Project HOPE and North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Announce 2015 Dr. Charles A. Sanders International Residency Scholarship Winners
The winners of the 2015 Sanders scholarships are Fatmata Daramy, M.D., M.P.H. and Sonia Patel-Nguyen, M.D. Both of this year’s Sanders Scholars are first-year resident physicians training at University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill.
Project HOPE, the global health education and humanitarian assistance organization, and the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to advancing science, health and education announced today the winners of the 2015 Dr. Charles A. Sanders and Project HOPE International Residency Scholarships. The prestigious and highly competitive scholarships offer medical residents and fellows studying at one of the four medical schools in the state of North Carolina the chance to practice medicine in a supervised capacity for one to two months at one of Project HOPE’s program sites in the developing world.
The winners of the 2015 Sanders scholarships are Fatmata Daramy, M.D., M.P.H. and Sonya Patel-Nguyen, M.D. Both of this year’s Sanders Scholars are first-year resident physicians training at University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill.
Dr. Fatmata Daramy, a native of Sierra Leone who is specializing in pediatrics, will travel to the Dominican Republic, where she will treat patients at a Project HOPE-affiliated women’s and children’s health clinic in the impoverished and densely populated Herrera neighborhood of Santo Domingo. Dr. Sonya Patel-Nguyen, who is specializing in pediatrics and internal medicine, will travel to Vijayawada, India, where she will practice at NRI General Hospital, a Project HOPE-affiliated, 1,000-bed charity hospital.
“Drs. Daramy and Patel-Nguyen were chosen as this year’s Sanders Scholars for their exceptional passions for global health. They have both demonstrated a commitment to pursuing careers that will help vulnerable populations in the world gain access to affordable, quality health care,” said Andrea Dunne-Sosa, Project HOPE’s Director of Volunteer Programs. “We are confident that their experiences as Sanders Scholars will make them better, more globally conscious physicians.”
Established in 2011 through a $1 million grant from the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation, the Sanders scholarship program honors the legacy of Charles A. Sanders, M.D., a former Chairman and CEO of GSK who also served as Project HOPE’s Chairman of the Board for more than 18 years. During his tenure on Project HOPE’s board, Dr. Sanders demonstrated a deep commitment to improving health care in the developing world.
The Sanders scholarship program is intended to expose young physicians from North Carolina to the specific challenges of practicing medicine in a low-resource setting. One goal of the scholarship program is to inspire the scholars to use the knowledge and skills they gain through these experiences to help those in need in the developing world throughout their future careers.
The scholarships cover all costs related to the program, including preparation/orientation, insurance, airfare and an in-country daily stipend. Sanders scholars are chosen annually by Project HOPE and the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation in April.
About Project HOPE
Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting solutions to health problems with the mission of helping people to help themselves. Identifiable to many by the SS Hope, the world’s first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now provides medical training and health education, as well as conducts humanitarian assistance programs in more than 35 countries. Visit our website projecthope.org or follow us on Twitter @projecthopeorg.
About the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation
The North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation is an independent self-funding 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, supporting activities that help meet the educational, science and health needs of today’s society and future generations. Since its creation in 1986, the Foundation has granted nearly $65 million (approximately $3 million each year) to support North Carolina nonprofit organizations. Visit the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation at NCGSKFoundation.org and follow it @ncgskfound.