Quashawn Chadwick

Hometown: Albemarle, NC

Career interests: Pediatric Psychiatry

Hobbies: Linguistics, music, films, literature, foreign languages, and traveling.

Undergraduate Education: UNC School of the Arts

Enrichment Experiences

Director: Student Gender and Diversity Organization, Brody School of Medicine

November 2021 – May 2024
Represented the class of 2025 in student government in matters of ethical inclusion of those from diverse backgrounds. Provided leadership, education, and community to the Brody student body championing the needs and obstacles faced by individuals of diverse gender and sexual identities.Ensured that students had access to wealth of resources offered by the student government to celebrate their diversity and brought conflicts before the student government for rectification.

Keynote Speaker: Future Health Professional Conference, Brody School of Medicine

October 15, 2022
Delivered the keynote speech for the Future Health Professionals Conference, designed to increase exposure of health care careers to rising 7th-12th graders in the Eastern North Carolina area, exposing students from diverse backgrounds to various careers in healthcare including medicine, dentistry, nursing, and well as health administration.

National Institutes of Health, Genome Research Institute’s Immersive Summer Program for Research in Genomics (iSPRING)

June 2022 – August 2022
Principal Investigator: Susan Persky, PhD, Head of Health Communication and Behavior Unit, Immersive Simulation Program, NHGRI/NIH.
Participated in hands-on research focused on health communication and behavior using immersive simulation technologies. Contributed to ongoing projects in genomics research, gaining experience in data analysis and scientific communication.

Diversity Representative: Medical School Committee Class of 2025, Brody School of Medicine, 2021-2022

Represented the class of 2025 in student government in matters of ethical inclusion of those from diverse backgrounds. Ensured that students had access to wealth of resources offered by the student government to celebrate their diversity and brought conflicts before the student government for rectification.

Sexual and Gender Diversity Committee

As a member of SGDC, I have the opportunity to receive information about LGBT initiatives taking place on ECU main campus as well as on the health science campus. The committee functions with members across disciplines to increase the visibility, advocacy, and well-being of LGBT individuals in the community. Upon joining the group, I was able to obtain SafeZone Training under the tutelage of Mark Rasdorf, the Senior Associate Director in Intercultural Affairs at East Carolina University and Director of the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center. I felt privileged to have the opportunity to take part in the True Colors photography exhibit in Fall 2021 and voice those things which I find most resilient about the LGBT community. It has been a great honor to watch the work and listen to the counsel of Dr. Jesse R. Peel himself. I look forward to recommitting to my SafeZone training for 2025 and participating in more activities on campus in support of the organization.

Diversity Representative and Beyond

I was given the opportunity in 2021 to represent the class of 2025 as the Diversity Representative in the Medical Student Council. As a member of the council, I contributed to the MSC Philanthropy group’s annual project, a fundraising tournament in partnership with Community Crossroads Center. I was glad to be an important contributor to the Diversity Week events which was a great divertissement in the busy schedule of M1 year. I felt a great sense of achievement when I gave a training lecture on building safe spaces, which touched on the importance of diversity, identity, and astute observation of history in order to create an environment which accommodates some of the most marginalized individuals in our society. Though I will not continue as diversity representative into the class of 2025, I am looking forward to continuing the essential goals that I aimed to fulfill in 2021 by founding a Medical Ethics Interest Group. My goal is to keep contributing to the discourse regarding diversity and inclusion at Brody and help shape the culture of our institution for future cohorts.

Comprehensive Campaign Kickoff Celebration

In Spring, 2022, I was given the chance to speak on behalf of the Brody School of Medicine Sim lab with my colleague and friend Ryan Dickerson as a part of the Comprehensive Campaign Kickoff Celebration. This was a major fundraising event offered by the Division of University Advancement which allowed each area of the health science campus to showcase their students and faculty in a visual and/or interactive way. I was able to demonstrate the novelty and utility of our institution’s SIM lab, a growing piece of our education and essential tool in our dedication to patient safety. This event was a major success and great fun. I intend to rise to the occasion when called to vouch on behalf of the tools of our institution whenever I receive the opportunity to do such.

NHGRI iSPRING Program, 2022

I participated in research at the National Institutes of Health, Human Genome Research Institute’s Immersive Summer Program for Research in Genomics [ISPRinG]. At the institute, I worked in the lab of Dr. Susan Persky, a researcher in the social and behavioral research branch and also the head of the virtual reality simulation lab. As an intern, I took on responsibilities regarding project design, presentation of new developments in our research at various forums, and I also participated in lectures, ground rounds, and trainings that spanned disciplines from internal medicine and primary care to social psychology, to genetics and genomics. In the end, I was able to present at the NIH’s own summer research poster event as well as disseminate the results of my projects at ECU.

Summer Scholars Research Project, 2022

I also independently designed a research project whose completion I will pursue during my 2nd- 4th years as a Brody student. Under the guidance of Dr. Karlene Cunningham, I hope that my research can address concerns in health care equity specific to primary care in North Carolina.

Upcoming Plans

This year I’m looking forward to working with the HIV and AIDS malignancy branch of the Cancer institute at NIH. At this point in my medical career, I can’t wait to graduate and begin residency. I’m so pleased that in my current position I can perform high quality research and help make sense of the diseases that affect so many living with HIV and AIDS associated cancers. The Brody scholar program is amazing because it allows me to pursue my interest while gaining access to resources that I would otherwise not have.

Albemarle native receives ECU’s most prestigious scholarship (PDF)

Honors & Awards:

Gold Humanism Honor Society, Brody School of Medicine, May 2024

Recognized for exceptional humanistic qualities in patient care, leadership, and community service. This honor highlights a commitment to compassionate care and ethical medical practice.