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Panacea Financial Foundation

Medical School Scholarships & Resident and Fellow Grants

We’re dedicated to doing our part to make medicine better and improve care for patients.

Panacea Financial Foundation

Medical School Scholarships & Resident and Fellow Grants

We’re dedicated to doing our part to make medicine better and improve care for patients.

Supporting & Improving
Our Community

Panacea Financial works 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 with a shared mission to improve the diversity of the medical field.

Through the Panacea Financial Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, we are committed to this cause and are funded by profits as well as donations.

This is a picture of doctors talking and smiling outside.

Supporting & Improving Our Community

Panacea Financial works 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 with a shared mission to improve the diversity of the medical field.

Through the Panacea Financial Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, we are committed to this cause and are funded by profits as well as donations.

The makeup of the physician workforce does not reflect the general population. And it’s getting worse.

The makeup of the physician workforce does not reflect the general population. And it’s getting worse.

Ethnic and racial minorities are significantly underrepresented in medicine, and this problem is getting worse. For example, 14% of Americans are Black yet they only represent 4% of all physicians1. Concerningly, from 1997 to 2017, the percent of students entering medical school from underrepresented minorities fell 16%. By not having a more ethnically and racially diverse physician workforce that better reflects the general population, the quality of care to patients of color and low-income individuals is limited2.

Ethnic and racial minorities are significantly underrepresented in medicine, and this problem is getting worse. For example, 14% of Americans are Black yet they only represent 4% of all physicians1. Concerningly, from 1997 to 2017, the percent of students entering medical school from underrepresented minorities fell 16%. By not having a more ethnically and racially diverse physician workforce that better reflects the general population, the quality of care to patients of color and low-income individuals is limited2.

Did You Know

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Did You Know ?

What Do We Provide?

scholarship icon

Medical School Scholarships

$5000 scholarships to underrepresented medical students.

Grants icon

Resident & Fellow Grants

$1000 grants to underrepresented residents and fellows can be used to help you along the way in post-graduate training.

What Do We Provide?

Medical School Scholarships

$5000 scholarships to underrepresented medical students.

Resident & Fellow Grants

$1000 grants to underrepresented residents and fellows can be used to help you along the way in post-graduate training.

Who is eligible to apply?
Applicants for medical school scholarships must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible:

  • A U.S. citizen, permanent resident or an individual granted deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) status
  • Medical students currently enrolled full-time in an accredited medical school in the United States who will also be enrolled in academic year 2024-2025. Students starting medical school in fall 2024 (and thus not currently enrolled) are not eligible. 
  • Underrepresented ethnic or racial minority consistent with the National Science Foundation definition: African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native Americans (American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian), and Pacific Islander.

Employees of Panacea Financial, their affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, and promotion agencies and the families of each are not eligible.

Am I eligible if I have not yet started medical school?
No. Students starting medical school in fall 2024 are not eligible. Scholarships are only for those currently enrolled full time in accredited medical schools in the United States who also will be enrolled full time in 2024-2025.

What is the program timeline?
For medical school scholarship: 

  • Application open: March 7, 2024
  • Application deadline: May 7, 2024
  • Scholarship recipients notified: August 2024
  • Scholarship checks issued: September 2024

Is this award renewable?
No – it is one time award. Previous winners of the medical school scholarship are not eligible to apply again for the scholarship.

Applicants from previous cycles who did not receive an award are welcome to reapply as long as they continue to meet the eligibility criteria.

How are winners selected?
Medical school scholarships are evaluated by our selection committee comprised of the board of directors (excluding Dr. Jerkins) and the executive director.

What are the award details?
Medical school scholarship award winners will each receive $5,000. Five (5) scholarships will be awarded per cycle.

How and when are funds delivered?
For medical school scholarships:

  • Funds will be delivered via one (1) check made payable to the medical school listed on the application only. Scholarship checks cannot be made payable to the applicant or an individual. The check will be mailed to the home address so the winner can deliver it to the correct office at their respective medical school. 

What supporting documentation is need for this application?
For medical school scholarships, applicants the following must be submitted with your application:

  • An official transcript from the applicant’s medical school is needed to validate enrollment
  • Picture of school ID badge
What should be visible in my supporting documents?
All uploaded documents must show your first and last name.
 

What are acceptable file types to upload?
File types that are acceptable are as follows: .pdf, .tif, .png, .jpeg, .jpg, .bmp and .xps.

How will I be notified of the status of my application?
Notifications are sent through email with the listed email address on your application.

