Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians Announces 2019 Awards

Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) represents more than 3,100 family physicians, family medicine residents, and medical students; making it the largest medical specialty organization in Minnesota. The organization annually recognizes its members for their hard work and dedication to family medicine.

Andrea Westby, MD, Named 2019 Family Medicine Educator of the Year

University of Minnesota Physicians (UMP) and the University of Minnesota Medical School are proud to announce Andrea Westby, MD has been named MAFP’s 2019 Family Medicine Educator of the Year. Westby, a faculty member in the Medical School’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, teaches and mentors family medicine residents and students at the UMP Broadway Family Medicine Clinic.

“Dr. Westby embodies the best attributes of academic family medicine. Her teaching benefits students, residents, interprofessional learners, colleagues, and most significantly, patients,” said James Pacala, MD, MS, Professor and Head, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School. “She has the vision and skill to address both traditional medical topics and social determinants of health, and her unique ability to integrate these two spheres addresses the primary challenge of healthcare today. Her work is a great reflection on the Medical School and UMP.”

In addition to her role training residents, Dr. Westby is also the UMP Broadway Family Medicine clinic site lead for the Minnesota Department of Health’s African American Infant Mortality Project.

“To be chosen among all those nominated is such an incredible honor,” said Dr. Westby. “I’m so lucky to work in a supportive, innovative, and stimulating clinic, residency program, and department, where family medicine is valued as a cornerstone of medical care, and the residents and students at the University of Minnesota and North Memorial all make my work so fun and worthwhile.”

Marilyn “Susie” Nanney, PhD, MS Received 2019 Innovation & Research Award

Marilyn “Susie” Nanney, PhD, MS was a National Institutes of Health-funded researcher and associate professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and University of Minnesota Program in Health Disparities Research. In June 2018, Susie tragically passed away, leaving behind a legacy of impactful work.

She was described as a “pioneer in nutritional health research” by former University of Minnesota family medicine department head Mac Baird, MD, MS. Her research focused on addressing health equity and policy around childhood obesity and nutrition, specifically examining eating patterns, diet, activity level and food access and how each affect obesity rates.

Hanna Nedrud Presented with 2019 Medical Student Leadership Award

Hanna Nedrud is a medical student at the University of Minnesota who is passionate about family medicine, health equity and public health. She is describe by those who nominated her as a leader who is compassionate, dedicated and engaged.

Nedrud’s community service during medical school has included chairing the programming and education committee for The Ladder, a mentorship program for underserved youth interested in health careers, and coordinating CHAT (Community Health Advocacy Talks), monthly discussions on health disparities for Minneapolis community members. She was also a research assistant on a project analyzing legislative approaches to addressing health disparities and presented findings at last year’s American Academy of Family Physicians.

Ryan Brower, MD, Named 2019 Family Medicine Resident of the Year

Ryan Brower, MD, chief resident at the University of Minnesota Mankato Family Medicine Residency, has been actively involved in nutrition education and food advocacy. He teaches patients, colleagues and community members that food is medicine and proper nutrition can be used to both treat and prevent disease.

In addition to his many other projects during his residency, Dr. Brower has also developed a partnership with the Statewide Health Improvement Plan coordinator in Blue Earth County and University of Minnesota Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) team. Together, they’ve developed a Food Rx program where family medicine residents screen for food insecurity, prescribe food if patients have a chronic preventable disease and provide patients with fresh, whole foods and nutrition education. In addition, he helped create a listing of local food programs and evidence-based wellness programs for patients and community members to use as a resource.