LaShyra "Lash" Nolen (born 1995) is an American medical student and science communicator. She is the first Black woman to become class president of the Harvard Medical School. In 2020, Nolen was selected by The Root as one of their Young Futurists.
LaShyra Nolen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1995 (age 28–29) |
| Education | Harvard Kennedy School Harvard Medical School Loyola Marymount University |
| Known for | Activism Social media |
Early life and education
editNolen was born in Compton, California.[1] She grew up in Los Angeles and spent the later part of her childhood in Rancho Cucamonga. During her third grade of school, Nolen competed in a school science competition, where she studied the patterns of fish. After winning first place, Nolen told her grandmother that she either wanted to become a brain surgeon or an astronaut.[2] She attended Los Osos High School where she served as class president all four years.[3] Nolen attended Loyola Marymount University (LMU) where she studied health and human sciences.[4] At LMU she served as the student body president and was involved in voter registration programs.[4] As part of her undergraduate research, Nolen created a diabetes management programme for women at a domestic violence shelter.[4] She was the first member of her family to earn a bachelor's degree in science.[2]
Nolen was made a Fulbright scholar in 2017, and moved to A Coruña where she worked in public health. Her research involved understanding how Spanish people understood obesity. On her return, Nolen joined the AmeriCorps programme as a health coach at the Heartland Innovation Centre in Chicago.[2][5] Here she led initiatives to improve clinic accessibility and improve awareness of health programmes.[4]
She started her medical degree at Harvard Medical School in 2019.[6] That year, Nolen became the first Black woman to be elected class president of the Harvard Medical School.[7][8][9] Under her guidance, the medical school took part in more outreach programmes and recognised the work of non-academic members of the community.[7][10] She is an activist for racial equality, and has spoken about the healthcare inequality experienced by Black people in the United States.[7][11] In 2020, Nolen was selected by The Root as one of their Young Futurists.[12]
Research
editNolen has studied healthcare inequality in the United States, with a particular focus on why ethnic minorities were so at-risk from coronavirus disease.[13][14] In the aftermath of the murders of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, Nolen spoke up for Black people, saying that the graphic videos being shared on social media could be traumatising.[15][16]
Nolen has worked to eradicate racism from academic medicine and medical education. She has provided a series of guidance for clinicians, academics and medical educators, including encouraging people do their homework before reaching out to Black colleagues, reflecting on their workplaces and personal practise and compensating Black trainees for their time.[17] Her June 2020 New England Journal of Medicine perspective “How Medical Education Is Missing the Bull’s-eye”, summarised the failings of academic medical programmes at training a generation of non-biased physicians.[18]
During the COVID-19 pandemic Nolen launched the We Got Us project, which looked to provide accurate information and support to the Boston community throughout the pandemic.[19][20][21] In recognition of her public health efforts, she was invited to the White House equity round table.
She is a regular contributor to WBUR-FM and the HuffPost.[22][23]
Awards and honors
edit- 2017 Fulbright Scholar[2]
- 2020 The Root Young Futurist[12]
- 2020 National Minority Quality Forum 40 under 40 Leader in Health[24]
- 2021 Boston Celtics Hero Among Us[25]
- 2021 Racial Justice in Medicine Award[26]
- 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30[27]
References
edit- ^ "Compton Native Is The First Black Woman To Be Elected Harvard Medical School's Class President". NewsOne. 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ a b c d "Profiles". Melanin in Medicine*. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ "Episode 2: LaShyra "Lash" Nolen". podbean.com. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
- ^ a b c d "LaShyra Nolen, BS". The National Minority Quality Forum. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ "Chicago Members | National Health Corps". nationalhealthcorps.org. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ "Explore The Space". Explore The Space. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ a b c Lopez-Carmen, Victor Anthony (25 February 2020). "Meet the First Black Woman Class President of Harvard Medical School". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ "Scratching Beneath the Surface with LaShyra Nolen | Magazine | The Harvard Crimson". thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ "Time to tackle hard questions on root causes of health inequities". American Medical Association. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
- ^ Youn, Soo. "LaShyra Nolen is the first black woman to be student president of Harvard Medical School. She's doing things differently". The Lily. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ "Speakers". Wheaton College Massachusetts. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ a b "Young Futurists 2020: America Needs Leaders Now More Than Ever. Here Are 25 Who Are Already About That Life". The Root. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ "Prioritizing Equity video series: The Root Cause & Considerations for Health Care Professionals". American Medical Association. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ "Structural racism and health care". MPR News. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ "We Can't Breathe". medpagetoday.com. 2020-06-02. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ Nolen 05.12.2020, LaShyra (2020-05-12). "What Health Professionals Can Learn From Ahmaud Arbery's Murder". Undark Magazine. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "3 Tips for Dismantling Anti-Black Racism in Academic Medicine". CLOSLER. 2020-07-02. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
- ^ Nolen, LaShyra (2020-06-25). "How Medical Education Is Missing the Bull's-eye". New England Journal of Medicine. 382 (26): 2489–2491. doi:10.1056/NEJMp1915891. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 32579809.
- ^ "We Got Us". We Got Us. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
- ^ "A coalition of medical students is working to provide education and empowerment to Black residents related to COVID-19". www.boston.com. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
- ^ "26-year-old starts program at Harvard Medical School to educate Black communities on vaccines". Boston 25 News. 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
- ^ "LaShyra Nolen". wbur.org. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ "HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media". consent.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ "LaShyra Nolen, BS". The National Minority Quality Forum. 2020-03-08. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
- ^ "Heroes Among Us". Boston Celtics. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
- ^ "Racial Justice in Medicine Award". AMSA Convention & Exposition. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
- ^ Jennings, Katie. "30 Under 30 In Healthcare 2022: Boosting Equity Through Activism, Big Data And Automation". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-12-04.