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Home : Students & Faculty

Student Organizations

Below is a listing of all of the Pritzker School of Medicine’s student organizations. For questions about funding or administering a student organization, please visit the Dean's Council page.

For a listing of student organization events, please visit our Calendar of Events.

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Adolescent Substance Abuse Program

• The Adolescent Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) is a unique program in which medical students visit local elementary and middle schools to teach 5th-8th graders about the dangerous effect of commonly abused drugs. Anatomy and physiology are used to explain these concepts.

Contacts: Doug Grunwald and Chad Teven

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Heather Fagan, Department of Pediatrics

American Medical Association

• The AMA Medical Student Section (MSS), with nearly 50,000 members, is the largest and most influential organization of medical students in the country.  With Chapters from 141 accredited US allopathic and osteopathic medical schools. The AMA is the largest lobbying group in the country advocating for doctors and patients.  Medical students are represented in the AMA through their own democratic, policy-making body: the American Medical Association-Medical Student Section (AMA-MSS). The AMA-MSS is dedicated to representing medical students, improving medical education, developing leadership, and promoting activism for the health of America. The group strives to be the medical students' leading voice for improving medical education, advancing health care, and advocating for the future of medicine.

Contact: Elliot Arsoniadis (President) , Mark Healy (Vice-President), Aman Luther(Membership Chair)  

Faculty Advisor: Dr. William A. McDade, Department of Anesthesia & Critical Care

American Medical Student’s Association

• The American Medical Student’s Association (AMSA) is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians- in-training in the United States with a membership of nearly 65,000 medical students, premedical students, interns, residents, and practicing physicians from across the country. A progressive organization run for students, by students, AMSA focuses on four strategic priorities: universal access to health care, eliminating health disparities, advocating for diversity in medicine, and transforming the culture of medical education.

Contact: Celine Goetz and Jina Youn

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Shalini Reddy, Department of Medicine

American Medical Women’s Association

• The mission of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) is to foster camaraderie and promote awareness of women’s issues in medicine at Pritzker and beyond. The Pritzker chapter of AMWA encourages female medical students to be open-minded and pro-active during their medical school careers with respect to medically, politically, culturally, and religiously challenged topics. AMWA also endeavors to provide the Pritzker community with in-depth exposure to special issues concerning women’s health.

Contacts: Tashera Perry and Melissa Weston

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Halina Brukner, Department of Medicine

Arts Initiative at Pritzker

• The Arts Initiative at Pritzker (AIP) publishes SENTENCE a yearly magazine of fine art, short stories, poetry, music, plays, and any other type of creative expression.

Contact: Alice Cheng

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Alison Cromwell, Department of Medicine

Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association

• The University of Chicago Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association (APAMSA) seeks to promote health for all Asian and Pacific Islander communities and individuals through community action and health education.

Contacts: Jina Youn and Puneet Singh

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Karen Kim, Department of Medicine

Basic Life Support Program (BLS)

• The Pritzker Basic Life Support (BLS) Program offers a required training program to ensure all medical students are proficient in BLS skills.

Contact: Katie Hekman and Emily Singer

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Shalini Reddy, Department of Medicine

Chicago Youth Programs

• Children Teaching Children works with the health outreach coordinator at Chicago Youth Programs to help high school students develop their own lesson plans to present to younger students. The high school students present on subjects including the environment, violence, substance abuse, puberty amongst other issues. The program gives high school students the chance to practice teaching skills and act as mentors to younger students enrolled in Chicago Youth Programs. Each year a few University of Chicago medical students volunteer 2-3 hours per week to act as mentors to the high school students and help them develop and teach their lesson plans.

Contact: Emily Bethea and Nathan Cardoos

Advisor: Elizabeth Higgins, Chicago Youth Programs

Clinical Ethics Interest Group for Students (CEIGS)

• The purpose of the Clinical Ethics Interest Group is to foster open discussion and interest in the field of clinical ethics by scheduling supplemental lectures and discussion groups. Our goal is to help equip Pritzker students with the skills and experience necessary to appreciate and resolve ethical issues in the practice of medicine.

Contact: Alexander Stark and Colleen Plein

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mark Siegler, Department of Medicine

Community Health Clinic

• The Community Health Clinic is a free medical clinic run in part by medical students from around the city of Chicago. The goal of the Pritzker School of Medicine’s participation in the Community Health Clinic is to serve the community, increase students’ clinical exposure, and provide students experience with a culturally diverse underserved population.

