Primary Care Track Class of 2027 medical students

July 31, 2023

The College of Community Health Sciences welcomed 37 medical students to the Primary Care Track Class of 2027.

The Primary Care Track, the only one of its kind in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marinex E. Heersink School of Medicine, was created for students who want to practice primary care. The Primary Care Track provides students with a strong foundation in clinical medicine through longitudinal experiences with patients, lasting relationships with mentoring physicians and special programming on leadership skills.

Primary Care Track students spend their first two years at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine’s main campus in Birmingham before completing their final two years at the College. CCHS is a regional campus of the Heersink School of Medicine.

Twelve of the students are also Rural Medical Scholars. The Rural Medical Scholars Program is a part of the Rural Health Leaders Pipeline at CCHS created to address the shortage of primary care physicians in Alabama’s rural communities.

“We are excited to be welcoming this diverse group of learners to the Heersink School of Medicine and look forward to having them here on the Tuscaloosa Regional Campus for their clinical training,” said Dr. Dale Dickinson, director of the Office of Medical Student Affairs and associate professor in the Department of Community Medicine and Population Health at CCHS. “I got to meet and have lunch with this group of students during their orientation week and was impressed by their interest in coming to Tuscaloosa for their training and joining our family here at CCHS.”

Class of 2027 Primary Care Track Students:

• Omotolani Ajayi of Orlando, Fla.
• Bailey Anderson of Dothan, Ala.
• Mar’kayla Bell of Birmingham, Ala.
• Jackson Borak of Tuscaloosa, Ala.
• Charles Byrd of Fitzpatrick, Ala.
• Caroline Condon of Birmingham, Ala.
• Aubrey Cox of Winfield, Ala.
• Siena Defazio of Loxahatchee Groves, Fla.
• Annie Ensor of Sikeston, Mo.
• Madeline Evans of Spanish Fort, Ala.
• Riley Evans of Starkville, Miss.
• William Gard of Madison, Ala.
• Taylor Hollis of Newark, Calif.
• Tyler Huang of Fayette, Ala.
• Alexis Hyde of Greenhill, Ala.
• Bryce Jeffrey of Greenhill, Ala.
• Leanne Jeong of Dothan, Ala.
• Lilianna Kaplan of Anniston, Ala.
• Salem Khalaf of Vestavia Hills, Ala.
• Kaleb Kittrell of Samantha, Ala.
• Chase Layton of Enterprise, Ala.
• Emma McKinley
• John Moody of Butler, Ala.
• Michael Murphy of Mount Prospect, Ill.
• Samuel Penque of Trussville, Ala.
• Hariteja Ramapuram of Auburn, Ala.
• Douglas Rives of Wetumpka, Ala.
• Erin Roberts of Coaling, Ala.
• Jailyn Shepard of Selma, Ala.
• Paola Sommer of Dothan, Ala.
• Anna Ulrey of Anniston, Ala.
• Jacques Vanzyl of Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Neelu Varghese of Birmingham, Ala.
• Nayana Vuppala of Huntsville, Ala.
• Lily Wiedmer of Anniston, Ala.
• Jenna Wood of Winfield, Ala.
• Kendrick Yu of O’Fallon, Mo.