Romy Portieles Pena

2020 Medical Student Scholars

Romy graduated from the University of Chicago in 2020 with a B.A. in Biological Sciences. Before medical school she conducted translational gastroenterology research with Dr. Vivian Lee and Dr. Micah Prochaska at the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she focused on the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease. After starting medical school, she began working with Dr. Tanya Zakrison and her team to develop a curriculum for trauma surgery trainees that addresses the structural racism and inequities that their patients face and teaches them how to be active anti-racism advocates. Romy is the Co-Interpreter Coordinator of Community Health Clinic, a free clinic at Pritzker. This year, she has worked to develop a standardized interpreter curriculum for the students and interpreters at the clinic. She also co-leads the Vascular Surgery Interest Group and is the Co-Mentorship Chair for the Pritzker chapter of LMSA. Romy will be working with Bucksbaum Faculty Scholar, Dr. Anna Volerman this summer. She will focus on evaluating a pilot program that embeds community health workers into elementary schools with the purpose to improve asthma management and outcomes for children.