Medical students receive AMA awards

Two students at the UC Irvine School of Medicine were among 15 recipients of the American Medical Association Foundation’s 2014 Leadership Award.

Asghar Haider, an MD/MBA student, and Raja Narayan, an MD/MPH student, received their awards at the AMA Foundation's annual Excellence in Medicine Awards celebration held June 6, 2014, in Chicago. The national award recognizes medical students, residents/fellows, and early career physicians for achievements in community service, medical education, and public health.

Award recipients will receive special training to develop their skills as future leaders in community affairs and organized medicine.

"Mr. Haider and Mr. Narayan exemplify UC Irvine’s commitment to its mission of Discover. Teach. Heal," said Ralph V. Clayman, MD, dean of the UC Irvine School of Medicine and professor, department of urology. "Their respective exemplary work in community outreach and educational innovation provide benefits that go well beyond the borders of our university. I am proud of their endeavors to date and look forward to their future accomplishments."

Asghar "Abbas" Haider is a fourth-year student in the combined MD/MBA curriculum at the University of California. Haider is passionate about community outreach. As an immigrant and first-generation college student, he recognizes the need for mentors for teens in his community. In 2007, Haider co-founded the Peer Advancement Community for Teens, an organization that mentors and tutors underserved students in the Los Angeles area. He is working toward a dual MD/MBA degree to prepare for the changing healthcare landscape and to advocate for his future patients.

His aspiration is to become a leader in academic ophthalmology.

Raja Narayan will complete his final year of medical school at UC Irvine and is pursuing a master of public health degree in applied biostatistics and epidemiology.

He has been involved in deploying technology to advance medical education and patient care, which has led him to be named a Patron Fund Diplomat at TEDMED, a New England Journal of Medicine Gold Scholar, and co-president of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. As an undergraduate at Yale, Raja was a member of the Institutional Review Board, a Senior Clinical Team Member of the student-run HAVEN free clinic, lead editor for the Yale Journal of Health Policy Law and Ethics, winner of the Yale Global Health Case Competition, and captain of the Movember initiative that raised money to support research on men’s health. Narayan plans applies to residency in general surgery

The Excellence in Medicine awards program is presented in association with Eli Lilly & Co., Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Inc., Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), and Pfizer Inc. The leadership award was first bestowed in 2003.

The AMA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt foundation, is improving the health of Americans through philanthropic support of quality programs in public health and medical education. To join the AMA Foundation in supporting medical heroes like the Excellence in Medicine Award winners, visit www.amafoundation.org.