UAMS College of Medicine

09/04/2026

Our student interest groups have been busy this first month of school with first meetings, welcoming the freshmen, and holding elections for executive officers.

The interest groups are a huge way that our students:
✅ find peer support
✅ network with upperclassmen, residents, fellows and faculty
✅ give back to the campus community (and beyond)
✅ serve in leadership roles
✅ learn about career options
✅ have fun!

Pictured are the Rural Medicine Student Leadership Association (UAMS RMSLA ), the Advocacy Interest Group (Advocacy Interest Group @ UAMS ), Medical Humanities Interest Group movie night, and crafts with the American Medical Women’s Association (UAMS AMWA).

09/04/2026

We are beyond grateful to Jan Shorey, M.D., former associate provost for faculty, and Lindsay McFaddin Thomas for pledging an $1 million estate gift to establish a full-tuition scholarship for a College of Medicine student.

This four-year scholarship will be awarded each year to an Arkansas resident.

Thank you so much for investing in the future of medicine!

09/01/2026

🎉 Congrats, Dr. Craig Forrest!

We're celebrating Craig Forrest, Ph.D., professor in the College of Medicine's Department of Microbiology and Immunology, on a new five-year, $2.3 million NIH grant! 🧬

Dr. Forrest and co-investigator Jason Stumhofer, Ph.D., will study how coinfection with a gammaherpesvirus and the malaria parasite can lead to endemic Burkitt lymphoma — an aggressive cancer that mainly affects children. It's Dr. Forrest's fifth active NIH grant studying these viruses.

Congratulations to Dr. Forrest and the whole team! 👏

Read more: https://news.uams.edu/2026/08/25/uams-cancer-institute-receives-2-3-million-nih-grant-to-study-pathogens-that-lead-to-burkitt-lymphoma/

A five-year National Institutes of Health grant over $2.3 million will fund researchers at the Winthrop P Rockefeller Cancer Institute studying how being infected with a gammaherpesvirus (GHV) and malaria parasite at the same time can lead to endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL).

08/31/2026

Abernathy House held a reception over the weekend to welcome the new freshmen and introduce them to the upperclassmen.

Arkansas Surgeon General Kay Chandler, M.D., was kind enough to speak. The event was held on the 12th Floor of the Jack Stephens Spine Institute.

Josh Ellis, M.D., pictured with Dr. Chandler, is the faculty advisor and mentor for Abernathy House, along with Shari Gaudette, Ph.D., and Tiffany Huitt, Ph.D. Dianne McVinney provides staff support.

The UAMS COM uses the academic house system to provide small mentored learning communities for social and academic support. Each house has about 20 students from each class. Upperclassmen also help the younger students adjust to each phase of med school.

Thank you to Dr. Ellis for hosting such a lovely event! And thank you for Dr. Chandler for speaking. Thanks as well to Dianne and the many behind-the-scenes helpers who made it a success.

08/27/2026

🤩 What an amazing, impactful program for the young people of Arkansas!

UAMS hosted Girlology and Guyology last weekend at the Jack Stephens Spine Institute.

Close to 800 parents and children learned about adolescence directly from the OBGYN and Urology teams — getting expert advice from actual experts! Together, we are taking the mystery out of puberty and preparing families to navigate these times of growth and change together with confidence and connection.

Medical students are the backbone volunteers for these events, and we want to make sure they get a big shoutout. 👍👍👍👏👏👏

Girlology picture: Back row left to right: Dr. Nirvana Manning, Kathryn Stambough, Amy Schexnayder, Bailey Bean, Sylvia Wise, Erinn Roblee, Sam Kagy; Front row left to right: Madison Burton, Grace Tidwell, Courtney Babcock, Amber Alzufari, Lydia Headley, Macy Owens, Khadeeja Asif, Laura Hollenbach

Guyology picture: Far left - Samad Akhter, Brian Rayburn - Urology PA, Dr. Patel, Sally Puckett - Pediatric urology APP, Bennett Perkins, Matt Mangan, Walker Cunningham, Ben Alexander, Emily Leding, Parker Stobaugh.

08/26/2026

Big celebration today for Dr. James Graham! 🎉

We threw a retirement reception to celebrate Dr. Graham's incredible 35-year career at UAMS — and what a career it's been!

A UAMS grad himself (class of 1985!), Dr. Graham started out as Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Arkansas Children's before dedicating himself to medical education full-time. He's spent the years since becoming one of the top experts in medical education nationally, chairing the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the accrediting body for medical schools across the country. Since 2020, he's led our Academic Affairs Team as Executive Associate Dean.

Dr. Graham, thank you for shaping the education of countless Arkansas physicians and for your national leadership in medical education.

