Department of Radiology Partners with ‘I Am Abel’ to Promote Health Equity
I Am Abel, a Chicago-based non-profit, was created to promote community engagement and address healthcare disparities. Their mission is to help aspiring pre-medical students—primarily first-generation college students—participate in networking and mentoring opportunities within the medical community. Throughout the course of a year, their program acts as a pipeline for high quality programming, academic advising, and other opportunities for pre-med students to connect with doctors in the Chicago area.
Earlier this winter, on January 18th, Northwestern Radiology supported this mission by hosting a two-hour interactive workshop to introduce pre-med students in the I Am Abel organization to the field of radiology and interventional radiology. The session was presented by Diego Hipolito Canario and Ahmed Gabr and was a huge success.
A similarly well-received program on May 15th and 16th was hosted by four residents within the department—Ogechi Nwosu Hickman, Ana Gonzalez, Matt Agritelley and Marisa Agritelley—and attending Senta Berggruen, all of whom gave engaging lectures to a group of mostly first-generation college students about the basics of radiology and the role radiology plays in patient care.
This was the fifth session the Northwestern Radiology Department has coordinated with I Am Abel. The collaboration started in December 2024, when Dr. Berggruen spoke at an event hosted by I Am Abel during that year's Radiological Society of North America conference. Since then, Northwestern Radiology has served as a crucial partner with the organization, offering regular lectures and mentorship opportunities to students that have not otherwise have exposure or engagement in medicine and specifically radiology. If you are interested in learning more about the program and collaboration with I Am Abel as an opportunity for community engagement and student mentorship, please reach out to Senta Berggruen (Senta.Berggruen@nm.org) for more information.
