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.
Click here to see a listing of student groups that are currently inactive.
ASAP is an interactive substance abuse prevention program in which University of Chicago medical students visit local middle schools and teach 6th-8th graders about the consequences of using drugs. Teaching with healthy and diseased organ specimens, the program leaders use the natural curiosity of the students to shape small group discussion concerning drugs, the human body, and the effects of drugs on the students' minds, bodies, and life goals. Ultimately, the program aims to empower youth to make healthier life choices regarding drugs and alcohol.
Contacts: Alex Rains and Tony Dagher
Faculty Advisor: Jon Grant, JD, MD, MPH, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience
The mission of American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Medical Student Chapter is to provide early support and leadership training to medical students exploring a career in neurosurgery. AANS Medical Student Chapters will provide a forum for students to organize professional, educational, and research activities within individual programs, promote mentorship, and facilitate participating at a national level for the next generation of neurosurgical leaders.
Contacts: Sharbel Romanos, Je Yeong Sone, Riley Driscoll, and Abhinav Srinath
Faculty Advisor: Paramita, Das, MD, MS, Department of Surgery
To introduce and expose 1st and 2nd year medical students to Anesthesiology, and to create a student network and provide mentoring for those pursuing Anesthesiology.
Contacts: Esther Wang
Faculty Advisor: David Glick, MD, Biological Sciences Division, Anesthesia and Critical Care
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: Allie Yan and Jason Xiao
Faculty Advisor: Karen Kim, MD, Department of Medicine
The Pritzker Basic Life Support (BLS) Program offers a required training program to ensure all medical students are proficient in BLS skills.
Contact: Zachary Newman
To organize group bike rides to various brunch spots around Chicago, and provide practical bike maintenance training to medical students.
Contact: Kristen Chalmers and Jordan Millhollin
Faculty Advisor: David Beiser, MD, Emergency Medicine
In 2005, the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Board published a white paper describing the core competencies of biomedical informatics graduate training. Since then, the field of biomedical informatics has continued to formalize: ACGME subspecialty certifications in clinical informatics are now available, Masters programs are increasing in number, and medical schools are beginning to integrate informatics into their formal curriculum. Our mission as the Biomedical Informatics Interest Group is to foster discussion of biomedical informatics concepts, to expose medical students to this budding field, and to encourage medical trainees to pursue research opportunities and formal education in the arena.
Contact: Yash Wani and Liam Spurr
Faculty Advisor: Samuel Volchenboum, MD, Department of Pediatrics
The mission of the Bridgeport Free Clinic (BFC) is to make healthcare more accessible for underserved residents of the Bridgeport community, with a focus on the Asian and Asian-American population. The clinic focuses on screening and urgent care for conditions that affect Asian patients more commonly, including hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, Hepatitis B, liver disease, and smoking. In addition, the clinic helps enroll patients in insurance plans through navigators for the Affordable Care Act, and refers patients to nearby Federally Qualified Health Centers for comprehensive primary care services. Interpretive services in Cantonese, Mandarin, and Spanish are available for all clinic patients.
Contact: Grace Duan and Anthony Hung
Faculty Advisor: Karen Kim, MD, Department of Medicine
The Bucksbaum Interest Group (BIG) is focused on creating opportunities for students to participate in Bucksbaum Institute programs in order to foster greater understanding of the doctor-patient relationship. BIG will bring medical students in closer contact with the hundreds of Junior and Senior Bucksbaum Institute Faculty Scholars for mentoring, research and educational opportunities that elevate interest and promote improvements in the relationship patients have with their physician.
The Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence was created to improve patient care, to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship, to enhance communication and decision-making through research and education programs for medical students, junior faculty and master clinicians, and to reduce healthcare disparities.
Recognizing broader student interest in the Bucksbaum Institute, outside of the Bucksbaum medical student scholars, BIG will provide a forum for the Bucksbaum Institute Student Scholars to engage the Pritzker student body in the Bucksbaum Institute mission.
Contact: Kristen Chalmers
Faculty Advisor: Mark Siegler, MD, Department of Medicine
The Business in Medicine Interest Group will provide students with an exposure to the business side of medicine, aiming to provide inspiration for further pursuit of business educations. BMIG believes that physicians with added business knowledge will be more equipped to handle economic issues surrounding the healthcare industry. Ultimately, BMIG would like to provide interested students with ample opportunities to explore their business interests in an open, friendly arena of thought and discussion with peers, faculty mentors, and guest speakers.
Contact: Yash Wani, Isaiah Selkridge, and Armaan Singh
Faculty Advisor: Mohammed Minhaj, MD, MBA, Department of Anesthesia & Critica Care
Our mission is to foster collaboration among medical student-run free clinics across Chicagoland to enhance the quality of care for our patients by promoting best practices, sharing resources, and building community.
