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The SOM Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has announced the first round of DEI Mini Grant Awardees in the award program’s 2022 pilot year.


The UNC School of Medicine Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has announced the first round of DEI Mini Grant Awardees in the award program’s 2022 pilot year. The awards range from $1,500 – $2,000 and are available to support DEI requests and projects including research, programs, conferences, trainings and more.

The latest mini grant awardees are:

Elisa Lund, Kimberly Nichols, Annika Webb, Mia Kang, Skye Margolies, Joshua Pyant, and Kelsey DeSilva (Anesthesiology)

Supporting the Anesthesia Residency Program’s new healthcare disparities curriculum workshop, BREATHE (Bias Realization: Education in Anesthesia and Treating Humans Equally).

Kim Nichols and Skye Margolies (Anesthesiology)

Funding support for a medical student to attend the Annual American Society of Anesthesiology meeting. We encourage medical students to apply including those from underrepresented groups in Anesthesia.

Tara Moon (Health Sciences)

Supporting the presentation and campus visit for Dr. Arnethea Sutton.

Tamara Saint-Surin and Portia Nleya (Internal Medicine)

Hosting mentoring events under the Bridging the Gap program, where third and fourth-year medical students are paired with URM mentees, to address challenges, provide networking opportunities, professional development, and increase community engagement.

Dominique Higgins, Eldad Hadar, and Vibhor Krishna (Neurosurgery)

Establishing the UNC Chapter of the national neurosurgery initiative for students to gain basic science experience in neuroscience and early exposure to neurosurgery named “Black Lives Matter Neurosurgery Neuroscience Summer Opportunity.” Candidates who believe they can contribute to the diversity of the profession are encouraged to apply.

Elizabeth Stringer, Erin Huprich, Kristin Tully, and Zoe Kang (OB-GYN)

Developing a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion checklist that would provide clinics a succinct and effective screening tool to assess competencies and opportunities for improvement in their DEI efforts.

Joe Hart and Megan Patterson (Orthopaedics)

Supporting a research discussion group for medical students who are interested in pursuing careers in Orthopaedics their 1st and 2nd years of medical school. URM medical students are encouraged to participate.

Christie DeMason, Doris Lin, and Amelia Drake (Otolaryngology)

Evaluating the effectiveness of the Otolaryngology Department’s DEI Journal Club by assessing the awareness of DEI issues and seeing if members are incorporating what they learned from the DEI Journal Club discussions into the patient care and medical education environments.

Joanna Glanz, Christel Wekon-Kemeni, Shenell Reynolds, Christian Lawrence, and Megan Hoppens (Pediatrics)

Beginning the implementation of a longitudinal DEI curriculum for pediatric residents.

Sierra Small and Noah Schwarz (Psychiatry)

Supporting the UNC Psychiatry Social Justice and Equity Committee’s monthly DEI & Mental Health Equity Multimedia Discussion Group.

Tye-Hunt Harrison, April Parker, and Lisa Luo (Psychiatry)

Supporting a seminar series called, “The Impact of Racism and Intersectionality on the Access and Needs of Mental Health Care for Marginalized Communities.”

Zaire Cullins (Social Medicine)

Attending the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Annual Conference.


If you are interested in applying for a DEI Mini Grant, please complete the DEI Mini Grant application and return it to Makayla King. The third mini grant application is due on Dec. 1, 2022. This will be the last mini grant for the 2022 pilot year.

View previous 2022 DEI mini grant awardees.