UNC SOM AAFA meeting with the Undergraduate Asian American Center, April 2022
We invite you to join the UNC School of Medicine Affinity Group Asian American Faculty Association (AAFA) with the goal of supporting, empowering, and celebrating our Asian American (AA) faculty and fostering opportunities for networking, communication, and growth. The AAFA Affinity Group is open to all.
Our Mission
To Increase education and dialogue on issues affecting Asian Americans
Support leadership, career development, and advancement among AA faculty
Foster the exchange of diverse intellectual, social, cultural, and political perspectives from the AA faculty
Enhance the University’s inclusion commitment to teaching, service, and outreach to the Asian American community
AAFA in 2025! It was good to catch up at our favorite local eatery, Hawkers! We feasted on Baos, haw fun, pad thai, soup dumplings. Emily let us know that she was interviewed on the People’s Pharmacy (see separate posting). Lee-Ching qualified at the Chapel Hill and North Carolina level in Badminton so will proceed … Read more
AAFA members in the news! Emily Chang was interviewed on Terry and Joe Graedon’s the People’s Pharmacy podcast. She gave an update on Kidney Health. Watch the podcast and see the website article here. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peoples-pharmacy/id268003768?i=1000680294991 Also the article on their website is here: https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/show-1411-could-your-kidneys-be-failing-you-the-hidden-epidemic-affecting-millions
Associate Dean for Student Affairs, UNC SOM; Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology achuang@med.unc.edu
Bio: Alice Chuang was born in Taipei, Taiwan but moved to Memphis, TN at the age of 5 months. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Applied Mathematics at Harvard and then returned to her hometown of Memphis to attend medical school and residency at the University of TN. She accepted a faculty appointment at UNC SOM in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2003. She has been fortunate to have served as a course director in all phases of the curriculum and to have served as a student advisor before shifting to a formal role in Student Affairs. She currently serves as the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
She is grateful for having the opportunity to serve the students at UNC and credits her career achievements to her extraordinary mentors, particularly Dr. Frank Ling who steered her towards a career in medical education as a resident. She credits her career satisfaction to a community, both local and national, of amazing colleagues and friends. She credits her sanity and insanity to her two children, ages 16 and 13, the menagerie of animals in their home: Memphis (Aussiedoodle) Luna (Westiepoo), Yoshi (chiweenie), Cooper (box turtle) and Upendo (artic albino Western hognose snake) and her partner, who is coincidentally also an obstetrician.
Develop and create regular communications (interest stories, opinion pieces), communicate with SOM and healthcare system, managing website (or whichever communication platform is determined to be best), provide updates from other committees.
Members:Drs. Ganesh Kamath, Michael Wang, & Michael Yeung
Networking:
Event planning with an eye towards strengthening specific AAFA networks (e.g., professional role, ethnicity, mothering, sports interests, other), fostering member engagement, opportunities to meet and network.
Explore ways to engage with the local and national Asian American community with a focus on service and advocacy.
Members:Drs. Vibhor Kirshna, Vimal Derbail, Vinay Chaudhry, Zahra Girnary, & Mia Kang
Professional development:
Create seminars, workshops, lectures around promotion and leadership building, utilizing UNC resources e.g., SOM Faculty Development, other UNC leadership programs on campus.
Connecting with undergraduate students, medical students, and residents to advise, mentor, coach and support future AA scientists, physicians, and healthcare providers.
Founded in 2020, the Asian American Center’s mission is to cultivate a critical understanding of Asian American peoples, cultures, and histories. Through education, organizing, and advocacy, the AAC will engage and empower Asian American students, faculty, and staff and the greater Carolina community. The AAC will enhance the University’s commitment to excellence by expanding access to interdisciplinary learning and preparing the next generation of leaders for an increasingly multicultural society.
