Commencing in 2020, The International Biomedical Research Alliance introduced a service recognition award to honor Scholars in the NIH Oxford-Cambridge/Wellcome Trust Scholars Program who demonstrate exceptional community service. Awardees are nominated by their peers to be recognized for their exceptional service, not only to the Scholars Program but also to the greater NIH and University communities. It is an honor to be recognized, but especially notable when the recognition comes from peers who have a unique and focused view of the awardees and their efforts.
The Building a Better Community Through Service Award recognizes a Scholar for their outstanding service to the community. The Award honors an individual who continuously places significant importance on the well-being of their community. Committed to social responsibility, they invest their time and talent to elevate and inspire others and, in doing so, uplift the community as a whole.
The “Building a Better Community Through Service Award” was bestowed upon Linh Pham and presented by outgoing Scientific Director Dr. Iain Fraser.
Linh Pham is an NIH-Oxford MD/DPhil Scholar in the Class of 2022. Her mentors are Dr. Armin Raznahan at the National Institute of Mental Health and Professor Jason Lerch at the University of Oxford. Linh was nominated by two of her peers separately. One nominator shared “In her short time as the Oxford Rep, the community has undergone a social revival that it hasn’t been able to have during the pandemic. She’s a diligent leader in her organizational skills which balances with her warm-hearted nature that welcomes both old and new OxCam students. Under her leadership, we now have regular social events that were missing before and her ability to encourage attendance has made the group of students in Oxford feel more like a community.
“I am very grateful that my peers nominated me. I also want to thank the IBRA for giving me this award and sponsoring our social initiatives this year. We all live far away from our support systems while studying in Oxford, so it has truly been my honor and joy to work with OxCam friends in creating the sense of ‘home away from home’. The most wonderful thing I learned from serving in this position is that OxCam students have such immense talents and diverse interests outside of academics. I look forward to seeing IBRA helping the next Oxford rep bring in new, vibrant colors to our social scene with their interests, talents, and perspective on what is beautiful, weird, and unique about Oxford and the UK,” shared Linh.