Ming Lin, Region VI Co-Director
National Board
Hi everyone! My name is Ming Lin, a second year medical student at the Medical College of Wisconsin. I was born in Zhaoqing, China, sprouted in Minnetonka, MN, and completed my prior higher education in Boston, MA. I graduated from undergrad in 2014 at Tufts University and subsequently completed a master’s in 2018 at Boston University School of Medicine. Very excited and honored to be a part of the APAMSA family. I look forward to working together to elevate AANHPI voices. We are stronger together!
Karen Qi, Mental Health Director
National Board
Hello! My name is Karen Qi, and I’m excited to serve as APAMSA’s Mental Health Director this year! I grew up in the Bay Area, went to college at Rice University, then worked in adolescent mental health research for a couple of years in DC. Currently, I’m a medical student at Hopkins. Outside of school, I’ve been involved in research on Baltimore’s history of deinstitutionalization, MedChi (Maryland’s physician society), and Bamboo Sprouts (a student organization that helps connect Asian adoptees with their cultural backgrounds). In my free time, I love to dance, collect records, and snowboard!
Zheng Hong Tang, Director of Organized Medicine
National Board
Hi! My name is Zheng Hong Tan and I am a 6th year MD/PhD student at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. I was born and raised in Singapore and came to Columbus, OH for college and never left! In my free time, I like to backpack and eat and explore new food places – so much so that I actually did my initial filter of med school applications wayyy back based on the food that is available!
Jonathan Weng, Membership Co-Vice President
National Board
My name is Jonathan Weng, and I am an MS3 at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. I grew up in the Midwest as a child of Taiwanese immigrants, and the tension of living in the narrow space between “Asian” and “American” bruised my bicultural self-identity as an incomplete member of either. Finding a niche as a leader in the AANHPI community during my undergraduate years facilitated my discovery of the beauty in each culture and compelled me to embrace the peculiar opportunity of simultaneously indulging in both. More recently, my experiences as a Regional Director and Membership Vice President have afforded me the rewarding opportunity of collaborating with AANHPI students and leaders in medicine across the nation who have a similar heart and mind for bettering AANHPI health. Outside of medicine, some of my interests include music, basketball, and theology. I look forward to working with and learning from each of you as we seek to understand, appreciate, and leverage the gift of our cultural identities in the context of medicine!
Nicholas Wu, Region VI Co-Director
National Board
Hi APAMSA! My name is Nicholas Wu, but I go by Nick. I’m currently a first-year at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri, and serve as the chapter Co-President for APAMSA as well as Regional Director for Region VI. I’m originally from the Bay Area, and graduated from UCLA with a degree in Molecular Biology and double minors in English and Biomedical Research in 2019. In my free time, I love learning about music production and practicing my skills as an amateur DJ!
Madeleine Wong, Communications Vice President
National Board
Hello! My name is Madeleine Wong, I also go by Maddy! I am a fourth year medical student at New York Medical College (NYMC). This is my second term serving as the Communications Vice President, and third term on the National Board. My journey with APAMSA started as a mere local chapter member at NYMC from which I succeeded as chapter president. I participated in the 2019 National Conference as a member of the House of Delegate (HOD), became involved as a Hepatitis B/C Conference committee member, and officially joined National APAMSA as one of the Hepatitis B/C Directors before becoming the Communications Vice President. I am so grateful to have been apart of the APAMSA family throughout my medical school career, and so excited to see what’s more to come! Experiences in healthcare inequity, especially those unique to the AANHPI population, are no stranger to me or my family. Being able to contribute to an organization that addresses these disparities to empower the community of which I grew up in, has been a privilege. In my free time, I am an artist by nature – I love photography, graphic design, painting, drawing, you name it! Additionally, I am a dog-lover and spend a lot of time with my Australian Shepherd, Bourbon.
