4 students awarded Behavioral Sciences’ White Coats for Black Lives fellowships

Four University of Kentucky College of Medicine students have been chosen for the third cohort of the White Coats for Black Lives fellowships.

Mindy Baker, Rachel Cooper, Payal Panchal and Jasmine Coatley-Thomas were recently awarded the fellowships.

The Department of Behavioral Science created the fellowship and is supported by its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.

The fellowships were developed to enhance medical students’ understanding of health disparities, political and social inequalities and health care inequities experienced by Black Americans due to historical explicit bias and contemporary implicit bias across the health care system.

The hope is that the experience will enhance medical school training, increase the understanding of how behavioral science research can help to address health disparities and enable students to be better prepared to care for underserved Black patient populations.

Over the course of 18 months, each fellow will work with a behavioral science faculty mentor on a research or community-engaged project that addresses the health of Black Americans.

Fellows receive a stipend and will present their projects to the campus community in the spring of 2025.

You can learn more about the fellowship online here.