that
is specifically focusing on diversity in our workforce.
And a lot of that is providing equitable access very early and
earlier whether it's an undergrad or med school.
So I feel I'm seeing, um, you know, we're not only thinking about our
future physicians but we're really trying to provide some diversity in our positions.
My name is Dr. Stephanie Leeds. I am Assistant Professor at Yale University School of Medicine.
I'm honored to be a mentor in the FARE Diversity Scholars Program and my mentee is Hang Nguyen,
who is a first year medical student at the Yale School of Medicine.
She spent time in clinic with me seeing a variety of different food allergy patients
and she's also gotten a chance to start some clinical research.
Looking at data sets, trying to pull together different aspects
of food allergy in a particular patient group and learning how
to work with different institutions, different sites, different databases.
How to take large amounts of data, analyze it in a scientifically rigorous way and come up
with an interesting story that might actually lead to some discoveries around food allergy.
Hi, my name is Hang Nguyen and I'm a second year medical student at the Yale School of Medicine.
I have the privilege of working with Dr. Stephanie Leeds at the
Yale site for my FARE Diversity Scholar Program.
In an equitable work environment everyone is
giving the opportunity and space and tools to improve and succeed.
And everyone's background and experience is valued, no matter how different.
For me, representation matters.
I really appreciate how the FARE Diversity Scholar Program aims to increase representation
of historically underrepresented groups in the field of Allergy and Immunology.
Once we identify the partnering institution NMF
opens the application process to graduate level students. Generally in early spring.
With the input of a diverse review committee, the program team selects
up to six scholars and offers an award of $10,000 - of which 100% goes to the scholar.
The scholarship has been extremely helpful for me.
This past summer I didn't have to take out an extra loan to pay for the summer semester.
Instead, I just use the money that FARE gave me.
So thank you FARE.
Hello, my name is Sharmilee Nyenhuis and I'm an
Associate Professor of Pediatrics here at the University of Chicago.
As a mentor, we meet with the scholars to choose a project,
develop a protocol and also conduct research activities about one to two times per month.
My name is Sydney Butler and I am a fourth year medical student
at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill.
I entered medical school with an interest in allergic diseases.
So when I came across the opportunity to apply to the FARE Diversity Scholars Program,
it really seemed like the perfect opportunity to get an in-depth
look at what a career in Allergy and Immunology research might look like.
The scholar commits to doing at least 200 hours over 10 months.
20 hours must be put towards working with a local community
partner engaging in community awareness education and access.
40 hours are reserved for conference participation,
such as today's Research Retreat, AAAAI's annual conference and travel,
FARE's annual Summit and other opportunities as they arise.
Some hours are also used for learning days where we have subject matter experts
share their experiences and expertise through engaging Zoom lunch sessions.
FARE is also very generous about providing scholars
with financial support to attend conferences.
Making these academic and professional opportunities
more accessible to students historically underrepresented in medicine, like myself.
In terms of community engagement, we're really excited to try and
partner with a local WIC program (Women Infants and Children) to try and make
sure that food allergy is at the top of the priority list for food assistance programs.
Not just thinking about safe foods for kids who
have defined food allergies but also thinking about offering food allergens
early on to try and help prevent food allergy through early introduction.
Partnering with community leaders will only serve to enhance our role in the community,
enhance our presence and really sort of help to build the the trusting
relationships that we need to make a difference in our local community.
After the initial on-boarding,
the student works closely with their mentor to identify the right project.
The project will be something of interest to the student but also
have beneficial outcomes for the host institution.
My participation in the FARE Diversity Scholars Program has
definitely increased my interest in the field of Allergy and Immunology
and I plan to continue clinical research in residency and beyond.
Those that complete the first year will be asked to submit a
1000 word essay describing their experience.
They'll become eligible to renew for a second year and move on as alumni
who will continue to be supported through FARE's extensive network and opportunities.
They'll also be asked to lightly support the incoming cohort.
I would definitely like to apply again to this program the FARE Diversity
Scholars Program just offers way too many opportunities for me to want it to end.
Also, I would just like to see how my project progresses working on it long term.
...and these students are going to go out into the world and serve others as well.
And that's super exciting to be a part of that learning and
development process where we have a real opportunity to invest in youth and all
of the things that they're doing that comes after they graduate and beyond.
The program impact on the students is profound and lifelong.
We hope the students will go on to advanced studies and set
career goals in the field of Allergy and Immunology.
The maturity, academic rigor and independence this program requires
attracts students who become highly desirable in a range of contexts.
If you are interested in learning more about this program please reach
out to me at aabbasi@foodallergy.org or visit our Diversity Scholars webpage.