The Physicians-in-Training Committee is excited to announce the winners of the 2021 SMA Scholarships! These scholarships are funded annually by the SMA Research and Education Endowment Fund. Each winner will be receiving an award of $2,000 and a stipend to attend the upcoming SMA Annual Meeting in Orlando. Meet our winners, Nidhi and Russell, below-- and please join us in congratulating them!

The future of medicine in the south is bright because of young leaders like Nidhi and Russell!

Nidhi Patel is a fourth year MD candidate at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Last year, she was a Medical Research Scholar Program (MRSP) fellow at the National Institutes of Health, where she studied the effects of inflammation on cardiovascular disease under the mentorship of Dr. Nehal Mehta. She is a member of the American Medical Women's Association Sex and Gender Health Committee, where she works to raise awareness on the roles of sex and gender in emergent conditions and the importance of involvement of women in clinical trials. She is also the co-founder of the National Clinics Collaborative, a grassroots organization with over 350 student members interested in bridging health disparities for vulnerable populations through student run free clinics. Nidhi is an aspiring physician-scientist who is pursuing internal medicine and is passionate about empowering women and promoting gender equity in medicine.

Dr. Russell J. Ledet is a fourth year dual MD/MBA candidate at Tulane School of Medicine and Freeman School of Business. Dr. Ledet completed his Bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Biology at Southern University and A&M College and his Ph.D. in molecular oncology and tumor immunology from NYU School of Medicine. His scientific work at NYU focused on prostate cancer biology and therapeutic development utilizing proteomics and bioinformatics. This work was recognized for funding by the Ford Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, as well as the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Ledet is also a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served both on active and reserve duty and was awarded multiple Navy Achievement Medals. Since starting medical school, Dr. Ledet has co-founded The 15 White Coats, a world-renowned company that helps to propel underrepresented minority students to the next levels of education by providing inspiration and economic support. He plans to go into residency for Triple Board (Pediatrics/General Psych/Child and adolescent psychiatry), with a focus on mental health accessibility for marginalized communities.