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Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
Peppar is an MD/PhD student in her clinical years at Washington University in St. Louis. She has been involved in a variety of efforts to improve disability inclusion in medical education for several years, including getting disability content into curricula, supporting disabled students and trainees, and teaching about ableism in medical spaces.
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University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine
Nora is a medical student at the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine, Class of 2025, in a track focusing on leadership, healthcare systems and values-based patient-centered care. Her scholarly work, within MSDCI and beyond, focuses on the inclusion of students with disability and chronic illness in undergraduate medical education and development of disability-focused curricular interventions in medical education.
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University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Ifeoma Ikedionwu is a medical student at the University of Chicago interested in advancing disability justice, mental health destigmatization, and racial/socioeconomic equity. She intentionally works from the perspective of how systemic factors impact these passions and is excited to continue working on a national scale to advance disability in medicine.
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Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Jessica, a third-year medical student at Penn, has a longstanding passion for disability advocacy and health equity informed by her own experience. She is a proud founder of disability affinity organizations at Penn Med as well as Dartmouth College, her undergraduate institution. Jessica is also one of the creators of Penn’s inaugural Disability Health Equity and Advocacy elective, which recently won an Equity Initiative Award from Penn’s Center for Health Equity and was featured in the northeast student affairs meeting of the AAMC. With a strong interest in medical education, pediatrics, and emergency medicine, Jessica envisions a career focused on improving the accessibility of medicine for patients and students alike.
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Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University
Victoria is a rising fourth year medical student at Brown, who is currently on a research year. Her passion for disability advocacy is fueled largely by her own lived experience with chronic illness. She is a firm advocate for the increased inclusion of students with disabilities and chronic illnesses in medicine, who she believes have a unique and empathic perspective that contributes to better patient care. In her role as the Vice Director of Community Outreach, she is excited to broaden MSDCI’s reach and connect like-minded students across the country.
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Pritzker School of Medicine at University of Chicago
Allison is a third-year medical student at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. She is originally from California, where she attended Pomona College. She is a proud member and previous leader of Pritzker Alliance on Disability where she put forth many disability-inclusivity initiatives. She is excited for the opportunity to increase medical education accessibility and to support medical students with chronic conditions and/or disabilities on a national scale.
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University of California Riverside School of Medicine
Helen, a third-year medical student at UC Riverside School of Medicine, draws her passion for disability advocacy from her personal journey with a rare, congenital chronic illness. She is committed to improving disability representation in medical education and improving healthcare accessibility for both patients and providers through inclusive practices. With a strong interest in pediatrics, Helen hopes to dedicate her career to fostering health equity and empowering young adults with disabilities to discover and pursue their own passions.
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University of Michigan Medical School
Blake Hardin, a second year medical student at University of Michigan Medical School, draws his passion for disability advocacy from his experience growing up with a chronic illness and spending much of his childhood in the hospital. He has been heavily involved with disability advocacy and education throughout undergrad and medical school, pushing to create welcoming and inclusive spaces for students with disabilities and chronic illnesses. He is also a member of the DocsWithDisabilities lab, working to contribute to research that can help reduce barriers to education for medical students with disabilities. He is committed to using the intersection between disability advocacy and interprofessional education to improve healthcare for patients with disabilities and chronic illnesses.
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Buffalo
Kelsey is a medical student studying in Buffalo, NY. Her passion for disability justice stems from her personal experiences with multiple disabilities as well as her family’s experiences with chronic conditions. She is committed to reducing ableism in medical education by improving access to accommodations and advocating for curriculum reform. She has worked tirelessly over the past year to create a national MSDCI mentorship program for pre-med and medical students. The program aims to increase diversity in medicine by providing better support for individuals with disabilities and chronic illnesses throughout their academic journey. As Vice Director of Mentorship, Kelsey looks forward to continuing to expand the program.
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University of Colorado School of Medicine
Lígia is a third-year research-track medical student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Before research and medicine, she studied applied theatre and neuroscience. She is an aspiring child abuse pediatrician; she is, most of all, incredibly passionate about never leaving anyone behind.
