M E D I C A L   S T U D E N T   S E C T I O N   N E W S L E T T E R

Hello fellow MSS Member!

My name is Sara Zandvakili, and I am delighted to be serving as your chair of the Medical Student Section. I was born and raised in Cincinnati and received my bachelor’s degree at the University of Cincinnati. I am wrapping up my third year at the University of Toledo and will be applying to OB/GYN residency programs come this fall. What brought me to OSMA was my special interest in health care advocacy at the state level.

In my free time, I love cooking elaborate meals with my roommate, rock climbing, and yoga. My involvement with OSMA started with resolution writing and review but quickly grew to focusing on medical student interests as MSS Vice Chair this year. Our section has so much dedication and collective power that I am looking forward to seeing in action this year!

Meet Your New MSS Leadership

Sara Zandvakili MSS Chair

Saaleha Shamsi Vice Chair

Shannon Lam Secretary-Treasurer

Akshay Ganesh AMA Alt. Delegate

Carson Hartlage OSMAPAC

OSMA Annual Meeting Highlights

Resolutions: Our Ohio medical students submitted 25 resolutions for 2025. 20 were adopted, 2 were referred, and 3 were not adopted. 

Scholars: Congratulations to our Summer Scholars and Government Relations Fellow! We look forward to hearing about their work in the coming months, so stay tuned for more. Best wishes to the following students! Summer Scholars are Adeline Whaley, Ali Osman, Jad Elharake, MPH, Aidan R. Butler, Sarah Dickman, Sophia D. Danchine, Stephanie C. Fink, Ashni Patel. And our Gov’t Relations Fellow is Pratik Thakur. 

Posters: We had 18 posters presented during OSMA Annual Meeting. Special thank you to MSS delegate Jennifer Wayland, for her leadership in organizing this event, as well as to all the OSMA members and staff who helped review posters and abstracts!

Overall Winner: Selena Yao

People’s Choice: Umida Burkhanova

Clinical Medicine: Marina Abdelshahid (co-presented with Martina Abdelshahid) & Brad Woodie

Clinical Surgical: Sarah Lux

Advocacy, Policy, or Public Health: Tate Barney

Basic Science/Translational Research: Kennedy Couch

Miscellaneous: Alexis Baumeyer

View All Poster Abstracts >

Thank You for your Membership.
Sincerely,

Sara Zandvakili
Chair of the OSMA Medical Student Section