Jasmine Kimber, a UNC medical student (class of 2027), was recently awarded a Medical and Graduate Student Preceptorship Award from the Rheumatology Research Foundation. This award funds a full-time mentored research experience with an established rheumatology professional, with the purpose of encouraging students to consider careers in rheumatology. Jasmine has been working with Dr. Amanda E. Nelson, MD, MSCR, RhMSUS, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology at UNC, since 2024, and is also participating in the clinical research scholarly concentration (CRESCENT) at the UNC SOM.
Jasmine’s project, “Associations between inflammatory biomarkers and ultrasound features of knee osteoarthritis,” combines data from two of Dr. Nelson’s funded research projects. This work explores associations between blood and imaging biomarkers of inflammation in community-based individuals with and without knee osteoarthritis drawn from the Johnston County Health Study. Jasmine will be attending ACR Convergence 2025 in October with funding from the RRF award where she plans to present her submitted abstract while learning more about the field of rheumatology.