Two Weill Cornell Students Win Prestigious Macy Scholarships To Study Public Health at Columbia's Mailman School

May 20, 2002

NEW YORK

Two third-year students at Weill Cornell Medical College are among the 12 New York City medical students who have been awarded prestigious Macy Scholarships to support their studies for a Master's in Public Health degree at Columbia University's Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health.

Both students, who will return to Weill Cornell after a year at Columbia, say that they aim to have a broad impact on health policy and public health in addition to gaining the skills of a medical doctor.

"Although I enjoy clinical medicine and the rewards that come with directly delivering a service to patients, I would also like to have a broader influence on the systems through which this clinical care is given," said Michael A. Young. For that, the M.P.H. program, which allows a specialization in health policy and management, is very suitable.

"The beauty of public health is that it focuses on the basic needs of the individual through the vantage point of the greater community," said the other Weill Cornell student, Simone P. Porter, expressing a similar interest in adding the M.P.H. curriculum to her M.D. studies.

Dr. Madelon L. Finkel, Professor of Public Health at Weill Cornell, said that the Medical College should be proud that it has won two Macy Scholarships this year. "This program, which is supported by the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation, has contributed greatly to public health training in the metropolitan area," Dr. Finkel said. "Michael Young and Simone Porter will benefit greatly by this experience."

The Macy Scholarships are open to students at New York City medical schools and support a year of study toward the M.P.H. at Columbia's Mailman School.

Last year's Macy Scholars included one student from Weill Cornell, David D. Byrd, who has returned to the Medical College for his fourth year, and who says he appreciated the opportunity to study such subjects as epidemiology, biostatistics, the history of medicine, and health policy. "Ultimately, I intend to devote a majority of my time to humanitarian work," he said.