Duke PA Student Karash Rahmanian
Duke Physician Assistant Program student Kiarash Rahmanian, MPH, was recently selected as a 2019 Paul Ambrose Scholar, a prestigious national honor for health professions students. The Paul Ambrose Scholars Program prepares students to be leaders in addressing population health challenges at the national and community level.
Rahmanian is among four PA students to be selected this year, joining a class of 38 students representing medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physician assistant and public health disciplines from 28 academic health professions institutions. As part of the honor, Rahmanian attended the Public Health Leadership Symposium in Cleveland, Ohio, April 1-3.
“I’m excited to have been chosen for this honor," Rahmanian says. "It will be a tremendous opportunity for me to grow my research skills, while engaging in the Duke and Durham communities."
The Paul Ambrose Scholars Program will provide Rahmanian with funding to develop a community-based health project at Duke University Medical Center. The project will focus on the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health’s LGBTQ+ Patient Centered Medical Home, and will pair him with faculty members Tiffany Covas, M.D., MPH, medical instructor, and Christine Everett, Ph.D., MPH, PA-C, associate professor.
On behalf of the Duke Physician Assistant Program, Everett expressed her congratulations and excitement about serving as Rahmanian’s adviser on the project.
“We are so proud to be part of Mr. Rahmanian’s path toward becoming a leader of change,” Everett says. “We know that this is just the beginning of the impact that he will have on our public health/health care delivery system and are proud to include him amongst the PA ranks.”
The Paul Ambrose Scholars Program is planned and implemented by the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR), the professional organization representing accredited and emerging graduate public health programs, medical and health professions faculty, and students dedicated to interprofessional prevention education and research. APTR advances population-based and public health education, research and service by linking and supporting members from across the academic prevention community.
The Paul Ambrose Scholars Program honors Paul Ambrose, M.D., MPH, who was onboard American Airlines flight 77 that was hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001. Ambrose was the seventh APTR Luther Terry Fellow and Senior Clinical Advisor in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. He worked closely with the Surgeon General’s office and his commitment to promoting public health and preventing disease was a critical force in the development of The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, for which he served as a senior editor for the publication.