The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) today announced the 2021 Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine Scholars. These individuals are early- to mid-career professionals from a wide range of health-related fields, from emergency medicine and health economics to biomedical engineering and research and public health policy. The scholars are an essential part of a major NAM initiative, the Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine Program, which provides a platform for a new generation of leaders to collaborate with the NAM and its members across fields of expertise to advance science, combat persistent challenges in health and medicine, and spark transformative change to improve health for all.
Individuals selected by NAM leadership for the 2021 Scholars class will engage in a variety of activities throughout the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine over a three-year term, which began on July 1, 2021. Activities include biannual meetings in Washington, D.C., with NAM leadership and members; planning an annual Emerging Leaders Forum; participating in National Academies convening activities; publishing NAM Perspectives; and attending the NAM’s annual meeting each October.
“I am pleased to welcome these extraordinary individuals who represent the next generation of leading scientists, health care providers, public health professionals, and policymakers into the National Academy of Medicine’s Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine program,” said NAM President Victor J. Dzau. “As the world continues to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, it is ever important to involve emerging leaders who are poised to accelerate innovative and cross-disciplinary activities and shape the future of health and medicine.”
The 2021 Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine Scholars are:
- Brandon Brown, PhD, MPH, associate professor of medicine, department of social medicine, population, and public health, University of California, Riverside
- Alejandra Casillas, MD, MSHS, assistant professor of medicine in residence, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
- Paul Cohen, MD, PhD, Albert Resnick, M.D. Associate Professor, The Rockefeller University
- Justin Basile Echouffo Tcheugui, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
- Anna Greka, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
- Sidney H. Hankerson, MD, MBA, assistant professor of psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
- Joseph A. Lewnard, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology, University of California, Berkeley
- Christina Ann Roberto, PhD, Mitchell J. Blutt and Margo Krody Blutt Presidential Associate Professor of Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania
- Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds, MD, MPH, MS, vice president and chief health equity officer, Indiana University Health; associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and clinical pediatrics, and associate dean for health equity research, Indiana University
- Jing Wang, PhD, MPH, MSN, RN, FAAN, dean and professor, Florida State University College of Nursing
The Emerging Leaders program facilitates opportunities for mentorship, collaboration, and innovation among the participants, NAM members, and experts across sectors. The NAM Emerging Leaders Forum, to be held in Washington, D.C., April 12-13, 2022, will provide an opportunity for the new group of scholars and invited participants to share their activities and insights on cutting-edge developments in a wide range of fields through collaborative work and interdisciplinary discussions among the nation’s evolving leadership in health and medicine.
