Bita Naimi Receives Physicians of Tomorrow Award

Fourth-year medical student Bita Naimi received a $10,000 Physicians of Tomorrow scholarship from the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation. Scholarships are based on academic excellence and financial need.

Naimi is an Iranian American originally from Northern California. She is completing a research year in Philadelphia in the department of otolaryngology at Thomas Jefferson University. Her research focuses on rhinology (nose and sinus) and skull base surgery and she is working on a phase 2 clinical trial treating smell loss after COVID-19.

student to testify. She is a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society and the Shapiro Academic Honors Society for clinical professionalism and humanism.

Wolinsky is thrilled to pursue a career in full-spectrum family medicine that combines her commitments to community health, reproductive justice, and addressing racism in medicine.

Since 1993, the PLF has selected 176 outstanding medical students. Approximately 3,000 applicants representing close to 200 medical schools competed for these scholarships. ●

Enrolled in the Seven-Year Liberal Arts/Medical Education BA/MD Program, Naimi is passionate about addressing healthcare disparities in minority and underserved populations and participates in several initiatives that address this issue.

The AMA Foundation has a long-standing tradition of supporting medical students. Since 1950, they have awarded more than $61 million in scholarships. With 12 scholarship categories and a variety of focus areas, including serving those underrepresented in medicine, the AMA Foundation works to recognize a diverse cohort of medical students each year. ●

PhD Student Spotlight: Jhonatan Henao Vasquez

Jhonatan Henao Vasquez is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the graduate program in Molecular & Translational Medicine (MTM).

Henao Vasquez entered Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS) through the Program in Biomedical Sciences (PiBS). He currently works in the Pulmonary Center, researching MIWI2-positive multiciliated cells.

Henao Vasquez is keeping his options open, but he knows that he sees himself returning to industry work.

Originally from Colombia, Henao Vasquez and his family immigrated to New Hampshire when he was two years old. After earning a chemistry degree from College of the Holy Cross, Henao Vasquez was on the fence about heading straight to graduate or medical school.

First, he decided to work at several area biotechnology companies, starting with positions at Lonza Biologics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals before moving to Moderna.

“Industry is something I’ve had the goal in mind to do,” Henao Vasquez says. “I want to learn what’s new in science and how to gain those critical thinking skills that you get from a PhD education, but then incorporate that into a business aspect as well.”

That’s what led Henao Vasquez to enroll in PiBS.

He liked that the program’s first year was rotational, letting him explore varied interests in virology and infectious diseases. Ultimately, he chose to specialize in molecular and translational medicine, landing in the Pulmonary Center under Associate Professor of Medicine Matthew Jones, PhD, and Professor of Medicine Alan Fine, MD.

His research studies a subpopulation of multiciliated cells in the lung airway that— according to initial findings—exacerbate influenza. These cells express the MIWI2 gene, and Henao Vasquez’s specific project examines how this gene could contribute to viral pathogenesis and disease.

This research earned him the Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award, an F31 grant awarded through the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

Despite the challenges that come with completing his rigorous program, Henao Vasquez has found support both in and out of the lab within his cohort and lab members. Those friendships have been key during his time in the program, whether through hiking in the White Mountains, exploring Boston’s breweries, or playing video games.

“That’s been one of my favorite memories, getting to know the people and knowing that you’re not in it alone,” Henao Vasquez says. “Everyone is together; I like that camaraderie.” ●