Washington, D.C., October 30, 2003 - Anna Cherrie Epps, Ph.D., former dean of the school of medicine at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, will be honored as the fourth recipient of the Herbert W. Nickens, M.D., Award during the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) 114th Annual Meeting at the Washington, D.C. Hilton and Towers, November 7-13. Dr. Epps will address the strategies and processes needed to increase minority participation in medical education and healthcare delivery during her Nickens Lecture on Sunday, November 9 at 3:30 p.m.

The Herbert W. Nickens, M.D., Award, named for the AAMC's founding vice president of the Division of Community and Minority Programs, is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to promote justice in medical education and health care.

A pioneer in meeting the needs of minority physicians, Dr. Anna Cherrie Epps has made tremendous contributions to the recruitment, education, and retention of minority and disadvantaged students in the field of medicine.

In 1969, Dr. Epps became director of the Medical Education Reinforcement and Enrichment Program (MEdREP) for minority and disadvantaged students and the Health Career Opportunity Program (HCOP) at Tulane University Health Sciences Center. Acting on her belief that minority and disadvantaged students of all kinds could become successful physicians if their particular educational needs were addressed, Dr. Epps designed MEdREP to identify, counsel, motivate, recruit, retain and graduate an increased number of pre-professional undergraduate and post-baccalaureate minority students from rural or disadvantaged backgrounds. As a result of this innovative program, which ended in 1997, more than 1,200 minority rural or disadvantaged students are either practicing physicians or are currently enrolled in medical school.

Dr. Epps began her association with Meharry Medical College in 1994, when then president John E. Maupin, Jr., D.D.S., sought her expertise in designing and implementing medical education programs. After completing her assessment of the school's current program, Dr. Epps was asked to implement her recommendations. Under her leadership, first as a consultant, then as acting vice president for academic affairs, and later as dean of the school from 1997 to 2002, the faculty have instituted an integrated curriculum, and expanded and enhanced pre-clinical and clinical learning experiences, resulting in improved student performance.

A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Dr. Epps received a B.S. degree in zoology from Howard University in 1951, a M.S. degree in biological studies from Loyola University in 1959 and a Ph.D. in zoology from Howard University in 1966. Following her five-year tenure as dean of the Meharry Medical College School of Medicine, Dr. Epps was named to her current position as senior advisor to the president and dean emeritus of the school of medicine.

Dr. Epps joins a distinguished list of Nickens Award recipients: Former Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D. (2002); Former University of Michigan President Lee Bollinger, J.D. (2001); and University of Maryland Medical School Dean Donald Wilson, M.D. (2000).

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 129 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.

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