Husky 100: Making a Difference in Medicine

---

Highlights | Student leaders and innovators

• Each year, 100 undergraduate and graduate students from UW are recognized for their work and achievements.
• Eleven students from the UW School of Medicine were recognized for 2022.
• Common themes among the medical student honorees are addressing social inequities, creating community-centered care and reducing barriers to medical information and care.

---

The Husky 100 recognizes 100 UW undergraduate and graduate students who are making a difference inside the classroom, in our communities and beyond. Meet the UW School of Medicine students who received this highly competitive recognition.

Brian Cedeno, MD, Medicine

“To be an amazing physician, I must go beyond treating the cellular causes of disease. I must work alongside communities to address the social inequities that make communities sick, such as lack of healthcare access, healthy foods, and housing. I am committed to working beyond the hospital walls as a public health advocate to improve the health of society’s most vulnerable members. I also hope to pay it forward and help increase the number of underrepresented minorities in medical school.”

Rory Cole, MD, Medicine

“Throughout medical school, I have strived to be a positive presence in my community. Over the last two years, I spent two seasons coaching Moscow High JV Girls Basketball, fought against gender inequities in medicine, coordinated medical student participation in mass vaccination campaigns then grew this opportunity into student involvement via drive-through testing, and developed a program for medical students to visit hospitalized COVID patients who otherwise were not allowed visitors.”

Kevin Scott Glover, MD, Medicine

“I get excited by working to democratize medicine. I want to be a part of restructuring our system of healthcare research and delivery to place the needs and assets of communities at the center. Communities should be able to participate in setting the values and goals of the healthcare system that serves them.”

L’Oreal Kennedy, DNP, MD, Medicine

“As I reflect on the anti-Blackness I have experienced in three separate programs at UW, particularly Medicine, I am propelled to resist retaliation and work diligently and tirelessly with my fellow Black colleagues and accomplices to reimagine healthcare training, co-create radical curricula such as the Black Health Justice Pathway, and build community-centered accountability structures. My community is everything – thank you for inspiring me to mentor, center justice, and lift as I climb.”

Melanie Langa, MD, Medicine

“As a medical student at UWSOM, I’ve had the chance to learn from experts in pathophysiology, indigenous studies and clinical medicine. I came to UW wanting to learn to provide primary care for indigenous patients in the rural west and was able to leverage UW’s connections across the WWAMI region to put classroom learning into practice before returning to Seattle with new questions and an understanding of the challenges that academic centers could investigate to benefit communities.”

Melissa MacEwen, PhD, Pharmacology and Molecular Medicine

“Science communication and public engagement are central to my identity as a scientist. From explaining nutrient cycling to children at the Pacific Science Center, to helping Washingtonians ween ourselves off of fossil fuels, my work on and off campus helps me create the healthy, sustainable future I want to inhabit. These pursuits have shaped my time as a UW student and they will inform my personal and professional endeavors long after I graduate.”

Lauren Marcell, MD, Medicine

“Caring for survivors of trauma and violence has informed my commitment to redefining what healing-centered healthcare access can look like, as well as how we learn these skillsets within medical education. I have tremendously valued the opportunity to learn from patients themselves, while engaging with my peers at UW and nationally on how best to develop these critical tools throughout our training.”

Molly Mollica, PhD, Bioengineering

“I am passionate about designing a more equitable world through research, teaching, and service. In the lab, I aim to understand sex differences in platelet function and plan to lead additional equity-driven research as a professor. As a co-founder and leader of HuskyADAPT (Accessible Design And Play Technology), I build an inclusive UW culture and train students and community members in accessible design.”

Sara Phillips, MD, Medicine

“Growing up in a medically underserved Native Hawaiian community, I saw how lacking access to healthcare perpetuates unjust disparities. I am grateful to the Indigenous community at UW and the PNW who, during my time as a medical student, helped me find my voice as an advocate for Native women and families. During my next phase of medical training, I will be entering OB/GYN residency armed with an unwavering passion for reproductive justice and health equity.”

Eva Shelton, MD, Medicine

“Growing up in poverty, struggling with my identity as an immigrant, and failing in school taught me to not limit myself by my past. I learned to envision goals and transform dreams into reality. I also realized the future extends beyond myself. Being at the intersection of communities taught me how connected we all are despite our differences and the boundless power of teamwork and imagination. To me, the value of life is measured by the future we create for ourselves and the lives we touch.”

Kat Taylor, MOT, Rehabilitation Med (Occupational Therapy)

“As a bilingual and neurodivergent graduate student of occupational therapy, my passion is to dismantle systemic barriers for Spanish-speaking individuals and the autistic & disability community. My role within OT is to help people engage in meaningful activities of daily living and participate in their communities. My Husky experience has prepared me for the lifelong journey to embrace cultural humility, empower my clients to celebrate their strengths, and advocate for inclusive communities.”

Husky 100

Photo caption: UW School of Medicine students recognized as 2022 Husky 100.