PRIME LEAD-ABC About Us Admissions Curriculum Student Experience Our Team About Us PRIME LEAD-ABC is a mission-based program dedicated to developing the next generation of physician-leaders who are committed to promoting equity in community health, clinical care, and social justice for African, Black, and Caribbean communities. Home Education PRIME LEAD-ABC About Us Our Origins In 2017, Dr. Kaosoluchi Enendu (UCI School of Medicine graduate class of 2021) began to meet with Dr. Carol Major to discuss the idea of creating a program like the Program in Medical Education - Latino Community (PRIME-LC) for Black communities. As a result of Kaosoluchi’s passion and advocacy, PRIME LEAD-ABC was founded in 2018 with the help of Dr. Carol Major and Dr. Khanh-Van Le-Bucklin. Funding support was then secured by Dr. Le-Bucklin from the UCI School of Medicine Dean Michael Stamos and UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman. 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. Learn More About Our Program Learn more about the origins of the PRIME LEAD-ABC program and its successes so far and listen to an episode of the UCI Podcast with Drs. Carol Major and Kaosoluchi Enendu. Learn More Contact Us PRIME LEAD-ABC UCI School of Medicine Medical Education Building 836 Health Sciences Road Irvine, CA 92697-4089 Phone: 949-824-4614 Email Us