Alumni lead nation in Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars

Three Medical School alumni have been selected for the distinguished and highly competitive Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars (RWJF) program. The scholars include Nicole Gergen, M.D., Tyler Winkelman, M.D., and Manik Chhabra, M.D. -- all 2014 graduates of our Medical School. This number marks the highest from any medical school, among the 31 selected for the program.

“The Clinical Scholars program has always attracted some of the nation’s best and brightest young physicians who go on to become leaders in government, academia, the private sector, and a variety of health care settings,” said David M. Krol, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P., senior program officer at RWJF and a Clinical Scholars alumnus. “The Foundation is proud to host one of the most prestigious fellowships available to physicians,” (RWJF, July 21).

Beginning in 2015, the two-year fellowships will take place at four participating universities, including Yale University, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania and University of California, Los Angeles.

Scholars will study communication between community members and their research in order to increase visibility to improve health, known as community-based participatory research, or the CBPR model.

2015 Scholars from the University of Minnesota, and their fellowship location:

• Nicole Gergen, University of Michigan
• Tyler Winkelman, University of Michigan
• Manik Chhabra, University of Pennsylvania