Doctors Payne, Awosika, and Casillas bring additional experience and depth to grant and scholarship selection
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — Panacea Financial, a division of Primis that provides financial services for doctors through all stages of their education, training and practice, is honored to announce the addition of three new members of the Panacea Financial Foundation Board of Directors.
The Panacea Financial Foundation was formed by Panacea Financial to strengthen the underrepresented ethnic and racial minority pipeline of physicians with a consistent commitment of financial and administrative support to physician-trainees, aspiring physicians, and not-for-profits.
One of the primary duties of the Panacea Financial Foundation Board of Directors is to select the winners of yearly scholarships and bi-yearly grants. Scholarships provide $5,000 to selected medical school students, and grants award $1,000 to post-grad residents and fellows to aid in furthering their education and training.
The three new board members are:
Dr. Payne, an Associate Professor of Medicine and a cardiovascular physician-scientist, earned his Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Yale University in 2005, followed by a combined MD and Ph.D in cardiovascular physiology from Indiana University School of Medicine in 2011. During his clinical training, he received notable recognition, serving as the 2015 UAB Chief Cardiology Fellow and receiving the Northwestern Cardiology Young Investigator Award in 2016. In 2018, he joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) faculty, excelling in his role as a physician-scientist. He holds a crucial position as the Chair-Elect of the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology Early Career Committee, actively championing research diversity. Dr. Payne’s research focuses on atherosclerosis and vascular biology, earning national acclaim and support, including the inaugural AHA / Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program Career Development Award and the Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Clinical Investigation. His research is generously supported by the NIH and VA Merit Award. Lastly, he plays a vital role in mentoring the next generation of physician-scientists as an assistant director of the UAB MSTP.
Bi Awosika
Bi Awosika, MD, FACP, SFHM is an academic hospitalist and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, recently transitioning as the Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. As a first-generation Cameroonian born in Chicago, she obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology at Stanford University and matriculated at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine, earning her Doctor of Medicine. Dr. Awosika then pursued her residency training in Internal Medicine at Boston University Medical Center, where she was appointed to serve as Chief Medical Resident. After starting her career at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, she ultimately transitioned as faculty at UC. Her work has expanded to serving nationally as a member of the Society of Hospital Medicine’s Physicians in Training Committee and as leadership of the American Medical Association-UC Resident Diversity Leadership Program. She has been awarded honors ranging from the Excellence in Mentorship Award, the Richard Vilter Award for teaching, to being inducted into both the Cincinnati Business Courier and the National Minority Quality Forum “Forty under 40” cohorts. Her interests include competency-based medical education, coaching, and recruitment and retention efforts that foster diverse, inclusive work and learning environments.
Tony Casillas
Dr. Carlos (Tony) Casillas is originally from Northern California. He completed his undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Psychology at California State University, Fresno. He then attended the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA for medical school. During medical school, he also attended the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA and obtained his MPH. For residency, he trained at University of Cincinnati Medical Center and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Internal Medicine & Pediatrics. He is currently an Internal Medicine & Pediatric hospital medicine fellow at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and University of Cincinnati Medical Center. His passions include creating a more diverse and inclusive medical workforce and improved access to care for Latinx communities.
Jeral Self, PhD, MPH, Executive Director of the Panacea Financial Foundation, said, “Our board of directors plays an integral role to the foundation’s core mission of providing ongoing support to underrepresented minorities within the physician workforce. Doctors Payne, Awosika and Casillas bring additional specialty experience, perspectives and depth to our Board of Directors. We are grateful and enthused to have them join us.”
Doctors Payne, Awosika and Casillas join existing board members Javier Baez, MD, Ray Bignall, MD, Latoya Brathwaite, MD, Ludwig Francillon, MD and Megan Gunn, MD.
Panacea Financial is a financial services company created for doctors, by doctors on the premise that traditional banks simply do not understand the financial needs of medical, dental and veterinary professionals. Panacea provides tailored product offerings and service delivery designed specifically for doctors throughout their career: from school, through residency and fellowship, and into practice.
For more information about the Panacea Financial Foundation grants and scholarships, visit: https://staging.panaceafinancial.com/community-engagement.
About Panacea Financial
Panacea Financial, a division of Primis (NASDAQ: FRST), is a nationwide financial services company offering products in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Panacea offers a full suite of banking solutions specifically built for doctors, by doctors. Follow Panacea Financial on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