Contact: Jordan Millhollin
Faculty Advisor: Jim Woodruff, MD, Pritzker Student Affairs and Programs
The UChicago chapter of CHHRGE is part of a network of shelters, living facilities, hospitals, city agencies, and other groups currently dedicated to reducing the spread of COVID among homeless residents on the west side, and with participation, the South Side of Chicago.
Contact: Nikhil Umesh, Ashley Diaz, and Marissa Korte
Faculty Advisor: Scott Hunter, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience
To provide patients at the clinic with high quality care and to ensure positive learning experiences for students and teaching experiences for residents and attendings. We also strive to work with the CommunityHealth administration to improve UofC’s clinic. This past year, we were part of CHC’s successful implementation of a new electronic medical record system and transition to a continuity-model of care, including assuming responsibility for reviewing patient labs. We successfully increased physician recruitment and decreased patient wait times. This year, we hope to increase student and attending proficiency with EMR, further increase physician recruitment, and establish a streamlined approach to using the system that further cuts patient wait times. In addition, all new board members are setting individual goals in their committee areas (e.g., fund raising or education).
Contacts: Gabriela Betancourt and David Velasquez
Faculty Advisor: Rita Rossi-Foulkes, FAAP, FACP, MD, MS, Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
Co-Faculty Advisor: William Parker, MD, Department of Medicine Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care
We want to educate fellow students at Pritzker of the opportunities and benefits of the field of Dermatology. This includes the research and clinical opportunities, how to get into the field, and provide access to Dermatologists. We hope to bring in fourth years, residents, interns and Dermatologists to explain what Dermatology is and if it is a good fit for the student.
Contact: Hannah Carr, Grace Duan, and Rohey Jah
Faculty Advisor: Angad Chadha, MD, Department of Medicine
The purpose of this organization shall be to provide community based glucose and blood pressure screenings. Provisions to expand our services will be up to the discretion of the board and the needs of the community. We shall follow our community based screenings with community based diabetes and health related education programming in order to expand the knowledge base of the community as well as to empower individuals to take charge of their own health.
Contact: Allie Yan and Jared Lassner
Faculty Advisor: Deborah Burnet, MD, MA, Department of Medicine
Doctors for America at Pritzker aims to close the gap between clinical medicine and public health advocacy by empowering medical students and physicians to move the needle on key political, social, and economic issues that impact the health of our patients, communities, and city.
Contacts: Alexis Cacioppo
Faculty Advisor: Ram Krishnamoorthi, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine
Docs and Debate aims to promote awareness of societal topics outside of medicine and to sustain open, respectful dialogue among our diverse student body. Docs and Debates believes that being aware of current events domestically and abroad are part of being an active and engaged citizen. We strive to be a forum where students are able to discuss their inquiries about areas they are interested in advocating for. Through these discussions where fellow classmates share their perspectives and life experiences, Docs and Debates will be a space where students will find value in listening to different opinions and find common ground to work with peers on impacting change in the topics we discuss.
Contacts: Jordan Millhollin
Faculty Advisor: Jason Alexander, MD, Department of Medicine
The Emergency Medicine Interest Group (EMIG) seeks to spread information among students interested in the field of emergency medicine. We organize procedure workshops and simulation experiences as well as lectures by and discussions with EM physicians. In addition, we encourage students to take advantage of shadowing opportunities in the Mitchell ER.
Contacts: Kristen Chalmers, Ashley Diaz, Symphony Fletcher, and Emily Feuka
Faculty Advisor: Keme Carter, MD, Department of Medicine
The ENT interest group serves to introduce Pritzker students to the medical specialty of Otolaryngology or Ear Nose and Throat (ENT). We strive to expose students to the specialty through events and networking opportunities with the ENT faculty here at UChicago.
To learn more click here: https://voices.uchicago.edu/ent/
Contacts: Leena Penumalee, Murrie Affini, Esther Wang, Ashley Diaz
Faculty Advisor: Fuad Baroody, MD, Department of Medicine
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: Anya Agrawal and Marco Rivas
Faculty Advisor: Sonia Oyola, MD, Department of Family Medicine
Address food insecurity and UChicago Medicine via food pantry interventions.
Contact: Matthew Ji
Faculty Advisor: Meryl Davis, DO, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
FLIP is a student organization that aims to provide social and financial support for Pritzker medical students who come from low-income and/or first-generation backgrounds. Our goal is to create a space where community and mentorship are fueled by the shared experiences of students who face similar hardships due to their socioeconomic backgrounds. We hope to promote socioeconomic diversification at Pritzker.
Contact: Marco Rivas
Faculty Advisor: Wei Wei Lee, MD, Department of Medicine
The purpose of this organization is to provide Pritzker students interested in geriatrics with opportunities to learn more about the field and explore career options. This includes connecting students with geriatrics faculty and sharing information related to the care of elderly populations.
