What is the Social Medicine Fellows Program?
Social medicine seeks to understand and influence the social, political and economic factors that profoundly affect the health of individuals and communities. Up to 90% of health outcomes are determined by social factors. As such, the importance of these factors in shaping the course of illness cannot be overstated. Health disparities are a major public health concern and injustice both in the United States and globally. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s (SOM) Social Medicine Fellows Program (SMFP) was started in 2018 to train medical students for careers as leaders who bridge academic medical institutions and traditionally underserved communities. Medical students selected in their first year partner for the duration of their preclinical medical school training with an underserved community, where they participate in service learning, research and advocacy in accordance with community needs and assets.
Structure
- Based on their top three choices, each fellow is assigned a project and a historically marginalized neighborhood around Pittsburgh.
- Fellows work on a longitudinal project based on community needs and assets with their team members and community mentors.
- Meetings with the community members/mentors and/or directors occur throughout the year.
- Each fellow receives a small stipend to fund their service, research and advocacy.
- All fellows are expected to attend a monthly meeting with the directors to update each other on progress and to brainstorm challenges.
Requirements
- Applications are due beginning mid-September. Please refer to email announcement for exact date.
- Applicants must have demonstrated academic excellence for selection into SMFP.
- A 500-word essay describing the applicant’s interest in the program, commitment to participation for three years, and goals to be realized during that period must accompany the application.
- CV
Selection of the Social Medicine Fellows
- Each applicant is interviewed by a group of current fellows and by a community or faculty member on the advisory board.
- The directors will announce the fellowship recipients by the end of September each year.
Neighborhoods and Committees
Neighborhood
- Braddock Youth Project
- monthly healthy cooking and food science programming
- Akoma United
- CPR Certification Class
Braddock
- South Hills Interfaith Movement
- Casa San José
South Hills
- Healthy Learning Village Institute
- International Women’s Day
- Health Talks
- Hemorrhage Control Event
McKeesport
- Oasis Farm
- Senior Housing programming
- Community Engagement Center
Homewood
- Pitt Science in the Park
- Hazelwood Family Health Center
- Dixon Innovation Center
Hazelwood
- Youth Sports at the Hill
- Mini Medic talks
Hill District
Committees
- Neighborhood Walk
- Social medicine Lecture Series
Medical Education Committee
- Health education talks
- Peripartum pantry project
- Maya Organization
Black Birthing Bridges
- Newsletter and Instagram Advocacy lunch series
Advocacy
- Asylum evaluation
- Medical Justice Alliance
Human Rights Clinic
- Calls to schedule appointments and reminders on vaccine and wellness check Phone-a-thon
CATCH
Student Roles and Responsibilities
Social Medicine Fellows Program Advisory Board
Thuy Bui, MD
Director, Social Medicine Fellows Program
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Yui Sugiura, DO, MPH
Codirector, Social Medicine Fellows Program
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh Representatives
Chenits Pettigrew, EdD
Associate Dean for Student Engagement and Enrichment
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Abbas Hyderi, MD, MPH
Vice Dean for Education
Professor of Family Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Potential Faculty Research Mentors (among others)
Elizabeth Miller, MD, PhD
Sonya Borrero, MD, MS
Judy Chang, MD, MPH
Leslie Hausmann, PhD, CHERP/VA
Jennifer Baldwin, MD, MPH, MA
Marsha Ritter Jones, MD, PhD
Jared Magnani, MD
Eloho Ufomata, MD, MS
Martha Terry, PhD
John Maier, PhD, MD
Community Faculty and Mentors
Michael Yonas, DrPH
Theresa Chalich, RN
Stuart Fish, CRNP
Felicia Savage Friedman, MEd
Maureen Anderson, EdD
A special thank you to the students and former vice dean who started and supported SMFP.
Alyssa Bruehlman
Claire Paduano
Collin Schenk
Breonna Slocum
Ann Thompson, MD, MCCM
Former Vice Dean
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Social Medicine Fellows Class of 2028
Natalie Bloss
Natalie Bloss is from Saugatuck, Michigan, and studied international affairs as an undergraduate. Before coming to the Pitt School of Medicine, she spent a couple of gap years as an MA and research coordinator.
Sadhana Bom
Sadhana Bom is from Nepal and completed a master’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at Johns Hopkins. She is interested in cancer immunology and hopes to pursue a career in oncology.
Elijah Brown
Elijah Brown, a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, is passionate about how nature, personal identity and systemic biology intersect to shape human health. He plans to become a physician who can blend scientific precision with compassionate, community-focused care.
