Meet the 2024-2025 Anti-racism Student Fellows
The mission of the Anti-Racism Student Fellowship is to support and advance the lifelong pursuit of anti-racism, equity, and racial justice as organizing principles of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS).
Anti-racism Student Fellows will work closely with Icahn Mount Sinai leaders across all functional areas of the School of Medicine and the Graduate School, and report directly to the Institute for Equity and Justice in Health Sciences Education.
We are proud to continue this work for the fellowship’s fourth year.
“It is such an inspiration to welcome this year’s cohort of Fellows. Our national and professional landscape continues to become more complex, with new barriers and challenges to this work emerging with worrisome regularity. It is comforting to know that the passion and determination among our students has not waned, and that they stand ready to strengthen and reinforce our efforts for the coming year.”
—David Muller, MD, Director, Institute for Equity and Justice in Health Sciences Education
Meet This Year’s Student Fellows
Allison Choe
Medical Education – M2
Project: Planning for Challenging Norms Conference
What are you looking forward to most about your project?
“I’m looking forward to taking that I learned last year while organizing the Challenging Norms Conference and applying it to this year’s conference to continue improving the experience and educational impact for both guests and presenters. I’m also excited to be able to continue exploring avenues for anti-racism in medical education.”
If you could have a superpower to help you in your future career, what would it be and why?
“I’d like to have the ability to be multiple places at once as my super power. This way I could give my full attention to multiple patients/projects/tasks at once and ultimately make a greater impact on my patients and the field of medicine!”
Bishoy Yacoub
Medical Education – M1
Project: Establishing a Sustainable Connection between Undergraduate PreHealth Student Affinity Groups and the ISMMS
What are you looking forward to most about your project?
“I am looking forward to preserving and strengthening the diversity pipeline here at Sinai. The work that I will be conducting will be multifaceted, engaging, and timely.”
If you could have a superpower to help you in your future career, what would it be and why?
“ If I could have a superpower, it would be clone myself so I can do as much work as possible (or be able to have 40hr days!).”
Chino Nwakama
MD/PhD Candidate
Project: Expanding Access and Mentorship to MD-PhD training
What are you looking forward to most about your project?
“I’m looking forward to finding ways to diversify the MD-PhD pathway and dispel a lot of the fear and confusion associated with pursuing this very niche career.”
If you could have a superpower to help you in your future career, what would it be and why?
“I wish I had a photographic memory so it would be easier to learn difficult medical concepts.”
DeAnalisa Jones
MD/PhD Candidate
Project: Coordinating Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Antiracism (IDEA) Efforts Across Student Groups
What are you looking forward to most about your project?
“I am most excited about facilitating participation in anti-racism work for non-affinity groups. This is a great opportunity to identify allies.”
If you could have a superpower to help you in your future career, what would it be and why?
“If I could have any superpower, it would be omnilingualism. Being able to communicate with my patients in their native language would certainly make me a better doctor.”
Gvantsa Pantsulaia
Graduate Education – GSBS Y2
Project: Implementing a feedback loop mechanism
What are you looking forward to most about your project?
“I am most excited about the opportunity to collaborate with individuals from diverse backgrounds and create spaces for meaningful dialogue and constructive feedback that can drive lasting change among students and faculty.”
If you could have a superpower to help you in your future career, what would it be and why?
“If I could have a superpower, it would be the ability to shrink down to the cellular level and correct abnormalities in real time, enabling me to understand the root causes of diseases and fix them directly. Like Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus, I’d explore cells to gain insights that could revolutionize drug discovery and treatment, creating long-term solutions that benefit not just today’s patients but future generations as well.”
Hope Lefebvre
Medical Education – M2
Project: Assessing Equity-Centered Approach to Graduation Awards Nomination and Selection Process
What are you looking forward to most about your project?
“I am most looking forward to the opportunity to continue my same project from last year! I spent most of last year analyzing the current status and developing recommendations, so it will be exciting to move forward with these ideas and to see how they improve the workflow and equity.”
If you could have a superpower to help you in your future career, what would it be and why?
“If I could have a superpower that would help me in my future career, it would be to have a photographic memory. I would be able to learn much of the information needed to help my patients at a faster pace while still allowing time for projects like these and activities outside of the hospital with family and friends.”
Joan Perez
Medical Education – M2
Project: Collaborating with the Structural Competency Working Group
What are you looking forward to most about your project?
“I’m most looking forward to collaborating with the Structural Competency Working Group to develop and implement educational tools that address systemic inequities at Sinai and in broader healthcare. I’m excited about the opportunity to create structural competency cases that will not only improve the learning experience for medical students but also have a direct impact on how healthcare providers engage with marginalized communities. By addressing these systemic barriers, I hope to create lasting change and promote health equity on a broader scale at Sinai.”
