In this op-ed, LaShyra ‘Lash’ Nolen explores the persistence of medical racism and importance of anti-racism in medicine.

One morning in December I woke up to a dozen messages from excited family and friends. I unlocked my phone expecting a video of the latest TikTok dance craze, but instead an illustration of a fetus appeared. It didn’t take me long to realize what made this image so special — the fetus and its mother were Black.

Profiles in Transformation, by Dalí Adekunle: The racial reckoning within the United States medical system is at its most dynamic point in recent history. The enrollment of first-year medical students who identify as black has skyrocketed in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. A number of medical institutions have seen a record number of Black students, and the association of American medical colleges reported a national 21 percent increase of Black-identifying students from 2020 to 2021. As positive as this data is, a statistical underbelly looms over the heads of these promising new... Read more about Introducing LaShyra “Lash” Nolen

I am a Dakota medical student. In January 2021, my tribal government sent a letter to my medical school that read in part: I am writing this letter on behalf of our enrolled member who is a student at your school. He will be attending two very important traditional Dakota ceremonies this year and will need to be excused from school.

Read more about One Small Step Illustrating How Medical Schools Can Promote Indigenous Students’ Well-Being

Every day, innovators propel the world forward with their problem-solving designs, endless creativity and novel solutions. As we move into 2022, we have our eyes on 16 different innovators from nine projects. These groundbreakers are experts in their fields—which range from social justice to biology to artificial intelligence—and they are drumming up new ways to push the envelope.

Read more about Sixteen Innovators to Watch in 2022

Forbes 30 Under 30 2022 Healthcare: LaShyra Nolen, Founder, We Got Us. LaShyra is working to right the racial injustice and lack of healthcare access she saw in her community growing up. An advocate for health equity, social justice and anti-racism in medicine, she has published commentary in both academic and popular press and is also an appointed member of the White House Health Equity Leadership RoundTable.

Forbes 30 Under 30 2022 Healthcare: Victor Lopez-Carmen (known as Waokiya Mani in the Dakota language) is both a medical student at Harvard and an elected co-chair of the United Nations Global Indigenous Youth Caucus, where he advocates for Indigenous issues in international forums.

Victor Lopez-Carmen becomes first Native American at Med School to win national Nickens scholarship.