Enjoy this next chapter — you've earned it! 👏

08/26/2026

UAMS hosts 89 residency and fellowship programs across Arkansas. That’s more than 1,500 trainees contributing to the Arkansas healthcare economy and preparing for a better tomorrow!

It’s application season. Several programs are hosting virtual open house events this week.

Follow these residency and fellowship programs to learn more and stay in the loop! Did I miss anyone? Tag them in the comments.

Follow these programs for more: Arkansas EM (UAMS) UAMS PM&R Residency UAMS Cardiology UAMS Ortho Surgery Residency UAMS Psychiatry Residency UAMS Urology UAMS-NW FM Residency UAMS Preventive Medicine Residency Program UAMS Ophthalmology Residency UAMS Dermatology UAMS Neurology UAMS Interventional Radiology UAMS Department of Internal Medicine UAMS Crossett RTP Family Medicine Residency UAMS Radiology UAMS West FM FMR - Family Medicine Residency UAMS/ACH Pediatrics Residency UAMS OBGYN Residency UAMS Pathology UAMS Anesthesiology UAMS Neurosurgery UAMS ENDO

08/25/2026

The M1s learned about the many ways primary care training pathways are supported by the UAMS College of Medicine and UAMS Regional Programs earlier this week at an interest meeting for the Honors in Underserved Primary Care track UAMS Honors in Underserved Primary Care .

Primary care includes family medicine, internal medicine, geriatrics, pediatrics, and OBYGN. Some programs also combine training with emergency medicine.

The HUPC track enriches your med school training with guidance, mentorship, additional education, and camaraderie during the four-year or three-year MD program. Students receive a stipend and gain early clinical experiences in family medicine.

Upcoming opportunities to learn more about primary care education at UAMS:
✅ The Rural Medicine Student Leadership Association will have its first meeting at noon Monday, Aug. 30, in Ed II G137 UAMS RMSLA
✅ The Arkansas Primary Care Residency Fair is all day on Saturday, Sept. 19, Arkansas Primary Care Residency Fair

M1 summer opportunities (DM for contacts):
🤩 Preceptorship: Hands-on clinical experience. 2 weeks. $500 stipend.
🤩 Service learning project: your ideas and project to improve health and health care for Arkansans. 4 weeks. $1,000 stipend.
🤩 MASH Assistanceship: help with a summer camp for high schoolers interested in health care careers. 2 weeks. $500 stipend.

Google these programs too!
🔗 UAMS Regional Campuses AHEC Scholars — educational opportunities.
🔗 Rural Practice Program — loan forgiveness opportunities in exchange for practicing in rural Arkansas communities.

More ways to connect:
🤝 UAMS Family Med Interest Group Family Medicine Interest Group

Thanks to all the students who attended the meeting in Little Rock and Fayetteville to learn about how they can be supported on their journey to becoming the primary care physicians that Arkansans need! Thanks to M2 HUPC track student Mattie Neighbors Mattie Grace Neighbors-Goodwin for sharing her experiences. And big thanks to the organizers and program reps as well. Together, we are improving the future of primary care for Arkansas.

08/24/2026

Meet Lily DeSpain, a UAMS M.D./MPH student whose path to medicine has taken her from the swimming pool to the U.S. Army Reserves — with plenty of accomplishments along the way.

A former NCAA Division I swimmer and All-American at Missouri State University, Lily brings the same discipline and drive to her medical and public health training at UAMS. Her goal is to combine clinical medicine and public health to improve the health of both individual patients and entire communities.

🔗 Read more about Lily’s journey: https://tinyurl.com/4nstm25n

08/20/2026

The latest episode of the UAMS College of Medicine Residency Prep Podcast is full of great advice from med students for med students.

Current students Andria Carter and Rylie Mangold speak with UAMS College of Medicine Class of 2026 alumnae who matched competitively (anesthesiology at Yale and dermatology at UT-Southwestern) about crafting a personal statement and resume that will set you up for success.

Their tips are helpful for applying to VSLO (Visiting Student Learning Opportunities) and residency programs too. It’s increasingly common for med students who want to match competitively to do away rotations — so the topics go hand-in-hand!

🔗Check out the Residency Prep podcast wherever you get your podcasts for great advice. The VSLO episode is episode 15: uamsresidencyprep.podbean.com

UAMS College of Medicine Class of 2027 , UAMS College of Medicine Class of 2028 — be sure to check it out. Anthony — students nationwide could benefit from this advice!

Shoutout to Dr. Karina Clemmons, Dr. Karen Dickinson, Dean Sharanda Williams, and alumnae Charlotte Jeong and Sharon Amole for their work on the episode.