Annaliese Calzadilla
Annaliese Calzadilla is committed to advancing child health through a social medicine lens. She is passionate about working alongside underserved communities to address the social and structural factors that shape pediatric health outcomes. Guided by principles of equity and community partnership, she strives to combine compassionate, evidence-based care with advocacy and service to reduce health disparities for children and their families.
Elizabeth Dakan
Elizabeth Dakan is from Pennsylvania and completed her undergraduate studies at Penn State. She is passionate about reproductive justice and LGBTQ+ health, and plans to pursue a career in obstetrics and gynecology. She spent the year creating a weeklong curriculum on medical advocacy and writing for Pitt School of Medicine students and working with local organizations in McKeesport on health education.
Dynasti deGouville
Dynasti deGouville is from Atlanta, Georgia, and completed a bachelor’s degree in human health/women’s studies at Emory University. She has dedicated her work to women’s health care, and has spent many years conducting research on contraceptive use and volunteering as a birthing doula. She hopes to pursue a career in maternal-fetal medicine.
Ronit Deshpande
Ronit Deshpande is from New Jersey and studied neuroscience as an undergraduate, with minors in political science and global health. He spent one year working at Second Avenue Commons, a shelter for people experiencing homelessness. His interests include street medicine, addiction medicine, pediatrics and emergency medicine.
Neha Devineni
Neha Devineni is from Atlanta, Georgia, and holds an undergraduate degree in sociology from the University of Pittsburgh. She is committed to providing compassionate, patient-centered care and is dedicated to addressing and dismantling systemic barriers that disproportionately affect underserved communities, domestically and internationally.
Kiana Hacker
Kiana Hacker is from San Bernardino, California, and is an MD-PhD student who conducts research on the impact of structural racism on psychiatric and gynecologic health outcomes. Trained at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, she brings experience in EEG research, addiction science, and qualitative and quantitative health equity-focused epidemiological studies. She is committed to community advocacy, and outside of work, she loves to dance and talk about food.
Sridula Kallakuri
Sridula Kallakuri is from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and studied neuroscience and Spanish at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to starting medical school, she served as a community health worker at a family medicine clinic in Southeast Michigan and is passionate about expanding access to health care for underinsured and uninsured mothers. In her free time, she enjoys embroidery, visiting coffee shops and reading mystery novels.
Divya Katti
Divya Katti is from Germantown, Maryland, and studied neurobiology and human development at the University of Maryland. After graduation, she completed an AmeriCorps program in Philadelphia and served on a street medicine team there. She is passionate about equity in reproductive health, working with people experiencing homelessness and all things related to indie and rock music.
Devante Kerr
Devante Kerr is from Jamaica, Queens, New York, and studied biology as an undergraduate at Howard University. He spent two years working at Children’s National Hospital on Angelman syndrome research in a mouse model and hopes to pursue a career as a physician-scientist in neuroscience.
Allen Kim
Allen Kim is from Los Angeles, California, and studied history at both the undergraduate and doctoral levels. He has taught and served as an EMT, and he hopes to pursue an emergency medicine career in the public hospital system.
Coley Lameman
Coley Lameman is from the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona and completed her BS in biochemistry at Arizona State University. She spent two years working as a research fellow in the Obesity and Diabetes Clinical Research Section at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. She is passionate about health literacy, health advocacy and public health research.
Amal Saeed
Amal Saeed is from Allentown, Pennsylvania, studied molecular biology as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh and completed a Master of Public Health degree at Drexel University. She served as an AmeriCorps member in Philadelphia, where she connected older adults with community resources, and is passionate about addressing health inequities and promoting community well-being.
Aneri Tanna
Aneri Tanna is from Phoenix, Arizona, and completed her undergraduate education at Duke University, earning degrees in global health and cultural anthropology. She spent four years working with underserved communities in Durham, North Carolina, and conducting research on health disparities in the Latinx immigrant community. She hopes to pursue her passion for health equity work throughout her medical career.
Joanna Yao
Joanna Yao is from New Jersey and studied biological sciences as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh. She spent her time with the Social Medicine Fellows working with the Human Rights Clinic and Homewood.
Joseph Yap
Joseph Yap is from Queens, New York, and completed his undergraduate degree in human physiology at Boston University. Having grown up cooking in his family’s Chinese restaurant, he has developed a strong passion for food security and immigrant health, and hopes to pursue a career in advocacy and rehabilitative medicine.