Contacts: Meera Sakthivel
Faculty Advisor: Tia Kostas, MD, Department of Family Medicine
To expose Pritzker medical students to the increasing presence of genetics in medicine and to connect students to a network of mentors who incorporate genetics into their research and clinical practice.
Contacts: Rachel Son
Faculty Advisor: Darrel Waggoner, MD, Department of Genetics
To educate, inspire, and unite students through engagement and mentor ship in global surgery, including anesthesia & OB/Gyn.
Contact: Contact: Bryce Hendren-Santiago, Maria Paz, Rohey Jah, and Sabrina Wang
Faculty Advisor: James Michael Millis, MD, Department of Surgery
The purpose of this organization shall be to provide undergraduate and medical students an opportunity to serve as mentors and friends to minority high school students who are underrepresented in medicine. The definition of minorities who are underrepresented in medicine as defined by the American Association of Medical Colleges is: ‘Underrepresented in medicine means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population.’ These high school students come from high schools throughout the area to the University of Chicago campus once a month where they participate in a variety of lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities with the goal of giving insight into the life as a health professional as well as an opportunity to connect with medical students and physicians.
Contacts: Bryce Hendren-Santiago and Isaiah Selkridge
Faculty Advisor: Monica Vela, MD, Department of Medicine
The purpose of HOPS is to provide fun, hands-on opportunities for students to learn the unique art, science and skill of home brewing (making beer at home). Through lessons and brewing sessions the group explores teh steps of the brewing process from grain to glass, as well as the biological, chemical, and physical transformations that occur along the way. We hope to share our passion for this 4,000 year old hobby adn cultivate an appreciation for craft beer.'
Contacts: Bryce Hendren-Santiago, Madison Weigand, and Henry Liedl
Faculty Advisor: Kyle Hogarth, MD, Department of Biological Sciences Division, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
The goals are to harness interest in Internal Medicine amongst medical students at Pritzker, promote the field, and facilitate interactions between interested students and faculty within internal medicine and sub-specialties.
Contacts: Frazer Tessema, Celyn Bregio, and Nikhil Umesh
Faculty Advisor: Irsk Anderson, MD, Department of Medicine and Shannon Martin, MD, Department of Medicine
Increase the awareness of International issues in health and medicine and encourage a critical look at the current global health sphere.
Contact: Abigail Sneider and Stratton Tolmie
Faculty Advisor: Stephen Schrantz, MD, Department of Medicine & Pediatrics
The Jewish Medical Student Association sponsors social and educational events including speakers and seminars on topics involving Judaism and medicine for Jewish medical students and others who are interested in learning about Judaism.
Contacts: Madison Weigand and Abigail Sneider
Faulty Advisor: Louis Philipson, MD, PhD, Department of Medicine
JOURNEES seeks to expose medical students to the health care needs of diverse patient populations beyond that of the University of Chicago Medical Center. Through direct service-learning experiences, we hope to gain awareness of the social determinants of diminished health conditions in underserved areas and to assist community organizations working to alleviate poor health outcomes throughout the country.
Contacts: Hannah Carr and Dan Dolan
Faculty Advisor: Sonia Oyola, MD, Department of Family Medicine
We aim to increase awareness and understanding of health disparities and inequities for communities affected by incarceration. We will provide students opportunities to engage with clinicians and communities involved in Cook County Jail and CCHHS. We want to provide opportunities for medical students and the UCM community to further engage with discussions surrounding police and prison abolition and our role as healthcare professionals in interrogating and dismantling the carceral system.
Contact: Marissa Korte, Alex Rains, and Swetha Nakshatri
Faculty Advisor: John Schneider, MD, Department of Medicine
The purpose of Knitzker Group is to provide medical students with a space and community to de-stress from schoolwork as well as learn a relaxing, practical and tactile skill together. Members will knit projects together, learning various yarn work skills, and, hopefully try to reach out to the University community and hospital communities.
Contacts: Gabriela Betancourt and Stephanie Washington
Faculty Advisor: Keme Carter, MD, Department of Medicine
We are a community founded to represent, support, and unify Latino(a) medical students. We are dedicated to increasing the ranks of underrepresented minority medical students and faculty, serving underserved communities, and creating an environment conducive to the extraordinary success of Latino medical students here at Prtizker. Visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/LMSA.Pritzker/.
Contact: Maria Paz and Diana Marino-Nunez
Faculty Advisor: Monica Vela, MD, Department of Medicine
The mission of the University of Chicago Maria Shelter Health Clinic is to provide superior health care in a compassionate manner, ever mindful of each patient’s dignity and individuality. To accomplish our mission, we call upon the skills and expertise of all who work together to advance medical innovation, serve the health needs of the community and further the knowledge of those dedicated to caring.
Contacts: Nikhil Umesh and Anya Agrawal
Faculty Advisor: Andy Davis, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine
Medical Chinese is a low-intensity club that encourages students to learn medical Chinese. Most of the learning will be on one's own time through Anki sets or resources from professional interpreters. We plan on having frequent watch parties where we'll actively watch Chinese medical dramas or TV shows.
