Administrators, faculty, staff, and students from the University of California, Riverside, headed to Anaheim from November 6 to 10 for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) annual Learn Serve Lead Meeting.
The meeting, with the theme "From Legacy to Next: Commemorating 150 Years of the AAMC," brought together thousands of leaders in academic medicine for more than 110 sessions on education, research, and care.
A highlight of the five-day conference was the presentation of the 2026 Nickens Scholarship to UCR SOM MS3 Pamela Muñoz. The $5,000 scholarship is presented to five third-year medical students across the country each year for their work to promote quality health care among underserved populations. It is the second year in a row that a UCR student has won the award. Muñoz is pictured at right with Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences and the Mark and Pam Rubin Dean of the School of Medicine Deborah Deas, MD, MPH.
Several members of the SOM community participated in the sessions. These included:
- Deas was a panelist on "Reshaping Research Strategies Amidst Shifting Funding Realities" and "Holistic Approaches to Medical Student Success." Her panel is pictured at the top of the page.
- Katherine Browder, chief of staff and assistant dean of Strategic Initiatives, was a panelist on "Turning Program Assessment into Institutional Impact: Aligning Data, Planning, and Advancement."
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Vladimir Oge with his panelists.
Vladimir Oge, director of Strategic Initiatives, moderated "From Posting to Purpose: Social Media Storytelling Strategies for Academic Medicine." - Joel Purkiss, PhD, associate dean for assessment and evaluation, was a panelist on "Rethinking Assessment and Evaluation Approaches."
- Christina Granillo, PhD, the associate dean for student success, was a panelist on "Holistic Approaches to Medical Student Success."
Further, several posters were presented, including:
- Empowering Your Healthcare Journey: A Student–Community Partnership to Build Patient Self-Advocacy Skills, presented by Daniel Novak, PhD, Adwoa Osei, MD, and Michelle Burroughs, DHA.
- Mapping Medical Student Research: A Social Network Analysis of Medical Student Engagement in Real World Data Research Collaborations, presented by Nidhi Kejriwal, BS, Elisa Vaezazizi, BS, and Daniel Novak, PhD.