If you could have a superpower to help you in your future career, what would it be and why?
“If I can have any superpower to help my future career as a physician, I would have the ability to be fluent in any language instantaneously. While I thought about having healing powers or the ability to teleport for the sake of being efficient with time and providing pain relief quickly, I realized one of the most overlooked barriers in providing high-quality health care is a lack of clear communication. Some wounds go beyond the physical and having the ability to communicate in someone’s native tongue is one of the most powerful things you can do to providing the best care to every person you meet.”
Mia Peros
Graduate Education – MPH1
Project: GSBS Anti-racist Change Strategy Implementation
What are you looking forward to most about your project?
“I am looking forward to working with likeminded individuals to implement changes that will benefit our Mount Sinai community!”
If you could have a superpower to help you in your future career, what would it be and why?
“If I could have a superpower to help me in my future career I would want to be able to freeze time so that I would have more time to be productive.”
Rachel Kasdin
Medical Education – M3
Project: Accepted “Choose Your Own” Project – Applying Anti-Racist Principles and Practice to the Development of Standards of Professionalism in Medical Education
What are you looking forward to most about your project?
“I am very excited to be part of the Anti-Racism Student Fellowship for my third year in a row, this time working on a different project than before. It will be great to work with new and familiar colleagues, collaborate across departments, and see how we can apply anti-racist principles and practice to the development of standards of professionalism in medical education.”
If you could have a superpower to help you in your future career, what would it be and why?
“If I could have a superpower, it would be being able to learn any language I wanted very quickly! It would be great to be able to interact with patients in their own languages to connect more deeply and care for them more effectively.”
Salwa Najmi
Medical Education – M2
Project: Designing the Advocacy, Social Justice, and Anti-oppression Thread in the Curriculum Redesign
What are you looking forward to most about your project?
“I am looking forward to playing an active role in making our curriculum more inclusive for generations of Sinai students to come!”
If you could have a superpower to help you in your future career, what would it be and why?
“The superpower I would want to help me in my future career would be the ability to fluently speak any language in the world. I would love to connect with folks regardless of their mother tongue without the need for intermediaries.”
Spencer Johnson
Medical Education – M3
Project: Disseminating Equity Audit Protocol
What are you looking forward to most about your project?
“I’m looking forward to working with Dr. Hess and exploring areas and opportunities for student body involvement in our project.”
If you could have a superpower to help you in your future career, what would it be and why?
“I wish I could put my hand on a book and then immediately download all of the knowledge/information from that book.”
Tiffany Bondoc
Graduate Education – MSGC Y1
Project: GSBS Anti-racist Change Strategy Implementation
What are you looking forward to most about your project?
“I am most looking forward to tracking change target outcomes and contributing to a structural and systemic framework that actively addresses racism and bias in education and research, as well as encourages students of diverse backgrounds to flourish at Mount Sinai.”
If you could have a superpower to help you in your future career, what would it be and why?
“If I could have a superpower to help me in my future career, I would choose the ability to speak multiple languages, including ASL. If I could communicate in ways most applicable to patients, I would be able to help bridge the gaps in understanding their health concerns.”
Vineeth Vaidyula
Medical Education – M1
Project: Planning for Challenging Norms Conference
What are you looking forward to most about your project?
“What excites me most about planning the Challenging Norms conference is the chance to bring people together in a space where real change happens. Change becomes powerful when it’s driven by community, and this conference is all about building that—through storytelling, shared experiences, and groundbreaking research. It’s not just about presenting data; it’s about hearing the voices of those who have lived through the challenges of racism in medical education and who are fighting to transform it. I’m looking forward to creating an environment where people can connect, learn from one another, and leave with the skills and inspiration to push for lasting, systemic change.”
If you could have a superpower to help you in your future career, what would it be and why?
“If I could have any superpower to help me in my future career, it would be the ability to speak all languages. Language is more than just communication—it’s a bridge to understanding. As someone deeply committed to working in healthcare, particularly with immigrant and refugee populations, being able to communicate with every patient in their native language would break down so many barriers. It would allow me to provide more compassionate and personalized care, ensure that no one feels misunderstood or left behind, and empower people to advocate for their own health. In a field where trust and clear communication are vital, this superpower would help create stronger, more meaningful connections and improve patient outcomes across diverse communities.”
The Anti-racism Student Fellowship could not be possible without the leadership of Medical Education and Graduate Education, The Institute for Equity and Justice in Health Sciences Education, our project administrators across the School, and the advocacy and dedication of our students.
Please join us in congratulating and welcoming our new cohort of Fellows as they commence their Fellowship and take on a vital role at our school. If you have any questions about the Anti-racism student fellowship, please email jay.johnson@mssm.edu.