Contacts: Karen Draper and Ravi Sood

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Bernard Ewigman, Chair, Department of Family Medicine

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Interest Group

• The Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Interest Group was created to promote awareness of different complementary and alternative medicine modalities and to provide opportunities for Pritzker students to learn about non-allopathic forms of medicine.

Contact: David Hwang and Laura Kaplan

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Shalini Reddy, Department of Medicine

Dermatology Interest Group

• The mission of the Dermatology Interest Group is to promote interest in dermatology, advise applicants to dermatology, and serve as a liaison between medical students and the dermatology section.

Contact: Francisca Maertens

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sarah Stein, Department of Dermatology

Diabetes Prevention and Management Group

• The purpose of the organization is to reach out to community groups in order to better educated individuals about their diabetic health. The organization provides community screenings and hosts workshops in order to empower people to improve their health.

Contact: Anuradha Phadke and Ibiay Dagogojack

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Roy Weiss, Department of Medicine

Dual-Degree Interest Group

• This group is a resource for student interested in pursuing a dual degree to better understand the benefits and the process involved in obtaining such degrees. The group provides guidance and works closely with other schools on campus to enhance resources.

Contact: John Andrawis

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Shalini Reddy, Department of Medicine

Emergency Medicine Interest Group

• The Emergency Medicine Interest Group (EMIG) focuses on all those who may think a career treating critically emergent illness would be cool. We talk about the benefits of the specialty, the spring elective for first years, do procedure clinics, and hang out with some fun docs. Our slogan is: “Do EM, tell better stories.”

Contacts: Michael King and Kristen Rhee

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Linda Druelinger, Department of Emergency Medicine

Family Medicine Interest Group

• The mission of the Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) is to foster the interests in Family Medicine among the students in the Pritzker School of Medicine. The FMIG introduces the spirit of family medicine to Pritzker students by hosting guest speakers, offering procedure clinics directed to medical students, and sponsoring students to attend the national FMIG conferences.

Contacts: Laura Zhang and Cliff Lin

Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Hickner, Department of Family Medicine

Geriatrics Interest Group

• GIG holds seminars and talks throughout the school year on topics such as palliative care and end-of-life issues. In the past GIG has also provided the opportunity for first-year students to round with attendings.

Contacts: Mechelle Miller and Melissa Fish

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Caroline Harada & Dr. Lisa Vargish, Department of Medicine

Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program

• HPREP members serve as mentors and friends to minority high school students. Over the course of two Saturdays, area students are bused to the University of Chicago campus to participate in a variety of lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities. The goal is to give students insight into the life as a health professional and provide give them the opportunity to connect with medical students.

Contacts: Neha Booshan and Eric Chen

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Monica Vela, Department of Medicine

HIV Intervention and Prevention Corps (HIP Corps)

• HIV Corps works to help reduce the incidence of new HIV infections among underserved youth through the demonstration of an effective, culturally sensitive HIV/ AIDS prevention education and community outreach.

Contacts: Charlotte-Paige Rolle

Faculty Advisor: Dr. William McDade, Department of Anesthesia & Critical Care

Humanism in Medicine

• We, at Humanism in Medicine, work to bring out the parts of medical school that can get buried in the long hours of lecture and studying. Our goal is to emphasize the humanistic parts of medicine: human dignity and respect, our own mental and physical health, obtaining balance, joy, and fun, and finding meaning in our chosen profession.

Contacts: Celine Goetz, Josh Williams, and Andrew Phillips

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mindy Schwartz, Department of Medicine

ImproveHealthCare.org

• ImproveHealthCare is a nation-wise medical school group that hosts case-based discussions about social issues in medicine and health care policy.

Contact: Liz Brown

Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Schumann, Department of Medicine

Internal Medicine Interest Group

• The Internal Medicine Interest Group works to promote internal medicine through speakers and events.

Contact: Asmia Ahmad and Erin Cobain

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Tracie Wilcox, Department of Internal Medicine

International Medicine Group

• The International Medicine Group (IMG) was established as a forum for students interested in international health care issues. In the spring, IMG distributes information about the Keith Edison Scholarship, which helps fund medical students involved in international experiences.

Contacts: Luke Buhrmester

Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Schneider, Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases

Jewish Medical Student Association

• The Jewish Medical Student Association sponsors social events for Jewish medical students, including speakers and seminars on topics involving Judaism and medicine.

Contacts: Aaron Cohn

Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Rubin, Department of Medicine

Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender People in Medicine (LGBTPM)

• The Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender People in Medicine Group offers education to the Pritzker community on GLBT related topics, and provides a social forum for both GLBT and non-GLBT students.

