FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 28, 2015 AMA Foundation Honors Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Student with National Leadership Award CHICAGO – Divya Sharma, a student at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, is a recipient of the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation’s 2015 Leadership Award. This national award recognizes medical students, residents/fellows, and early career physicians for achievements in community service, medical education, and public health. The AMA Foundation will honor 15 outstanding individuals with Leadership Awards at its annual Excellence in Medicine Awards donor reception on Friday, June 5, 2015, in Chicago. Award recipients will receive special training to further develop their skills as future leaders in community affairs and organized medicine. Divya Sharma Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Sharma is a third-year medical student and an AOA member at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) who is passionate about global and public health. She is pursuing an accelerated BS/MD program and has studied at the University of Oxford, where she also volunteered as a researcher for the Africa-Oxford Cancer Prevention Charity. At NJMS, she has demonstrated exceptional leadership within the NJMS-AMA Chapter and NJMS-Global Health Alliance, and has actively volunteered for the NJMS-Student Family Health Care Center that serves the medically underserved residents of Newark. As Chair of the AMA-Medical Student Section (MSS) National Committee on Global and Public Health, she organized six national educational programs, directed a national health literacy initiative with the AMA Foundation, and provided discussion framework for global and public health policy items covered by the AMA-MSS and AMA House of Delegates. Sharma’s goals include leading an NGO connecting international and/or national organizations with community groups to tackle specific issues in universal health care access. The Excellence in Medicine Award program is presented in association with Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pfizer Inc., and PhRMA. The AMA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt foundation, is improving the health of Americans through philanthropic support of quality programs in public health and medical education. To join the AMA Foundation in supporting medical heroes like the Excellence in Medicine Award winners, visit www.amafoundation.org. ### Media Contact: Amy Jenkins, AMA Foundation (312) 464-5864 [email protected]