In the fall of 2018, diverse faculty came together to meet with program leadership to establish the framework for PRIME LEAD-ABC including UCI Vice Chancellor Douglas Haynes, Dr. Terrance Mayes, Dr. Candice Taylor Lucas, Dr. Ursula Worsham, and Dr. Charles Vega. Later that year, Dr. Carol Major and Dr. Candice Taylor Lucas were named co-directors of PRIME LEAD-ABC and it was determined that the inaugural cohort would begin in the fall of 2019 with a cohort of two medical students.
As the year 2019 progressed two additional outstanding student scholars were identified during the recruitment season and all were recruited to become the first four medical students in PRIME LEAD-ABC - Hamzah Ahmed, Leah Chase, Ifunanyachukwu (Ify) Okwuosa, and Kate Wittel. To foster belonging and community for the first-year cohort, medical students from the second- and third-year classes were selected and added to join the PRIME LEAD-ABC family - bringing the student total to nine medical students during the 2019-2020 academic year.
Our Future
PRIME LEAD-ABC has grown significantly since 2019. During the 2020-2021 academic year, in addition to successfully recruiting 10 PRIME LEAD-ABC scholars, three medical students were added including one first-year, and two upperclassmen. In 2021, the program graduated its first three PRIME LEAD-ABC student scholars, and 13 PRIME LEAD-ABC student scholars were selected to join the UCI School of Medicine in the 2021-2022 academic year.
PRIME LEAD-ABC has gone from initially planning for two medical students per year to having 32 medical students across all training years including students in graduate and research study. As our program continues to grow and develop vital partnerships with faculty in the Department of African-American Studies, Claire Trevor School of the Arts, Schools of Nursing, Public Health and Pharmacy, and regional faith-based institutions, community advocates, and nonprofit organizations, we celebrate the strength of our village at UCI, Orange County and beyond. We are excited about what the future holds and are well-positioned to continue to tackle Anti-Black Racism as a health issue while also uplifting minority communities, Black students and allies.
