Four Medical Students Receive Scholarships during 2019 Annual Meeting

BIRMINGHAM – This year four medical students received scholarship awards totaling up to $8,000 during the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Medical Foundation of Alabama. The AMASA Medical Student Scholarship Fund was established in 2012 by the Alliance to the Medical Association of the State of Alabama in partnership with the Medical Foundation of Alabama to assist rising senior medical students with the financial responsibilities that inevitably accompany their senior year of medical school. Meet the recipients:

Davis C. Diamond, University of South Alabama College of Medicine

Davis, a native of Georgia, said he has always had a strong connection with the State of Alabama since the majority of his family lives here. In fact, the decision to attend college at The University of Alabama came quite naturally considering his parents met at the college. While he is looking forward to pursuing his chosen specialty of dermatology, no matter where his residency may take him, he and his wife are looking forward to returning to Alabama to work and raise a family.

In the future, Davis hopes to join an academic or clinical practice focusing on complex medical dermatology with an additional career goal to be involved in ongoing research regarding the topics of melanoma, atopic dermatitis and dermatologic manifestations of rheumatologic disease. He has already had the opportunity to participate in a drug development lab for melanoma treatment and hopes to pursue similar endeavors in his career. Davis would also like to continue to mentor and teach as he has during his years in medical school.

Alexandra M. Fry, University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine

Armed with a minor in Spanish, Alexandra has been able to continue to improve her medical Spanish vocabulary by volunteering as a translator in the Equal Access Birmingham Clinic. Her passion for the Spanish culture has blossomed into future goals of using her voice to better connect with patients and with a more diverse population to improve the existing health care inequality. Last summer, she traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to perform medical research on Chagas Disease giving her true insights in understanding the grassroots of medical study by immersing herself in another culture.

Alexandra is also interested in pursuing a new medical specialty with Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Understanding how our population is becoming older, and this specialty combines internal medicine, neurology and physical therapy, Alexandra said she is excited to conduct more research in this field of study.

Christopher A. Johnson, University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine

For Christopher, a native of Dothan, medicine was not the family specialty. Unlike his peers who were raised in families of physicians and expected to follow in the family business, Christopher was raised in a family of musicians. His father was a music minister in Birmingham and his mother a music teacher in Dothan who worked three jobs to ensure he and his three sisters had every opportunity life had to offer. Instead, he was surrounded by “some of the best men who also happened to be physicians” who invested in him personally and academically. He credits these role models for shaping him into the “man I am today and the physician I am striving to become. I am not inspired to carry on the legacy of these men in my career as a physician and hope to bless the next generation with the same encouragement and guidance I was fortunate enough to receive.”

Christopher hopes to pursue a career in family medicine with a fellowship in sports medicine. In the past two-and-a-half years, he has completed his pre-clinical work, begun his clinical rotations in Montgomery and married. Now, he is looking forward to using these opportunities to better the world around him.

Jeremy K. Prince, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine – Auburn

Jeremy, a native of Aliceville, said he believes “a career in family medicine is the best avenue because family physicians have the ability to be deeply involved in the community.” And, the community is very important to Jeremy, who has traveled across Alabama and witnessed firsthand how our state’s health care issues have taken a severe toll on our citizens.

One of Jeremy’s mentors at VCOM said Jeremy’s positive attitude and leadership skills make him a true professional and role model for his classmates, and his ability to encourage and support others has created a positive force in the school and the community at large.

Donations to the Scholarship Program can be sent to AMASA Treasurer Mary Beth Lloyd, 5949 Crestwood Circle, Birmingham, AL 35212. Donations may now be made directly to the AMASA Scholarship Fund from retirement accounts.