TLRO Student Awarded with Prestigious Student Research Fellowship

University of Missouri medical student Yak Nak was recently awarded a 2023 Alpha Omega Alpha student research fellowship. The fellowship provides $6,000 that will go towards Nak’s research entitled, “Understanding Orthopaedic Surgical Capacity and Technical Priorities in South Sudan.”

 The project's two main goals are to assess the current challenges, barriers, and gaps in access to orthopaedic care in South Sudan and to determine key technical priorities that can be implemented to improve orthopaedic care.

 "I am simply grateful for this amazing opportunity and excited to collaborate with many experienced mentors from the South Sudan Orthopaedic and Trauma Society, Missouri Orthopaedic Institute and Harvard Global Orthopaedics Collaborative to explore and collectively problem-solve surgical challenges in my home country South Sudan,” Nak said.

 Alpha Omega Alpha is the national medical honor society dedicated to the belief that in the profession of medicine we will improve care for all by recognizing high educational achievement; honoring gifted teaching; encouraging the development of leaders in academia and the community; supporting the ideals of humanism; and promoting service to others. The society elects more than 4,000 students, residents/fellows, faculty and alumni each year and is comprised of more than 200,000 members today.