Contact: Chris Rishel and Laura Hodges

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Terry Vanden Hoek, Department of Medicine, Emergency Medicine

Maria Shelter Medical Clinic

• The Maria Shelter Clinic is a free health clinic led and operated by Pritzker students every Wednesday evening at the Maria Shelter, a home for women and their children.

Contacts: Emilie Vander Haar and Melissa Weston

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Andrew Davis, Department of Internal Medicine

Medical Students 4 Choice (MS4C)

• Medical Students for Choice works to increase awareness and educational opportunities for medical students regarding abortion and reproductive health.

Contact: Jennifer Kaiser and Melissa Weston

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Antonia Nicosia, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology

Mental Health Awareness (MHA)

• Our mission is to work with the university community to improve mental health through improved awareness of both the prevalence and causes of mental illness, and of avenues of support, while respecting the rights of every individual to complete confidentiality and equal access to all available resources.

Contact: Erica Aronson and Ken Chiang

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Thomas Kramer, Student Counseling and Resource Service

Military Medicine Interest Group

• The Military Medicine Interest Group will focus on creating a community for future military physicians of all branches as well as physicians at The University of Chicago who were previously in the military. The group will help answer students’ questions about how medicine works within the military framework, and assist with career planning. The group will also provide outreach education by bringing in military speakers to discuss healthcare within the military setting. This is an important topic as many advances in medicine are currently coming from the military sector as a result of the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Contact: Felipe Grimaldo and Mechelle Miller

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Richard Keating, Department of Medicine

Money and Medicine

• We focus on furthering the finance education of students. Surprisingly, little is taught throughout the formal education system about personal finances. With the help of dean’s council funding, we present lunch provided lectures about various personal finance topics: Accouting, Roth IRA’s, Investing, Rent vs. Own, Banking, Credit History, Credit Card Debt.

Contact: Djuro Petkovic and Alex Soneru

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Shalini Reddy, Department of Medicine

Multicultural Committee for Academic Advancement in Medicine

• MCAAM is a vertically layered mentoring network, that connects the resources of the medical school, the hospital and minority student organizations. MCAAM promotes the academic success of minority medical students, undergraduate students, and high school students interested in pursuing a career in medicine.

Faculty Advisors: Dr. Bill McDade and Dr. Monica Vela

New Life Volunteering Society (NLVS)

• NLVS strives to serve those in need through community service, education, and health care with an ultimate goal of achieving peace, love, and happiness amongst the community at the local, regional, national, and global levels.

Contact: Ravi Bamba and Vishal Saxena

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Vinny Arora, Department of Medicine

NNLAMS

The National Network of Latin American Medical Students is a national organization comprised of five regional chapters. The mission of NNLAMS is the following:

1. To unify all Latino medical students into one organization
2. To provide a voice for underrepresented medical students
3. To actively promote recruitment and retention of Latin students at all levels
4. To educate medical students on Latino health issues
5. To advocate for the rights of Latinos in health care
6. To provide leadership opportunities for Latinos
7. To promote volunteerism in the Latino community

Contact: Leonardo Aliaga, Victoria Rodriguez, and Victoria Garza

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Monica Vela, Department of Medicine

Oncology Interest Group

• The Oncology Interest Group aims to increase student awareness about the multidisciplinary aspects of oncology care, build mentoring relationships with faculty, residents, and senior medical students, and provide students a way of exploring career opportunities in oncology. The Oncology Interest Group also seeks to promote advocacy through fundraising for local and national cancer treatment and research efforts.

Contact: Dave Binder

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kevin Roggin, Department of Surgery

Ophthalmology Interest Group

• The Ophthalmology Interest Group aims to help students learn about an ophthalmology residency and its application process, educate members about the vaious fields within ophthalmology, and provide opportunities for students to interact with those in the field through research and clinical shadowing.

Contact: Greg Burrell and Stephanie Albin

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Susan Ksiazek, Department of Opthalmology and Visual Science

Palliative Care Interest Group

• The Palliative Care Interest Group aims to promote awareness of the emotional, medical, legal, and personal aspects of end-of-life care. The group will work with Mitchell, DCAM, and Comer hospital staff to host interactive events and to give back to the community.

Contact: Jonathan Cooper, Melissa Fish, and Jonathan Lee

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stacie Levine, Department of Medicine

Pediatrics Interest Group

Contact: Andy Hong and Jon Hron

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Joel Schwab, Department of Pediatrics

Physicians for a National Health Program

• Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) advocates the establishment of a national healthcare system that will provide medical coverage for all Americans and allow doctors and nurses to focus more on patient care rather than billing and administration. The Pritzker branch of Physicians for a National Health Program will (a) work to promote debate and discussion of the benefits of national health insurance and (b) take an active role in promoting national health care with university groups and organizations around Chicago.

