With material from the AMA press release
Pritzker is proud to announce that Hasenin Al-khersan, MD’17, and Phillip Hsu, MSTP, received American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation Excellence in Medicine Leadership Awards. The award was given as part of the AMA Foundation Excellence in Medicine Awards program on June 9, 2017, during the AMA Annual meeting in Chicago.
The AMA Foundation’s Excellence in Medicine Awards program recognizes physicians and students who exemplify the highest values of volunteerism, community engagement, leadership and dedication to the care of underserved populations. The Leadership Awards are presented annually to medical students, residents, fellows and early-career physicians who have exhibited outstanding leadership in community service, education, public health or organized medicine. The program provides leadership development training for these recipients to further strengthen their efforts of advancing health care in America.
Dr. Al-khersan recently graduated and will pursue an ophthalmology residency next year at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. He is dedicated to increasing access to medical care and as a medical student was a coordinator at the Washington Park Children's Free Health Clinic and the co-chair of Sight Savers/Ophthalmology Interest Group, organization providing free vision screenings to communities in Chicago. He also served as an advisory board member of the University of Chicago’s Community Service Center and as a peer-elected member of the Pritzker School of Medicine Dean’s Council. Dr. Al-khersan was previously selected as a Max Kade Fellow and as a medical fellow for the Study of Professional Ethics in Auschwitz.
Phillip Hsu is a third-year MD/PhD student pursuing a career as a physician-scientist, hoping to combine research and clinical practice to shape biomedical advances and improve health access for minority populations. He co-founded and co-directs the Bridgeport Free Clinic, a University of Chicago-affiliated and student-run clinic providing free healthcare to the uninsured Asian immigrant population in Chicago’s Bridgeport and Chinatown neighborhoods, which has connected underserved Asian immigrants to a federally qualified health center safety net. His work has been supported by the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship.
The 2017 Excellence in Medicine program is made possible in part through the continued generous support of Pfizer, PhRMA and Novo Nordisk.
Congratulations, Hasenin and Phil!