AMA Foundation honors Chicago medical student as an outstanding leader in medicine

(Chicago) – Hans C. Arora, from Chicago, Ill. has been named a recipient of the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation’s 2008 Leadership Award. This award provides medical students, residents/fellows, early career physicians and established physicians from around the country with special training to develop their skills as future leaders in organized medicine and community affairs. 

The AMA Foundation honored 56 individuals with the award at its annual Excellence in Medicine Awards ceremony on March 31 in Washington D.C. Presented in association with the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative, recipients of the award are recognized for demonstrating outstanding non-clinical leadership skills in advocacy, community service and education.

Hans Arora is currently in his third year of the MD/PhD program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (NUFSOM) in Chicago. At present, his research involves the use of nanoparticles for cancer drug delivery. He is a native of Bethesda, Md., and attended Pennsylvania State University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering in 2005. He currently serves as the chair of the AMA Medical Student Section (MSS) Region 2 delegation and chair of the AMA-MSS Membership Retention and Recruitment Committee, and is a member of the AMA Political Action Committee student advisory board. On the local level, he is an alternate delegate to the Illinois State Medical Society House of Delegates as well as co-chair of the Chicago Medical Society Medical Student District. He enjoys being involved with his peers in a variety of settings including the Northwestern Outdoor Adventure Club, the Dance Interest Group, the NUFSOM curriculum committee, and a cooking club at the medical school, which he co-founded. He is hoping to pursue a career in radiation oncology and possibly public service.

“Through their committed efforts to advancing health care in their communities, these men and women have shown tremendous potential for joining the next generation of medical leaders,” said Barbara Rockett, MD, president of the AMA Foundation. “Whether the issues are political or social, I am confident that these talented people will provide solid leadership in the interest of improving health care delivery in our country.”