Contacts: Roger Yu and Jason Zhang
Faculty Advisor: Carina Yang, MD, Department of Radiology
Medical Students for Choice (MSFC) is dedicated to ensuring that women receive the full range of reproductive health care choices. MSFC recognizes that one of the greatest obstacles to safe and legal abortion is the absence of trained providers. We work to educate our classmates on reproductive health issues, keep them up to date on relevant current events, and maintain a supportive environment with the hope of creating future generations of abortion providers and pro-choice physicians.
Contact: Sumiko Maristany and Julia Chael
Faculty Advisor: Julie Chor, MD, MPH, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
To engage/connect members of the Pritzker community who self-identify with MENA or Central Asian ancestry/culture. This group also serves to introduce non-affiliated students to some MENA(CA) culture.
Contact: Marc Sleiman and Sharbel Romanos
Faculty Advisor: Fuad Baroudy, MD, Department of Surgery
On a Mission for Nutrition is an organization that was formed to address the obesity disparity on the South Side of Chicago. Born out of a project emanating from the Health Care Disparities in America course at Pritzker, On a Mission for Nutrition is an after-school program that educates students on nutrition and empowers them to make healthy choices. The goal is to promote the health of our community but also to learn about the importance of public health.
Contact: Nydia Kung, Derek Hu, Esther Wang, and Jason Xiao
Faculty Advisor: Anna Volerman Beaser, MD, Department of Medicine
The Mixed Identity Student Association (MISA) seeks to raise awareness about the experiences of medical students with multifaceted racial, ethnic, and cultural identities. We are dedicated to providing a forum for discussion, community, and support for individuals of mixed identities and anyone interested in engaging with ideas of identity, perception, and intersectionality. More broadly, we seek to create a space for the larger Pritzker community to think critically about the impact of these topics on the practice of medicine.
Contact: Sumiko Maristany
Faculty Advisor: Jim Woodruff, MD, Pritzker Student Affairs and Programs
Narrative medicine is a framework that centers patients’ stories of their lived and healthcare-related experiences. Narrative
Medicine at Pritzker (NMAP) aims to provide a space for students to engage in discourse and reflection about their ongoing
medical education and clinical experiences through a people- and humanities-oriented lens. In doing so, NMAP’s primary goals
are to foster community, practice empathic engagement, and equip students with emotional tools that may aid or prevent
burnout.
Contact: Maria Kaufman, Allie Yan, Anya Agrawal
Faculty Advisor: Nicola Orlov, Department of Pediatrics
NLVS aims to serve diverse and underprivileged communities by providing quality basic and preventative medical care. Our 3 main goals include: providing quality health care to uninsured patients, providing basic preventative care/health education to patients and surrounding communities, and to provide learning opportunities for students in clinical settings.
Contact: Omar Vayani
Faculty Advisor: Ram Krishnamoorthi, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine
The mission of the OB/GYN Interest Group is to increase the exposer of Pritzker School of Medicine students to the field and sub-specialties within the field of obstetrics and gynecology. Moreover, the opportunity to gain relevant skills will be afforded to all interested students. Secondarily, the organization will provide the opportunity for Pritzker students to network with faculty and potential mentors in the field.
Contact: Alexis Cacioppo and Iris Huang
Faculty Advisor: Julia Simon, MD, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
The Ophthalmology Interest Group intends to do the following at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine:
Contact: John Moir, Leena Penumalee, and Derek Hu
Faculty Advisor: Asim Farooq, MD, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
The Orthopaedic Surgery Interest Group (OSIG) provides Pritzker medical students the opportunity to explore and develop their interest in the field of orthopaedic surgery. Our primary mission is two-fold: to better introduce all students to a career in orthopaedics, and to provide meaningful opportunities/experiences and mentoring for those students interested in pursuing an orthopaedic residency. During quarterly meetings, led by upperclass Pritzker students and guest U of C orthopaedic surgery faculty/residents, we will offer an opportunity for group members to learn about orthopaedics in general, explore the many orthopaedic subspecialties, and hear about the background and experiences of our orthopaedic faculty members. We hope that this will help dispel many misconceptions and provide a true sense of orthopaedics, drawing many different types of students to the field, including women and underrepresented minorities. We also seek to pair interested students with upperclass or resident mentors in order to provide ample advice and guidance regarding the decision to pursue orthopaedics and the best ways to prepare for the competitive residency application process. Student leaders of OSIG will also work to facilitate shadowing and research opportunities for interested students. Ultimately, we aim to help students at all levels develop a better understanding of what a career in orthopaedic surgery entails and help interested students gain longitudinal experiences within the field.
Contact: Derek Chan, Kevin Chen, Isaiah Selkridge, and Marc Sleiman
Faculty Advisor: Megan Conti Mica, MD, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine
OUTPatient, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in medicine group, offers education to the Pritzker community on LGBTQ related topics. It also provides a supportive, social forum for both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ students.