What notifications will be sent to me?

  • Application submission success (immediately after an application is submitted)
  • Application is incomplete/ineligible (within two-four weeks of submitted application)
  • Selection results (per the aforementioned dates per award program)
  • Funds disbursed (immediately upon disbursement of award)
If I am selected as an award winner, what are my responsibilities?
Basically, to continue to be an amazing medical student with the continued drive to make medicine better and improve communities. We will be promoting our winners after selection and would like (with your permission) to use your picture, name, and any supporting bio (written by you).
 
If I am selected as an award winner what are my responsibilities?
In the United States, scholarship fund used exclusively for the payment of tuition and textbooks are normally not taxable but would advise talking to your tax adviser for more information.

Who is eligible to apply?
Applicants for resident and fellow grants must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible:

  • A U.S citizen, permanent resident, or an individual granted deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) status
  • A resident or fellow in an ACGME accredited residency or fellowship program
  • Underrepresented ethnic or racial minority consistent with the National Science Foundation definition: African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native Americans (American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian), and Pacific Islander.

Employees of Panacea Financial, their affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, and promotion agencies and the families of each are not eligible.

What is the program timeline?
For resident/fellow grants below is the timeline: 

  • Application open: May 1, 2024
  • Application deadline: June 30, 2024
  • Grant recipients notified: September 2024
  • Grant checks issued: October 2024

Is this award renewable?
No – it is one time award. Previous winners of the resident/fellow grant are not eligible to apply again for the grant.

Applicants from previous cycles who did not receive an award are welcome to reapply as long as they continue to meet the eligibility criteria.

How are winners selected?
For resident/fellow grant are evaluated by our selection committee comprised of the board of directors (excluding Dr. Jerkins) and the executive director.

What are the award details?
Resident/fellow grant award winners will each receive $1,000.

Approximately twelve (12) grants will be awarded per cycle. The grants can be applied to research, professional-related travel, professional memberships, study materials, medical journals, board examinations, or equipment.

How and when are funds delivered?
For resident/fellow grants:

  • Funds will be delivered via one (1) check made payable to the applicant that will mailed to your home address that was listed on the application.

What supporting documentation is need for this application?
For resident/fellow grant applicants, the following must be submitted with your application:

  • Letter from program director or associated program director from your residency or fellowship indicating trainee is in “good standing”
  • Picture of work/hospital ID badge
What should be visible in my supporting documents?
All uploaded documents must show your first and last name.
 

What are acceptable file types to upload?
File types that are acceptable are as follows: .pdf, .tif, .png, .jpeg, .jpg, .bmp and .xps.

How will I be notified of the status of my application?
Notifications are sent through email with the listed email address on your application.

What notifications will be sent to me?

  • Application submission success (immediately after an application is submitted)
  • Application is incomplete/ineligible (within two-four weeks of submitted application)
  • Selection results (per the aforementioned dates per award program)
  • Funds disbursed (immediately upon disbursement of award)
If I am selected as an award winner what are my responsibilities?
Basically, to continue to be an amazing physician with the continued drive to make medicine better and improve communities. We will be promoting our winners after selection and would like (with your permission) to use your picture, name, and any supporting bio (written by you).
 
Are resident/fellow grants taxable?
It can depend on how the winner uses the grant award. We provide a 1099 and suggest winners speak with a personal financial accountant for more guidance. Below is some additional information regarding taxable scholarship/grants.

Panacea Financial Foundation Leadership

Panacea Financial Foundation Leadership

1. Talamantes E, Henderson MC, Fancher TL, Mullan F. Closing the gaps – making medical school admissions more equitable. N Engl J Med. 2019; 380:803-805.

2. Jolly P. Diversity of US medical students by parental income. AAMC Anal in Brief. 2008 January; 8(1).

3. Alsan M, Garrick O, Graziani G. Does diversity matter for health? Experimental evidence from Oakland. Am Econ Rev. 2019; 109(12):4071-4111.

4. Xierali IM, Nivet MA. The racial and ethnic composition and distribution of primary care physicians. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2018 Mar 28; 29(1):556-570.

5. Greenwood BN, Hardeman RR, Huang L, Sojourner A. Physician-patient racial concordance and disparities in birthing mortality for newborns. PNAS. 2020 September 1; 117(35):21194-21200.