Contact: Zach Rosner

Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Schuman, Department of Medicine

Pritzker Christian Fellowship (PCF)

• The Pritzker Christian Fellowship (PCF) is a nondenominational Christian fellowship in which medical students, physicians, and faculty can gather together to explore how their faith relates to medicine. We seek to live faith-based lives in the medical profession, doing God's will and witnessing for Him.

Contacts: Eric Chen

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kirk Spencer, Department of Medicine

Pritzker Community Services Fellowship (PCSF)

• PCSF goals are to organize didactic sessions exploring issues related to medicine and community service. Have a yearly 1-day retreat for fellows to spend an extended amount of time getting to know each other and sharing resources, and also have outreach events for fellows and physician mentors.

Contact: Faraz Ahmad, Jeffrey Eisen, Christina Jarosch, and Marissa Encinosa

Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Schumann, Department of Medicine

Pritzker Health and Fitness Initiative

• The Pritzker Health and Fitness Initiative group is a source for health and fitness training and education for all individuals associated with the Pritzker community. This group will focus, promote, and encourage fitness and preventative medicine.

Contact: Fabod Rastergar and Charles Umunna

Faculty Advisor: Dr. William McDade, Department of Anesthesia & Critical Care

Pritzker ProLife

Contact: Colleen Dan

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Chris Clardy, Department of Pedicatrics

Psychiatry Interest Group

• The mission of the Psychiatry Interest Group is to promote an enhanced understanding of the career opportunities within the field of psychiatry by providing forums for discussion on both the breath and depth of options available to current psychiatrists.

Contacts: Jeff Eisen

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Royce Lee, Department of Psychiatry

Radiology Interest Group

• The Radiology Interest Group serves as a forum where students can meet with physicians from the University of Chicago and community hospitals to learn more about this dynamic field.

Contacts: Doug Grunwald, Alex Stark, and Dave Binder

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Christopher Strauss, Department of Radiology

REMEDY

• We are a medical student organization at the Pritzker School of Medicine dedicated to relieving the health disparities of developing countries. Our focus is to recover and collect medicine and medical supplies in the US and to distribute these goods to needy populations in lesser developed countries. In doing so we witness the health disparities in these countries, and understand these issues in order to ultimately become health advocates by educating our community.

News: Chicago Chapter Profiled in National REMEDY newsletter

Website: www.remedyuchicago.org

Contact: Leonardo Aliaga, Kirsten Rhee, and Mylene Remo

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Bernard Ewigman, Chair, Department of Family Medicine

Say Ahhhh Acapella

• Pritzker’s acapella singing group.

Contact: Chris Rishel and Sarah Sobotka

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Don Scott, Department of Medicine

Student Interest Group in Neurology (SIGN)

• The Student Interest Group in Neurology aims to increase and support interest in the field of Neurology through panels, lunches, and meetings with faculty.

Contact: Vishal Saxena

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kelly Nicholas, Department of Neurology

Student National Medical Association (SNMA)

• The Student National Medical Association (SNMA) is a national organization committed to supporting current and future underrepresented minority medical students, addressing the needs of underserved communities, and increasing the number of clinically excellent, culturally competent, and socially conscious physicians.

Contact: Rashad Belin and Nathan Tonlaar

Faculty Advisor: Dr. William McDade, Department of Anesthesia & Critical Care

Surgery Interest Group

• Activities of the Surgery Interest Group include monthly educational meetings and workshops, providing MSIs and MSIIs with useful clinical tidbits, providing information on research projects and electives in surgery, and providing career advice and guidance to MSI – MSIVs.

Contact: Adam Back and Aman Luther

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Peter Angelos, Department of Surgery

USMLE Guidance and Support Group

• The USMLE Guidance and Support Group (UGSG) provides students with resources, guidance, and reassurance about the three step medical licensing examination process (the USMLE Steps 1, 2, and 3). UGSG collects subjective student data regarding test preparation and feedback, hosts panel discussions, and is preparing the Pritzker Unofficial Guide to the USMLE.

Contact: Tuan Nguyen and Vishal Saxena

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Halina Brukner, Department of Medicine

Washington Park Free Clinic

• This is a free, walk-in clinic for children which is open every Thursday evening. The clinic is staffed by medical students, volunteer physicians, and students of the School of Social Service Administration. To learn more, please visit the Washington Park Free Clinic website.

Contact: Thomas Lally and Josh Williams

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Joel Schwab, Department of Pediatrics