Contact: Julia Chael, Samantha Morris, Liam Spurr, Gary Wang, and Tony Dagher
Faculty Advisor: Charles Rhee, MD, Department of Medicine
The Pediatrics Interest Group shall have a three-fold mission. First, to kindle an interest in the field of pediatric medicine. Second, to serve the children of the South side of Chicago in service projects and education. Third, to aid students interested in pediatrics in the furthering of their ambitions.
Contact: Megan Ren and Alexis Cacioppo
Faculty Advisor: Lolita Alkureishi, MD, Department of Pediatrics
The mission of the Pediatric Surgery Interest Group is to give medical students the opportunity to explore the field of pediatric general surgery, as well as the variety of pediatric surgery subspecialties. Through this group, students will be provided the opportunity to shadow faculty and residents and attend panel discussions. We hope to connect students with mentors in the department that can guide them as they pursue a career in surgery and help them develop a better understanding of what a career in pediatric surgery entails.
Contact: Sarthak Aggarwal and Stephanie Washington
Faculty Advisor: Kathryn Rowland, MD, Department of Surgery
PMAP is a student organization that aims to facilitate interaction between senior students and lowerclassmen with the goal of providing mentorship from students with similar interests and advanced experiences.
Contact: Beverly Kyalwazi, Nichole Smith, and Katherine Tran
Faculty Advisor: Jim Woodruff, MD, Department of Medicine
Physicians are one of the sources of care for survivors of sexual assault. The Physician Advocates for Survivors of Sexual Assault is dedicated to advocating for survivors of sexual assault and educating Pritzker students about how physicians use trauma-informed care to heal the biological and psychological effects of sexual assault.
Contact: Alex Rains and Kristen Chalmers
Faculty Advisor: Sonia Oyola, MD, Department of Family Medicine
The Plastic Surgery Interest Group exposes Pritzker students to the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery and gives them the opportunity to shadow within the department at UChicago.
Contact: Bryce Hendren-Santiago
Faculty Advisor: Amanda Silva, MD, Department of Surgery
Pritzecco seeks to bring together students, staff, and faculty interested in learning more about and enjoying wine.
Contact: Zach Newman and Maria Kaufman
Faculty Advisor: Nicole Cipriani, MD, Department of Pathology
Pritzker Alliance on Disability (PAD) is dedicated to advocacy, education and community building at the intersection of disability and medicine. Specifically, PAD aims to1) to advocate for a medical field that is inclusive to care providers with disabilities and chronic illnesses, 2) to empower people with disabilities and chronic illnesses to pursue careers in the field of medicine, and 3) to educate future healthcare workers on the experience of people living with disabilities and chronic illnesses, emphasizing the dignity, agency and individuality of each person's experience.
Contact: Lily Upp, Elizabeth Terman, and Kristen Chalmers
Faculty Advisor: Kamala Cotts, MD, Department of Medicine
To provide students with the context for collaborative learning through literature and discussion. We hope to reconnect our peers with the humanities and human experiences that can be attained through appreciation of literature. Our overarching goal is to inspire students to become lifelong readers, even as begin our busy lives in medicine.
Contact: Cassandra Daisy, Alex Rains, and Nikita Maheshwari
Faculty Advisor: Michael Marcangelo, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience
Our mission is to bring together all members of the Pritzker community who play chess or want to learn how to play chess by providing a space where layers of all backgrounds and experience levels can come together and share their love of the game.
Contact: Jared Lassner; Liam Spurr; and Ibraheem Hamzat
Faculty Advisor: Mohammed Minhaj, MD, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care
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: Alexis Cacioppo, Jordan, Millhollin, Kevin Lazenby, and Roger Yu
Faculty Advisor: John Yoon, MD, Department of Medicine
The mission of PDG is to teach all styles of dance to the Pritzker community and greater neighborhood. Through this, we aspire to foster and grow relationships, encourage new modes of expression, and promote healthy, active living.
Contact: Grace Duan
Advisor: Sonia Oyola, MD, Department of Family Medicine
The Pritzker Health Policy Interest Group provides an agenda-free forum for medical students interested in health policy. By connecting Pritzker students with the expertise, resources, and events related to health policy across the university, we seek to engage the Pritzker community with ongoing policy discussions and inform the next gereration of physicians on how policy will impact their careers and practice. We are open to any and all viewpoints, and seek to engage students in evidence-based, rigorous discussions of existing and potential policy initiatives that impact medicine.
Contacts: Gary Wang, Sabrina Wang, Frazer Tessema, and Sarthak Aggarwal
Faculty Advisor: Ram Krishnamoorthi, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine
The purpose of Pritzker Music Group is to bring together musicians at Pritzker to share our music with each other and the broader Pritzker community. We host music salons and casual jam sessions for members and other Pritzker students.