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Harvard Medical School
Kiki is a first year medical student and disability advocate at Harvard Medical School. As co-founder of her undergraduate institution’s disability affinity group, Georgetown Disability Alliance, she is passionate about disability community-building, particularly in the medical space. Kiki is dedicated to empowering and centering disabled voices to enact change, fostering disability health equity through community and policy initiatives, and increasing the accessibility of medicine and healthcare for patients and providers alike.
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Stanford University School of Medicine
Melissa Leeolou is a medical and graduate student at Stanford University. She is committed to advancing diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in healthcare and hopes to further MSDCI’s mission through advocacy and mentorship.
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University of Illinois College of Medicine (Chicago)
Kimberly is a medical student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has been involved in rare disease advocacy since high school and hopes to bring this experience to the disability space. She is particularly interested in advocating for individuals struggling with hearing disabilities and chronic pain. She hopes to make medical education more inclusive of students with chronic illnesses and disabilities so that future patients can benefit from their unique experiences and perspectives.
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Rush Medical College
Dahlia is a first-year medical student at Rush Medical College in Chicago. She is passionate about advocacy in healthcare. Although new to the disability/chronic illness sphere, she is interested in equitable health for all, including current and future medical providers. She is passionate about allowing every medical student the ability to reach their true potential as a medical provider to serve their patients better. As Vice Director of Policy, she hopes to advocate for better protections for equity for our students with disabilities or chronic illnesses.
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John A. Burns School of Medicine at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Lauren is a third year medical student at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Lauren’s path into medicine was shaped by her own experience with a disability as well as her allyship with other disabled people she has met along her journey. She is passionate about empowering others through her work on policy and medical education. Lauren is ecstatic to serve as the Director of Policy.
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New York Medical College
Alexandra is a third year medical student at New York Medical College who played an integral role in reviving her school’s student disability organization and serves on its executive board. She is currently involved in disability education initiatives at her school as well as research that aims to assess the impact of such education. Alexandra believes that the underrepresentation of disability and chronic illness in the physician population is among the most pressing issues that presently exist in medicine. She feels privileged to play a role in addressing this issue by maintaining an accessible website from which visitors can learn about supportive resources and grow our community.
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University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Sophie is an MD-PhD student at University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. She is originally from Northern Indiana, but attended University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for her undergraduate education. Her path toward an MD-PhD has been shaped by the drive to research and apply new knowledge to help others, like her, with chronic illness. She is passionate about providing access to knowledge and resources and has been working to share this kind of information since high school. She is excited to continue this goal as Director of Communications.
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University of Illinois at Chicago
Zoey is a PhD Candidate in cultural anthropology and an MS Epidemiology student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her dissertation explores the advocacy, educational, and community-building work of disabled medical students and doctors who are pushing for greater disability inclusivity in biomedicine. This ethnographic research is multi-sited across social and digital media (e.g. Twitter and #MedTwitter, podcasts, and video or voice conferencing) and the physical world, and thus inquires into the nexus of online and offline medical culture and knowledge production. Previously, Zoey lived and did research in India, looking at mental health among queer communities there—in part thanks to a Fulbright-Nehru Student Research grant. Zoey is also the co-host, curator, and writer of the Docs With Disabilities Initiative Research & Resource Rounds mini-cast, a podcast that summarizes and discusses current literature on disability inclusion in medicine.
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Stanford University School of Medicine
Amy Bugwadia is a third-year medical student at Stanford. Having lived with a chronic illness since age ten, Amy is passionate about centering patients’ intersectional perspectives in medicine, from research to medical education. Her lived experiences inspired her to study Political Science and Disability Studies as an undergraduate at UCLA and Community Health and Prevention Research as a Master’s student at Stanford. As part of the MSDCI National Team , she can’t wait to provide a safe space for students with disabilities who are pursuing medicine to explore all their identities, authentically show up in the world, and navigate their journeys through medicine together.
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Pritzker School of Medicine at University of Chicago
Tiffany Xie is a fourth-year medical student from Indiana whose interest in disability advocacy grew from her experiences as an educator and work in health equity. She aims to work with MSDCI to create collaborative learning spaces, increase the visibility of disability narratives, and promote accessibility in medical education.
