UCI School of Medicine Recognizes Black History Month: Cassandra Smith and Helen Leka

Cassandra Smith and Helen Leka are both second-year medical student scholars in our groundbreaking Program in Medical Education Leadership Education to Advance Diversity: African, Black and Caribbean (PRIME LEAD-ABC). 

Cassandra serves as PRIME LEAD-ABC representative and the co-president of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) chapter at UCI. She has been praised by her colleagues for her role in planning the inaugural Community Well-Being Health Fair with the New Hope Presbyterian Church in June 2022. This event was in partnership with several community organizations and consisted of health information booths, vaccines and activities.

Helen is also an SNMA board member, serving as chair for the 21st annual Pre-Health Conference. She has also worked with the UCI Center of Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders to develop a database of Black health care providers, and was part of a team that distributed infant nutrition information to Black families in collaboration with the Dairy Council of California.