Gabriela Barzyk

Gabriela is a final year medical student. She is a Founding Member and incoming Trustee at In2MedSchool, a national widening-participation initiative aimed at supporting students from underprivileged backgrounds on their journey to medical school and university. Since the inception of the programme last year, the initiative grew to support over a 1000 Mentees with one-to-one mentoring, fortnightly webinars and various resources. Gabriela has worked on various local and national initiatives, and is currently also involved with the Royal Society of Medicine and the British Oncology National Undergraduate Society (BONUS).

Speaking about the opportunity, Gabriela Barzyk, said:

“HLA is a fantastic opportunity, allowing me to challenge myself further as a leader, and giving me the chance to be surrounded by like-minded individuals. I feel extremely privileged to be selected for this opportunity and hope to connect with further projects to drive further change.”

Allan Cameron

Allan is a final year medical student and holds a PhD in Immunology. Following a successful career in research he joined Warwick Medical School in 2018. His research interests include medical education, FGM and mental health provision and policy. He serves as a co-opted Governor at an SEND school in Coventry and leads on mental health and Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development. As part of this role he has developed a project integrating social prescribing into the school environment, to reduce barriers and enhance the life skills and well-being of students and the wider school community.

Allan Cameron, said:

“The HLA scholars programme addresses the dearth of leadership training and development available to clinicians and provides an exciting opportunity to engage with current and future leaders in the field. I appreciate this opportunity to contribute to the HLA community and am keen to work with the talented scholars to deliver our projects.”

Laura Whitter

Laura is a second year medical student and the National Blood Donation Lead for the educational charity We Are Donors. After working as an Events Assistant with the NHS Blood and Transplant marketing department, she initiated and is leading a national university blood donation campaign alongside them entitled "Study, Socialise, Save Lives." which is due to begin this month.

As a member of the NHS Blood and Transplant stakeholders forum and of the We Are Donors steering committee, Laura is also working on the expansion of the charity and blood donation campaign to further medical schools. She also oversaw the creation and expansion of In2MedSchool in its founding year alongside Gabriela, as Co-Ordinator of all 30 medical school regions and a founding member.

Speaking on the opportunity, Laura Whitter said:

"When you start medical school everyone tells you to make the most of each opportunity, and it's opportunities like the HLA scholarship that make me excited to be here, about the ideas I have, and the possibilities my career will hold. I feel extremely grateful to have the support and guidance of the HLA through this year, and am looking forward to meeting some inspiring people and growing my insight and perspectives."