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Tulane University School of Medicine
Sanjana is a first-year medical student at Tulane University School of Medicine. Her passion for disability health advocacy stems from her familial experiences with disability. After she completed her undergraduate degree in Biology at Boston College, she was an MDisability Intern at the University of Michigan and later worked at UM Department of Family Medicine doing disability health & wellness research. Her experiences working with patients with disabilities fueled her passion for accessibility and disability health advocacy. Sanjana is dedicated to fostering inclusive healthcare environments and championing policy initiatives that prioritize the needs of individuals with disabilities, ensuring equitable access to quality healthcare for all. She is excited to serve as a Vice Director of Education and work toward incorporating disability health into medical school curricula.
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University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Anika is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Connecticut who is deeply passionate about disability advocacy. Her personal connection motivates her to increase awareness about chronic illness and disability and improve accessibility within healthcare. As a Vice Director of Education, Anika is committed to fostering inclusive and equitable medical education initiatives.
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Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine
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USF Health Morsani College of Medicine
Aishwarya is a third-year medical student at USF. They aspire to be a pediatrician to support children through their physical and mental health challenges. Through their own struggles with depression, anxiety, and abuse, they hope to ensure better lives for future patients through active interventions. Aishwarya strives to improve mental health resources for medical students and physicians through their work with MSDCI.
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University of Illinois College of Medicine (Chicago)
Kimberly is a medical student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has been involved in rare disease advocacy since high school and hopes to bring this experience to the disability space. She is particularly interested in advocating for individuals struggling with hearing disabilities and chronic pain. She hopes to make medical education more inclusive of students with chronic illnesses and disabilities so that future patients can benefit from their unique experiences and perspectives.
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Rush Medical College
Dahlia is a first-year medical student at Rush Medical College in Chicago. She is passionate about advocacy in healthcare. Although new to the disability/chronic illness sphere, she is interested in equitable health for all, including current and future medical providers. She is passionate about allowing every medical student the ability to reach their true potential as a medical provider to serve their patients better. As Vice Director of Policy, she hopes to advocate for better protections for equity for our students with disabilities or chronic illnesses.
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John A. Burns School of Medicine at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Lauren is a third year medical student at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Lauren’s path into medicine was shaped by her own experience with a disability as well as her allyship with other disabled people she has met along her journey. She is passionate about empowering others through her work on policy and medical education. Lauren is ecstatic to serve as the Director of Policy.
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Stanford University School of Medicine
Aidan Tousley is an MD-PhD student at Stanford University. After being diagnosed with an incurable disease in 5th grade, he has pursued several opportunities to help others who struggle with chronic conditions. For example, Aidan has experience working as an educational therapist to help youth with learning disabilities succeed in school and performing cutting-edge synthetic biology research to develop safer, targeted therapies. In his role at MSDCI, Aidan aims to fight for greater representation and awareness of the disabled community in medicine.
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Yale School of Medicine
Mytien Nguyen is an MD/PhD student at the Yale School of Medicine. Mytien earned her undergraduate and graduate degree from Cornell University. Her work centers on eliminating barriers that prevent students from marginalized backgrounds from pursuing a career in medicine.
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Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
Ari is a rising fourth year medical student at Sidney Kimmel Medical College. He is excited to advocate for his fellow medical students and is thrilled to help fulfill MSDCI’s mission to change the dialogue regarding disability in medicine. He is also looking forward to shaping the inner workings of MSDCI as the inaugural Vice Director of Finance. Ari hopes to utilize what he learns from his work with MSDCI to better advocate on behalf of his patients as a child psychiatrist.
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Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
Zak is a fourth-year medical student driven by a sense of duty and passion to support his peers with chronic illnesses and disabilities. His own experiences with rare congenital orthopedic and vascular medical conditions have profoundly shaped his journey both before and during medical school. In his role as Director of Strategy and Sustainability for MSDCI, he is eager to contribute to promoting long-term disability inclusion and representation within healthcare, leaving a lasting impact even beyond his own graduation.
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University of Toronto
Catherine is an Epidemiology PhD student at the University of Toronto. Her doctoral work is focused on the development of rare disease patient registries through patient partnership. She serves on the International Society for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine’s Task Force on Physical Activity for People with Disabilities and as Vice President and Research Chair of the Moyamoya Foundation. She is very excited to be part of the MSDCI team and to help facilitate the organization’s research endeavors.