Contacts: Frazer Tessema
Faculty Advisor: John Alverdy, MD, Department of Surgery
To maintain a welcoming environment for Pritzker medical students interested in learning more about Islam, conducting outreach to the medical community regarding issues that are unique to caring for the Muslim population in the U.S., and provide resources for Muslim students at Pritzker.
Contact: Omar Vayani and Isra Hasnain
Faculty Advisor: Ayman Al-Hendy, MD, PhD, Obstetrics and Gynecology
The Pritzker Oncology Group (POG) aims to support student interest in oncology, increase awareness of career options (e.g. medical oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology, hematology oncology, etc.), and expose students to research opportunities, current best practices, and the latest innovations in the field. The group would also serve to connect students with this common interest in oncology – across all class years – and facilitate opportunities for collaboration. Furthermore, the organization, its associated faculty, and students who have begun clinical training would support preclinical students in career advising prior to formalized career advising.
Contacts: Gabriela Betancourt, Liam Spurr, Allie Yan, Omar Vayani, and James Li
Faculty Advisor: Russell Szmulewitz, MD, Department of Medicine
Provide social and wellness opportunities for students by connecting them with recreational outdoor opportunities and experiences. Regularly organize hiking, camping, backpacking, climbing, and other outdoor adventure activities for students to participate in as a means to connect with each other and their natural environment. Incorporate opportunities for students to become involved in other aspects of the outdoors, such as wilderness medicine, community service events (e.g. lake front cleanups), and research opportunities (e.g. bringing speakers who are involved in environmental impacts on health).
Contacts: Kristen Chalmers, John Moir, and Alexis Cacioppo
Faculty Advisor: Wei Wei Lee, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine
With tech’s rapidly growing influence on medicine, Pritzker TECH’s goal is to connect Pritzker students to opportunities in tech and entrepreneurship.
Contact: Matthew Ji
Faculty Advisor: David Beiser, MD, Department of Medicine
The mission of PritzkerVotes is twofold. We aim to:
Empower Pritzker students to register our patients to vote, both in the hospital and out in the community.
Register the Pritzker community to vote.
Much of our healthcare system and healthcare experience is determined by policies our elected officials implement. Higher turnout in elections creates a more inclusive electorate, which has been found to make public policy more inclusive 1. Unfortunately, voter turnout in precincts surrounding UCMC has historically been lower than in northern Chicago counterparts2. This means that the voice of the community we serve is not being heard by those who make decisions about policy that ultimately affects the health of the South Side. By providing opportunities to safely and easily register to vote we hope to eliminate at least one barrier to effective voting, so that the voice of our community can be heard.
We plan to build upon the work of other national organizations that have been involved in the work of engaging the healthcare system in voter registration. Vot-ER is a non-partisan, non-profit organization started out of the MGH Center for Social Justice and Health Equity. Their mission is to empower allied healthcare workers to connect patients with resources for registering to vote. The main way that they do this is by using QR codes that connect patients to an online voter registration portal. The QR codes can be printed on ID badge placards that providers wear on their lanyards. Providers can ask patients if they’re interested in registering to vote, and quickly show them the badge, which patients scan with their smartphone camera. There is also a text code for those who do not have access to a smartphone. The QR codes can also be printed on posters around the hospital or in clinic rooms. In addition, students who volunteer with PritkzerVotes can be encouraged to use the QR codes themselves if they aren’t yet registered to vote. More than 500 hospitals and community health centers throughout the United States currently use Vot-ER’s materials.
Importantly, PritzkerVotes will be a nonpartisan organization. Like Vot-ER we believe in a vision of American democracy that is inclusive to all. We will not support or oppose any political party or candidate. Instead, we hope to give our patients and our fellow students the opportunity to engage for themselves with the political process.
Contact: Matthew Bonomo, Anase Asom, Risa Brudney, Nikita Deshpande, Helen Wei, Madison Weigand
Faculty Advisor: Lisa McQueen, MD, Department of Medicine
Pritzker Womxn in Medicine (WiM) is a group of Pritzker students interested in learning more about leadership opportunities and professional equality for femme-identifying physicians. WiM promotes more direct womxn-to-womxn mentoring and professional development driven by and designed for femme-identifying medical students. Additionally, we co-host other workshops and speakers on womxn’s rights and the experiences of womxn in medical school.
Contact: Alexis Cacioppo, Julie Chael, Leena Penumalee, and Esther Wang
Faculty Advisor: Julie Oyler, MD, Department of Medicine
The mission of the organization is to cultivate student interest in the field of psychiatry, and to raise awareness about mental health issues to the wider Pritzker student body.
