Congratulations to Dr. Ynhi Thomas for being selected for The Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM) Resident Scholarship to attend SAEM. AWAEM was created in 2009 to promote the recruitment, retention, advancement and leadership of women in academic emergency medicine. The AWAEM Resident Scholarship for SAEM is dedicated to exposing residents interested in issues related to the advancement of women in Academic Emergency Medicine. Three total recipients were chosen nationally on a competitive basis. Recipients had outstanding prior accomplishments, dedication in advancing the health of women, and excellent academic potential.

Ynhi Thomas, MD, MPH, MSc is an Emergency Medicine Intern at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Thomas is committed to promoting equity and diversity, especially for women. She is a co-founder of the FEM@BCM (Females in EM at Baylor College of Medicine) group which promotes mentorship and leadership. The group is organizing a speaker series of prominent female leaders in EM, as well as planning round table discussions on topics such as gender bias and contract negotiation. She is writing her EM department’s first lactation policy, as well as working to secure the department’s first hospital grade breast pump.

Dr. Thomas holds other leadership positions as her residency program’s Emergency Medicine Residents Association (EMRA) Program Representative. She is also leading new projects as a part of EMRA’s Administration and Operations Committee, including the creation of a national mentorship database, and she is a former Coro Fellow in Public Affairs.

Dr. Thomas received her MD and MPH degrees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she co-founded Rethink Coverage, a nonprofit that collected stories from underserved patients as a catalyst for change. She was selected to be a TEDxBirmingham speaker as a result of her work. She holds a MSc in Medical Anthropology from Oxford University. At Oxford, she was a Graduate Ambassador and Copy Editor for Human Welfare: An International Journal of Graduate Research. Dr. Thomas completed her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering at The University of Alabama. While there, she led a team of students to Cambodia with Engineers Without Borders and won a $100,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a novel water testing device.

In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, hiking, and spending time with her husband and toddler son.

Congrats Dr. Thomas!