AMA Foundation Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarship
| Issue Date: | December 9, 2022 |
| Applications Due: | February 28, 2023 |
| Scholarship Selection Notification: | By June 2023 |
| Scholarship Amount: | $10,000 |
The AASM Foundation has partnered with the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation to fund a scholarship that is being administered by the AMA Foundation’s Physicians of Tomorrow program. For the 2023 year, four $10,000 scholarships will be provided to medical students who are interested in pursuing a career in sleep medicine, maintains academic excellence and demonstrates a financial need.
For medical students interested in sleep medicine and looking to learn more about the AMA Foundation’s Physicians of Tomorrow scholarship, funded by the AASM Foundation, visit: https://amafoundation.org/programs/scholarships/
Meet the 2023 Scholarship Recipients
Andrew Tubbs
University of Arizona College of Medicine
Andrew Tubbs is an MD/PhD student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. He studies how disrupted sleep and circadian rhythms increase risk for suicide and what interventions can reduce risk. Tubbs plans to complete residency training in psychiatry with subsequent fellowships in child/adolescent psychiatry and sleep medicine. He aspires to leverage sleep and circadian interventions to help patients get on the path to recovery.
“I am incredibly blessed to be selected for this award, and your contribution encourages me to continue my path toward academic medicine. Your financial support helps me to provide for my wife and son, who in turn keep me motivated every day to continue this work. I am humbled to know that there are donors like you who, sight unseen, will take a stake in my career, and this motivates me to provide the best care I can as a physician of tomorrow.”
Dorothy Chan
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Dorothy Chan is a medical student at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She has broad interests including neuroscience and sleep medicine. Chan plans to pursue these areas through a career in emergency medicine, and she hopes to increase access to wellness and preventative health opportunities through education.
“Thank you for your support and belief in me. Donors like you make it possible for me to become a physician who can care for the less fortunate. With your generous support, I am able to decrease the financial burden of loans and focus on my education. Thank you for helping me toward my goal of providing compassionate and equitable care. I hope to support future students in the same way you that you have invested in me.”
Elaine Cheung
California Northstate University College of Medicine
Elaine Cheung is a medical student at California Northstate University College of Medicine. Her interest in medicine with a public health focus started during her undergraduate career, where she majored in neuroscience and was able to conduct research on sleep-wake cycles among gambling disorder patients in residential treatment programs. In medical school, she has continued her research interests to inform clinical medicine and improve community health. Cheung plans to apply for an internal medicine residency position and aims to expand knowledge on sleep hygiene for diverse patient populations.
“I am truly grateful, blessed and honored to be selected as a recipient of this scholarship. Thank you very much for your generosity and supporting my medical school education. I will be a first-generation physician, and I am sincerely appreciative for the community of scholarship donors who have invested in my education. You make a difference. Reflecting on this season, I am reminded that we can continue to inspire and lead others to a positive future despite setbacks and obstacles.”
Jihoon Lim
University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Jihoon Lim is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2018. Prior to medical school, Lim worked as a research assistant at the Initiative for RNA Medicine at Harvard Medical School, where he gained a passion for translational research and novel cancer diagnostic methods. His interests led him to appreciate radiology and its vast implications in patient care. He is excited to apply for a residency spot in a diagnostic radiology program.
“I am immensely grateful for your generous contribution to the AMA Foundation. Your support has not only alleviated my financial burden but also empowered me to further pursue my dream of becoming a physician. This scholarship enables me to focus on my studies and clinical experiences, knowing that I have the backing of donors like you who recognize the value of investing in future health care professionals. Thank you for making a lasting impact on my journey and reaffirming my commitment to making a positive difference in the field of medicine.
Past Scholarship Recipients
Jacob Bentley
University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Jacob Bentley is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Medicine with a passion for research and service that he hopes will continue to shape his career as a physician. He was one of three student presenters nominated for a highly competitive poster presentation award at the 2021 International Association of Medical Science Educators Annual Conference for his research conducted on preclinical opioid and pain management curriculum at UCF Medicine. He has also developed an interest in sleep medicine and is currently working on a device and method for non-pharmacological sleep architecture optimization, which he hopes will have wide-reaching effects. He serves his community as an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and has also volunteered for many years at the St. Thomas Aquinas Medical Clinic, which provides free healthcare to local uninsured individuals. He served as a student ambassador for the Interfaith Youth Core Faith in the Vaccine Project by working with a team to plan and implement accessibility and trust-building projects in local high-need communities to promote the COVD-19 vaccine and combat vaccine hesitancy. He enjoys spending time with his wife, Jessica, and two sons, Taft and Wells.
Thomas Gossard
Creighton University School of Medicine
Thomas Gossard is a fourth-year medical student who is seeking to pursue a career in neurology with particular focus on sleep medicine. His interests include the impact of sleep on normal aging, as well as the role sleep plays in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Thomas has been involved in several research projects involving REM sleep behavior disorder and obstructive sleep apnea at the Mayo Clinic. He is currently completing a research year at the National Institutes of Health as part of the Medical Scholars Research Program. His interests outside of medicine include running, playing basketball and golf, and trying new food.
Marc Perlman
Albany Medical College
Marc Perlman is a fourth-year medical student at Albany Medical College pursuing a career in internal medicine with a focus on the application of lifestyle-based treatment to the prevention and management of chronic disease. His interests include narrative medicine, digital health and functional medicine. Marc recently completed his thesis for his medical degree with distinction in health systems analysis, exploring the implicit biases behind how those with chronic pain make decisions relating to risk and time. In addition, Marc serves as research lead for a health tech startup that provides personalized audio therapy for cancer patients. Outside of the clinic, Marc enjoys writing poetry that celebrates the often-underappreciated aspects of the medical world.
Sophia Schneider
Harvard University Medical School
Sophia is a fourth-year medical student at Harvard Medical School. She attended the University of Colorado Boulder, where her interest in sleep medicine was first cultivated through her involvement in the Sleep and Development Laboratory. She studied sleep and emotion regulation across early childhood and ultimately earned a master’s in integrative physiology. In medical school, Sophia has continued to pursue sleep research by designing an original investigation of chronopharmacology and time-of-day recommendations in outpatient hospital pharmacies. She intends to apply for an internal medicine residency position, through which she aims to expand the application of circadian rhythms in clinical settings with innovative research and education projects—both in academic settings as well as at the patient bedside.
John Feemster
Medical College of Wisconsin
My interest in medicine started during my undergraduate college experience at St. Olaf College where I studied Chemistry. During the summer after my junior year, I was selected to work as a research assistant for the Mayo Clinic Sleep Behavior and Neurophysiology Research Laboratory with my mentor, Dr. Erik St. Louis. Our research involved studying the clinical presentation and prognosis of patients with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. This research opened my eyes to the exciting opportunities within neurology and sleep medicine. After several years of clinical research, I matriculated at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Central Wisconsin campus where I am currently in my final year. Volunteer work and community outreach has been a crucial part of my medical education, which led me to work with our local hospital as a volunteer in the palliative care unit and serve as the medical student representative of the Marathon County Medical Society within the Wisconsin Medical Society. Throughout medical school I have strengthened my interest in neurology and sleep medicine, which has ultimately led me to pursue a neurology residency position in 2022. I am excited for the next steps in my career and thankful for everyone who has helped me get to this point.