Contacts: Alex Rains, Jason Thome, and Maria Kaufman
Faculty Advisor: Mike Marcangelo, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience
The Pritzker Radiology Interest Group serves as a forum where students interested in radiological imaging and/or a career in radiology can meet with radiologists from the University of Chicago Medicine to learn more about this dynamic field. Ultimately, we hope to remove, or at least alleviate, the worries that many students have when called upon to examine and understand X-rays, CTs, MRIs, etc., and instead promote further curiosity in these critical areas of physical diagnosis.
Contact: Omar Vayani and Jared Lassner
Faculty Advisor: Christopher Straus, MD, Department of Radiology
Nationally, Reach Out and Read prepares America's youngest children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together. The University of Chicago chapter carries out this mission in the local South Side community at the federally-qualified Friend Family Health Center. Pritzker students find funds to provide a developmentally appropriate, new book to each pediatric patient between the ages of 0 and 5 years at every well-child visit. Members of the organization also maintain a waiting room book corner with donated gently used books and facilitate visits from local librarians.
Contact: Jason Zhang, Cassie Daisy, and Nydia Kung
Faculty Advisor: Anne Gearhart, Department of Pediatrics
We are a medical student organization at the Pritzker School of Medicine dedicated to relieving the health disparities of developing countries. We annually plan a service trip to an international and underserved location to provide needed medical services. We also raise money throughout the year to make a generous donation to the non-profit organization with whom we partner. In doing so we experience and witness the health disparities in these countries, understand these issues in order to ultimately become health advocates by educating our community.
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Website: remedyuchicago.org
Contact: Megan Ren, Cassandra Daisy, Melinique Walls Castellanos, Rohey Jah, and Mason Vierra
Faculty Advisor: Brian Callender, MD, and James Woodruff, MD, Department of Medicine
The Rural Medical Student Association seeks to recruit, engage, connect, and provide mentorship to members of the Pritzker community who come from rural backgrounds. This group seeks to sponsor social and educational events for the purpose of exposing all medical students to the health care needs of rural populations.
Contact: Henry Liedl and Emily Feuka
Faculty Advisor: James Woodruff, MD, Department of Medicine
To bring all four years of students (and PhD candidates) together for an extracurricular opportunity to share the art of singing. Simultaneously, we hope to foster mentoring relationships and friendships from within the group.
Contact: Sharbel Romanos
Faculty Advisor: Jeanne Farnan, MD, MHPE Department of Medicine
The mission of SHARE is to provide adolescents in our community accurate and unbiased information about sexual and reproductive health in order to empower them to make healthy and responsible choices for themselves. Sexual education in the public schools around the University of Chicago currently receives limited attention because of budget and time constraints. Alumna Sarah Kennedy (MD ’18) identified this need as part of her Healthcare Disparities project and in the 2017-2018 school year, she piloted SHARE as a 4-session teaching program at Carter G. Woodson Middle School. She received a lot of positive feedback from the students, the school administrators, and Pritzker volunteers. In light of this success, and in the potential that this program has for fostering relationships between Pritzker and our South Side community, we are seeking to register SHARE as an official Pritzker organization with the hope of creating a sustainable health outreach and service program.
Contact: Sumiko Maristany, Alex Rains, Julia Chael, and Meera Sakthivel
Faculty Advisor: Anna Volerman Beaser, MD, Department of Medicine & Pediatrics
The National AAPI Medical Student and Resident Section represents over 10,000 students across the country. AAPI is a national organization that focuses on promoting the professional, political, and social goals of American medical and dental students, residents, and fellows of Indian heritage. The association is recognized nationally and internationally as leaders in health care striving to provide a diverse forum for scientific, educational, cultural, charitable, and political interaction among its members. Our chapter provides a channel of networking, support, and open communication among our members nationally and between local chapters. Most importantly, our group is focused on charity care and volunteering in India.
Contacts: Anya Agrawal and Nikita Maheshwari
Faculty Advisor: Aliya N. Husain, MD, Department of Pathology
The South Side Science Scholars group is committed to creating and delivering a sustainable weekly afterschool science program to under-served Chicago grade schools, particularly those of the South Side. We aspire to positively impact children's scientific thinking, elements of health education, communication skills, and enthusiasm for science.
Contact: Omar Vayani and Kevin Chen
Faculty Sponsor: Monica Vela, MD, Department of Medicine
Contact: Jason Zhang, Grace Duan, and Matthew Ji
Faculty Advisor: Veronica Cipriani, MD, Department of Neurology
The mission of our organization is to advocate for a universal, comprehensive single-payer national health program with fewer administrative costs and affordable health insurance for all. Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) is an established non-profit research and education organization of 18,000 physicians, medical students, and health professionals who support single-payer national health insurance. Currently, there is a bill in Congress, H.R. 676, which would expand and improve Medicare for all.
Despite spending more than twice as much as the rest of the industrialized nations, the United States performs poorly in comparison on major health indicators such as life expectancy, infant mortality, and immunization. Moreover, the U.S. leaves 51 million people completely uninsured and millions more inadequately covered. Single-payer financing would save, on paper, more than $400 billion per year – enough to provide comprehensive coverage to everyone without paying any more than we already do.
