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AcademyHealth Staff with some of the 2025 Scholars at the Annual Research Meeting.

The AcademyHealth Health Equity Scholars Program provides registration support for up to ten scholars to attend the Annual Research Meeting (ARM). The program aims to support the professional development of individuals with a demonstrated interest or expertise in the study of health equity issues, including understanding the causes and interventions to address gaps in care quality, cost, and access. Mentoring is a core component of this program.

There is a special slot in the Health Equity Scholars Program specifically for Nursing. More information about the Policy and Politics in Nursing Scholarship is here.

2026 Health Equity Scholars

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Brittney Boakye, M.P.H.

Dr.P.H. Candidate - Morgan State University

Brittney Boakye is a doctoral student and APHA Kaiser Permanente Community Health Scholar in the School of Com... Read Bio

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Maayra Butt, M.S.

Ph.D. Candidate - University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Maayra Butt is a second-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Read Bio

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Michael Caniglia, Ph.D., M.P.A.

Postdoctoral Fellow - Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Michael Caniglia, Ph.D., M.P.A., is a postdoctoral fellow in the Patient-Centered Pediatric Research Program a... Read Bio

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Bozhidar Chalalov, M.A.

Ph.D. Candidate - University of California, Davis

Bozhidar Chakalov, M.A. is a public health researcher and educator completing a Ph.D. Read Bio

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George Koshy, D.O., M.P.H.

Research Fellow - University of Pennsylvania

George Koshy, D.O., M.P.H., is an Emergency Medicine Research Fellow in the Department of Emergency Medicine a... Read Bio

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Chiemeka Njoku

M.D./M.P.H. Candidate - Rollins School of Public Health

Chiemeka Njoku is a first-generation M.D./M.P.H. student at the Emory School of Medicine and the Rollins Schoo... Read Bio

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Joseph Tu, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center

Joseph Tu is an Angeleno and proud son of Taiwanese immigrants. Read Bio

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Brianna Watson, M.S.E.

M.D. Candidate - Howard University College of Medicine

Brianna Watson is a medical student at Howard University College of Medicine with a strong interest in global ... Read Bio

2026 Policy and Politics in Nursing Scholar

Scholarship Information

Eligibility

The scholarship opportunity is open to all individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, socioeconomic background, or other aspects of identity. We encourage applications from individuals whose professional goals are aligned with those of the Annual Research Meeting.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Current full-time or part-time, graduate-level students; post-doctoral fellows; or clinical fellows.
  • A demonstrated interest or expertise in the study of health equity issues, including understanding the causes and interventions to address gaps in care quality, cost, outcomes, and access.
  • Availability to attend the ARM on the specified dates.
  • U.S. Citizen. Due to program requirements, applicants who are not U.S. citizens are not eligible to apply.

Application Instructions

To apply, applicants must upload and submit the following materials to the online application system:

  • A completed online application form, including in the submission:
    • Current Résumé or Curriculum Vitae
  • Statement of Interest (500 words max). The essay should address your personal learning objectives, and/or past or current research and work in the field of health services/systems research, and understanding of the causes and research into gaps in health, health care access, quality, cost, and outcomes. The essay should also clearly connect your stated learning objectives and professional goals and your interest in being a scholar. We strongly suggest you write the essay in a Word document and then copy and paste it into the form.
  • Supporting documentation, including:
    • If applicable, documentation of student status (e.g., scanned copy of student ID, departmental letter)
    • A signed letter of recommendation from your faculty advisor or work supervisor on official letterhead

Selection Criteria

The selection committee will review applications based on the following criteria:

  • Demonstrated commitment to the field of HSR or health equity research through past or current research/work experience in either field
  • Clear connection between the stated learning objectives and the reason for attending the conference
  • Quality of the essay
  • Level of faculty advisor’s or work supervisor’s support for the applicant

Race/Ethnicity Standardized Questions:

AcademyHealth is collecting voluntary, self-reported data on the gender, ethnic, and racial identities of our speakers and presenters. Your responses do not affect the review of your submission in any way and are not included in the information provided to reviewers. AcademyHealth will use this data to understand how overall representation in the final program reflects population trends and inform AcademyHealth efforts to identify and feature a broad selection of high-quality work across all of our programming.

More Information

If you need additional assistance with scholarship questions, please contact us here.