2020-2021 National Board
Executive Board
Tiffany Cheng
External Affairs Vice President
University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine
externalvp@apamsa.org
Branch Directors
Jooeun ‘Jay’ Kang
AAPI Advocacy Director
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
aapi-advocacy@apamsa.org
Daniel Pham
Rapid Response Director
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
rapidresponse@apamsa.org
Eun Ah Cho (Vivian Lou)
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Director
Stanford University School of Medicine
nhpidirector@apamsa.org
Syeda Akila Li
South Asian Director
University of Illinois College of Medicine
sadirector@apamsa.org
Diane Wei
Premed APAMSA Director
University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Science
premed@apamsa.org
Chiara Macaraig
Premed APAMSA Director
Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
premed@apamsa.org
Clarine Long
Announcements Director
Ohio State University College of Medicine
announcements@apamsa.org
Victoria Cegielski
Social Media Director
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
socialmedia@apamsa.org
Kathleen Dinh
Co-Sponsorship Director
Michigan State University
College of Human Medicine
sponsorship@apamsa.org
Sang Min Lee
National Conference Chair
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
sangmin.lee@osumc.edu
Tiffany Kar Guan
National Conference Chair
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
tiffany.guan@osumc.edu
Membership Regional Directors
Rod Carlo Columbres
Region 4 Director
William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine
region4@apamsa.org
Past National Boards
A Message From Our President
Welcome to APAMSA! Thank you for visiting our website and learning more about our initiatives for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) pre-medical students, medical students, physicians, and community members.
Founded in 1995, the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association is the largest, official 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan organization of healthcare students committed to addressing the unique health challenges of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities through leadership, mentorship, advocacy, education, and service. Our organization focuses on AANHPI health disparities, cultural barriers to healthcare, advocacy, diversity and intersectionality, community outreach, Hepatitis B/C and cancer initiatives, bone marrow registry, and mental health wellness.
Over the past few years, the AANHPI communities have encountered extreme adversity in the wake of two pandemics: COVID-19 and anti-Asian racism. Instead of shying away from the challenges, APAMSA and our AANHPI communities have risen to the opportunity and flocked together to overcome the challenges that have been imposed on us. We have grown our strength in numbers–now encompassing over 165 local chapters and 10,000 members–by officializing membership and expanding our reach to both pre-medical chapters and alumni. Resultantly, we saw an expansion in the incredible efforts of our local chapters and members advocating and caring for AANHPI communities with a countless number of health fairs, volunteer services, and educational conferences.
As APAMSA continues to grow, our organization remains motivated to improve the health and well-being of AANHPI communities locally, regionally, and nationally.
Join us in fulfilling our 2023-2024 National Goals:
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- Activate additional pre-medical/pre-health chapters and medical chapters, recruit more alumni members, and strengthen existing relationships
- Advocate for the health and well-being of our AANHPI communities, especially for those among our most vulnerable and marginalized populations
- Connect members locally, regionally, and nationally through numerous conferences (Annual National Conference, 8-9 Regional Conferences, Hepatitis Conferences), in-person and virtual socials, and events
- Educate the general public and healthcare professionals about specific health challenges and disparities that exist in AANHPI communities
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- Encourage more underrepresented minorities in AANHPI communities to pursue healthcare professions, especially as physicians, through active engagement, recruitment, and support
- Prioritize diversity, inclusion, equity, and intersectionality efforts at local chapters and on national board
- Promote AANHPI-centered medical and public health research with disaggregated data of AANHPI subgroups
- Recruit members to pursue leadership opportunities with APAMSA locally and nationally
- Support local chapters, members, peer organizations, and sponsors in community engagement, advocacy, and educational efforts
Join APAMSA HERE and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay connected with us. Sign up to join your local chapter leadership, activate a new pre-med/health or medical chapter, connect with APAMSA mentors, advocate for your local AANHPI communities, and more. Every individual has the power to pursue leadership opportunities and make a tangible difference in your local AANHPI communities. At APAMSA, with our members’ and allies’ unwavering support, we continue to march toward a better tomorrow.
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” – Søren Kierkegaard
Joyce H. Lee
She/Her/Hers
President
president@apamsa.org