While the Affordable Care Act will expand Medicaid and mandate the purchase of private insurance, it will still leave nearly 25 million people uninsured. It also has no concrete way to curb skyrocketing health care and administrative costs associated with a for-profit private health insurance industry. We believe that a comprehensive national health insurance program is the only way to provide equitable, affordable care to all Americans.
Our PNHP group also aims to get involved with other single payer and medical activism efforts in the city of Chicago. There are PNHP student chapters at Rush and University of Illinois at Chicago medical schools and an active network of engaged physicians and other health professionals in the city.
Contact: Marissa Korte, Nikhil Umesh, and Callie Winters
Faculty Advisor: Valerie Press, MD, Ph.D, Department of Medicine
The University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine Chapter of the Student National Medical Association (Pritzker-SNMA) is committed to academic excellence, student recruitment and mentoring of underrepresented minorities, and community service.
Contact: Ibraheem Hamzat and Isaiah Selkridge
Faculty Advisor: Milda Saunders, MD, Department of Medicine
The surgery interest group seeks to expose medical students to aspects of surgery in a variety of subspecialties. Doing this, we hope to provide students with a better understanding of what a career in surgery entails as well as to instruct students with basic skills such as suturing.
Contact: Mason Vierra, Abigail Sneider, and Jason Xiao
Faculty Advisor: Oliver Eng, MD, Department of Surgery
STAT will coordinate, organize, and support an ongoing transplant pager program to allow Pritzker students the opportunity to shadow transplantations at UCM and procurements at both UCM and outside medical institutions. Pritzker STAT will strive to have each student in the program attend at least 3 procurements/transplants over a 12-month period. Ultimately, Pritzker STAT aims to enhance the medical education of and better prepare its participants for futures in surgical fields.
Contact: Mason Vierra, Stratton Tolmie, Jason Xiao, and John Moir
Faculty Advisor: Piotr Witkowski, MD, Department of Surgery
The mission of Sustainable Pritzker is to promote awareness among medical students of environmental issues and their relevance to human health and medicine. The group will seek to hold educational sessions, promote sustainable practices at Pritzker, and support environmental health in the communities surround the University of Chicago.
Contact: Dominic Robolino, Megan Ren, Callie Winters, and Nydia Kung
Faculty Advisor: Sarah Lovinger, MD, Department of Medicine
The mission of the Trauma Surgery Interest Group is to expose Pritzker students to the field of Trauma Surgery. In addition, one of the aims of the interest group would be to provide students with the opportunity to engage with and learn more about trauma center’s mission of partnering with the community to address the root causes of violence and trauma. This goal could be accomplished through shadowing, research opportunities, and volunteering.
Contact: Mason Vierra, Sharbel Romanos, and Ashley Diaz
Faculty Advisor: Kenneth Wilson, MD, Department of Surgery
UChicago ROCK is an organization dedicated to educating community members on the South Side of Chicago about health related topics, such as diabetes, hypertension, mental health, nutrition, women's health, etc. The program seeks to pair Pritzker groups and UChicago hospital experts with community members to give informational talks with the goal of equipping community members with information they would not seek out or have trouble accessing elsewhere.
Contact: Allie Yan, Isaiah Selkridge, Sharbel Romanos, and Ryuji Arimoto
Faculty Advisor: Abdullah Pratt, MD, Department of Medicine
The Urology Interest Group (UIG) seeks to provide medical students with early exposure to the field of urology through educational,
social, and community outreach programs with University of Chicago Urology attendings and residents. We strive to support students
interested in urology by hosting workshops and panel discussions, facilitating mentorship and shadowing experiences, encouraging
student participation in research and clinical opportunities, and providing support for students interested in attending meetings,
conferences, and participation at a national level.
Contact: Armaan Singh and Mason Vierra
Faculty Advisor: Luke Reynold, MD, Department of Surgery
The Vascular Surgery Interest Group aims to give medical students early exposure to Vascular Surgery as a profession. Students will have opportunities to learn about the present and future opportunities in vascular surgery by interacting and shadowing faculty, participating in workshops and panel discussions, and attending meetings and conferences.
Contact: Romy Portieles Pena and Mason Vierra
Faculty Advisor: Chelsea Dorsey, MD, Department of Surgery
Washington Park is a free pediatric health clinic run by a 12 member student board and advised by a steering committee comprised of attending physicians, past board members, and community leaders. We seek to improve the Washington Park community’s access to medical and health-related care by providing acute medical care, social services, and referrals to longitudinal care providers. We seek to broaden opportunities for medical and social service students to learn about health care in a medically underserved community.
To learn more, please visit the Washington Park Free Clinic website.
Email contact: TheWashingtonParkClinic@gmail.com
Contact: Stephanie Washington and Murrie Affini
Faculty Advisor: Julia Rosebush, DO, Department of Pediatrics