what is the NMA Future of Pathology Award?

The Future of Pathology Award was established in 2020 with the goal to recognize and reward minority students and trainees who have a special interest in the field of Pathology. Applicants may be students ranging from the high school and college levels to medical school, as well as residents and fellows who are underrepresented in the field of medicine.

Submit your resume and statement to [email protected] and complete the Google form here.
2022 Future of Pathology Award Recipients 

SHAMSU BELLO

Ashley Crosby
Shamsu Sahalu Bello is a Pathology Fellow at General Amadi Rimi Specialist Hospital, Katsina State, Nigeria. He went to the Bayero University Kano for undergraduate degree and completed pathology residency at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. He is interested in cancer research and hopes to specialize in cytopathology and gastrointestinal pathology. As a young pathologist from a resource limited society, his hobby is to teach and mentor younger colleagues and help them realize their dream. ​
​Ashley Crosby is a second-year Clinical Pathology resident at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Originally from Prince George’s County, Maryland, she received her undergraduate degree from Mount St. Mary’s University and medical degree from UNC Chapel Hill. She is now applying for a fellowship position in blood banking/transfusion medicine. Her current research focuses on the immune response to blood products. ​

Kenechukwu ojukwu

Kenechukwu Ojukwu, MD, MPP, is a dual fellow in UCLA’s National Clinicians Scholar Program (NCSP) and UCLA’s Bone and Soft Tissue subspecialty pathology fellowship.  As an NCSP fellow, she is interested in medical education design, health services research within underserved communities particularly regarding community medical education, and medical curriculum effectiveness.  Dr. Ojukwu completed a surgical pathology fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and her anatomic and clinical pathology residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. She graduated from the medical program PRIME-LA, a five-year concurrent/dual degree UCLA program, with a medical degree and a master’s degree in public policy. She received her bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley before PRIME-LA helped her hone her skills in advocacy and creating community partnerships.

​During her time at Harbor, even before serving as Chief Resident, she implemented pathology engagement interactive booths at health fairs bringing medical knowledge to the community and providing her co-residents with opportunities to engage directly with the community they served. In her role as pathology ambassador for ASCP, she collaborated with UCLA to offer medical students shadowing opportunities to experience the particularities of a county hospital. She served on various committees at Harbor that worked to address resident issues, to increase diversity of the workforce and improve the training for faculty and resident educators. She received the College of American Pathologists (CAP) Foundation Leadership Development Award as well as was a 2021 Society of ’67 Kinney Scholar (Association of Pathology Chairs). She served as resident ambassador providing COVID-19 staff outreach and counseling about the vaccine. Her commitment to improving medical education and pathology community involvement, led to her being chosen as one of the 2021 American Society for Clinical Pathology’s (ASCP) 40 under Forty honorees. 
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sydnie williams

Sydnie Williams is currently a junior Clinical Laboratory Science major with a minor in Criminology at Howard University. She works part-time as a Medical Assistant during school and is President of the Clinical Laboratory Science Society at Howard. Sydnie aspires to go to medical school and pursue a career in Forensic Pathology. She is passionate about bringing more students into the field of forensic medicine.
Sydnie completed a summer internship this year at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Washington, DC in the Mortuary department. She assisted with autopsy procedures including fingerprinting, vitreous fluid collection, and suturing. She recently spoke at the 2022 Annual NMA Conference discussing “HIV and Black Women: Prevalence and Prevention.”