Congratulations 2023 Odland Scholarship Recipients

May 25, 2023

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Congratulations to the ten University of Washington medical students who have been awarded the Odland Scholarship for 2023!

New Odland Scholars

Olga Cherepakhin
Nianiella Dorvall
Maddie Isler
Ezie Nguyen
Hannah Wolf

Continuing Odland Scholars

William French
Amanda Galambas
Ermyas Kahsai
Sarah Smith
Michael Yeradi

Each year, the UW School of Medicine awards Odland Scholarships to five third-year and five fourth-year medical students to honor their academic excellence, extra-curricular service, and promote equity and representation in medicine and dermatology. Many of the third-year recipients are awarded the scholarship for their fourth year as well.

The Odland Scholarship was established through the stewardship of Dr. John Olerud and a gift made by The Herzog Foundation 20 years ago in honor of Dr. George Odland, the first long-term Division Head of the Division of Dermatology, who led the division from 1961-1988. Dr. Odland was a nationally recognized leader in skin biology and oversaw many advancements in Dermatology while head of the Division. Current dermatology faculty members Drs. Nic Compton and Andrea Rea are previous recipients of the Odland Scholarship during their time as UW medical students.

Faculty, staff and trainees from the Division of Dermatology celebrated the accomplishments of this year’s Odland Scholars at a luncheon on Friday, May 26, 2023.

New Odland Scholars

Olga Cherepakhin

Clinical/Research Interests:
I am very passionate about providing accessible care and serving urban low-income communities. My research interests currently include pediatrics, tumorigenesis, health disparities, and the impact of lifestyle and psychosocial factors on health. I am also very interested in the role of technology in healthcare and the potential for telemedicine to provide accessible care to underserved communities.

Career Goals/Plans:
I aspire to have a future as an academic physician where I can pursue both my passion for research and patient care. Within academic settings, I also hope to promote the importance of patient-centered care and respecting personal and cultural identities.

Nianiella Dorvall

Clinical/Research Interests:
I am most interested in providing healthcare to rural populations. I started medical school in hopes of gaining the skills that would allow me to help any individual that I came across.

Career Goals/Plans:
It is my goal to work with underserved populations both locally in the US and overseas. I was born and raised in a medically underserved area in Alaska and understand the importance of providing competent care to these areas. I would also like to become a mentor to individuals from rural areas who choose to pursue medicine to help them navigate the intricacies of medical school.

Maddie Isler

Clinical/Research Interests:
I am passionate about planetary health and the effects of climate change on human health, particularly in underserved populations. My research interest thus far has been focused on the interplay between climate change and inflammatory skin diseases, specifically, regarding alterations in the skin microbiome.

Career Goals/Plans:
I plan on pursuing a career as a dermatologist. As a physician, I hope to cultivate long-term therapeutic connections with my patients while continuing to learn the ever-changing science and art of medicine. I plan on returning to Wyoming to provide care to rural underserved and Native American communities while continuing to strongly advocate for system-level changes in health care as well as promote and implement sustainability practices.

Ezie Nguyen

Clinical/Research Interests:
LGBTQ+ care, global health, HIV, and health systems research with the aim to improve healthcare outcomes for trans and gender-diverse folks

Career Goals/Plans:
I plan on applying to psychiatry residency this upcoming cycle. I envision my career in an urban environment working alongside underserved communities, with an emphasis on LGBTQ+ mental health and addiction.

Hannah Wolf

Clinical/Research Interests:
After rotating on my third-year surgery clerkship, I fell in love with all things vascular! My research interests now center around vascular care and improving patient outcomes. I spent the last year investigating the importance of preoperative vein mapping in regards to hemodialysis outcomes and improving patient care.

Career Goals/Plans:
It is my newfound dream to become a vascular surgeon and to one day be able to provide cutting-edge care to patients who often find themselves otherwise unable to turn to anyone else. After having the opportunities to train at such phenomenal institution, I hope to continue my medical training in residency at an academic center that offers world-class training and values patient care above all else.

Continuing Odland Scholars

William French

Clinical/Research Interests:
I am most interested in perinatal psychiatry, neuropsychiatry and mitigating disparities between rural and urban healthcare. The focus of my research thus far has been on exploring ways in which telemedicine can be more effectively utilized in rural communities to improve healthcare access.

Career Plans/Goals:
I recently matched into the psychiatry residency program at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Over the course of my career, I will continue advocating for expanded educational opportunities for rural students and plan to remain involved in medical education.

Amanda Galambas

Clinical/Research Interests:
My clinical interests include orthopedics, specifically pediatrics and trauma. My research interests include patient safety screening programs and improving efficiency in workflows.

Career Goals/Plans:
I plan to apply to orthopedic surgery residencies this coming year. I aspire to provide thorough, evidence-based, and compassionate care to my patients. I am hopeful that I will one day be able to offer the type of mentorship to other women interested in surgery, as mentorship has played a huge role in my decision to follow my future career path. I am eager to explore academic medicine and would love to be involved in training the generations of doctors that will come after me.

Ermyas Kahsai

Clinical/Research Interests
Orthopaedics, Trauma, biomechanics

Career Plans/Goals:
I plan to apply into a career of surgery, and hopefully work for a hospital that is able to serve a wide variety of community members, including those who are historically underserved. I have been fortunate to have mentors and help guide me to where I am today, so I hope to be able to pay this forward in the future whether it be the new generation of physicians or my future patients.

Sarah Smith

Clinical/Research Interests:
I am passionate about autoimmune processes and the interplay between dermatology and rheumatology, fostering therapeutic relationships between provider and patient, mental wellbeing, and improving healthcare access for marginalized communities.

Career Plans/Goals:
I matched into dermatology residency this spring and look forward to this next step in my training.