6. Grumbach K, Odom K, Moreno G, Chen E, Vercammen-Grandjean C, Mertz E Physician Diversity in California: New Findings From the California Medical Board Survey. March 2008 San Francisco, Calif University of California, San Francisco, Center for California Health Workforce Studies”

Jeral Self, PhD, MPH

Executive Director of the Panacea Financial Foundation

Jeral Self is the Head of Community Engagement at Panacea Financial where she executes the organization’s mission and goal of providing ongoing support, both financially and through mentorship, to under-represented minorities within the physician workforce. Jeral has over nine years of experience in health policy research, with much of it focused on building and using integrated data from multiple public service systems for the purposes of evaluation. Recently Dr. Self has been involved in a number of evaluation projects for the State of Arkansas and their healthcare financing reform initiative. The results of this work have informed the development of Arkansas’ episodes of care payment models, as well as behavioral health and long-term service health home models. Most importantly, her work on the Arkansas Section 1115 demonstration waiver evaluation has been used in steering the national conversation about the future of state-led Medicaid expansion effort. Dr. Self has a PhD from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and a Masters in Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health.

Javier Baez, M.D

Advisory Board Member

Dr. Javier Baez is of Puerto Rican descent and from Cleveland, OH. He is a proud alumnus of St. Ignatius High School and advocate in the Jesuit teaching “Men for Others.” For undergraduate studies he attended The Ohio State University. He completed a master’s degree in Medical Sciences with a focus on Anatomy at the University of South Florida. He obtained his medical degree from New York Medical College. He attended internal medicine residency at the University of Cincinnati, where he was selected chief medicine resident. During residency he was awarded the “Herbert C. Flessa, MD Physician’s Physician Award” and “Resident as Teacher Award.” Currently, he is an primary care physician with UC Health, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine and Associate Program Director with the University of Cincinnati internal medicine residency program with a special interest in resident recruitment and medical education.  

Ray Bignall, M.D

Advisory Board Member

O. N. Ray Bignall II, MD, FAAP is Director of Kidney Health Advocacy and Community Engagement in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. A graduate of Howard University and Meharry Medical College, Dr. Bignall completed his general pediatrics residency, clinical fellowship in nephrology, and NIH post-doctoral research fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. 

As a physician-advocate, Dr. Bignall’s work addresses the social determinants of child health, kidney disease, and transplantation through community-based scholarship, engagement, and advocacy. He serves as a member on the national policy and advocacy committees of the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, the American Society of Nephrology, and the National Medical Association. Dr. Bignall is a recipient of the American Academy of Pediatrics Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) Award; a John E Lewy Fund Advocacy Scholar of the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology; and was named a 40 Under 40 Leader in Minority Health by the National Minority Quality Forum and the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust.

Twitter: @DrRayMD

Latoya Brathwaite, M.D

Advisory Board Member

Dr. Latoya Brathwaite is a staff Nephrologist, Associate Program Director for Nephrology fellowship and Assistant Professor of Medicine at University of Cincinnati Medical Center and College of Medicine. She was born and raised in the United States Virgin Islands where she received her undergraduate education at the University of the Virgin Islands. She completed her medical education at Howard University College of Medicine, internal medicine residency and nephrology fellowship at University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Her interests include general nephrology, extracorporeal therapies, and medical education.

Ludwig Francillon, M.D

Advisory Board Member

Dr. Francillon is an Obstetrician/Gynecologist in private practice in Birmingham, AL. He is originally from Haiti and his family relocated to the United States when he was a child eventually settling down in Montgomery, AL. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Alabama. Prior to pursuing a career in medicine, he worked in banking and sales. Later he went on to graduate from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, where he also completed my residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology. After completing his residency, he moved back to Alabama and joined a private practice OB/GYN group in Birmingham.

Megan Gunn, M.D

Advisory Board Member

Dr. Gunn is an Internal Medicine physician in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Medicine, Health and Society from Vanderbilt University and completed her medical degree at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She then ventured to the City of Brotherly Love to complete her residency in Internal Medicine at Temple University Hospital. While there she served as a chief resident. She later earned her Masters of Arts in Urban Bioethics at Lewis Katz School of Medicine. She is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in the division of Hospital Medicine and affiliated faculty with the Urban Bioethics Department. She currently serves as core faculty with the Internal Medicine residency program where she leads the urban bioethics track. She is passionate about social determinants of health and health equity issues. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and one-year-old son. 

Gregory Payne, M.D., PhD

Advisory Board Member

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 PhD 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, M.D., FACP, SFHM

Advisory Board Member

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, M.D., MPH

Advisory Board Member

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. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Hannah, and almost 2-year-old son, Zayn.

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