• CHFM Announces Recipient of Annual Sandra L. Panther History of Family Medicine Fellowship

    June 10, 2021

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Contact:
    Cheri Tabel
    (800) 274-2237, ext. 6306
    ctabel@aafp.org

    The Center for the History of Family Medicine (CHFM) announced today the recipient of the 2021 Sandra L. Panther Fellowship in the History of Family Medicine.

    Dr. Masahiro Morikawa has been awarded the CHFM’s 11th Annual Fellowship in the History of Family Medicine for his project “Reassessing the Meaning of ‘Family’ in Family Medicine.” 

    “It is my honor to be selected as a Sandra L. Panther Fellow in the history of family medicine. I would like to take this opportunity to examine how family medicine was constructed in the United States, focusing on the meaning of “family” in the discipline," said Dr. Morikawa. "More practitioners in metropolitan areas give up OB while sub-specializations among our discipline are accelerating. As a practicing family physician at an academic medical center, it is important for me to understand the origin and construct of family medicine and rekindle a serious conversation on directions and implications on the training for future generations.”

    Masahiro “Mori” Morikawa, MD, MPH, is the medical director of the PCC Family Medicine Clinic at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA, providing care to both adults and children. 

    This fellowship project “Reassessing the Meaning of ‘Family’ in Family Medicine,” will focus on reviewing the origin of family medicine as a specialty to analyze whether the concept is still relevant in current practice and to identify critical elements that need to be incorporated in training the future generation of family physicians. 

    CHFM presently sponsors one $2,000 Fellowship in the History of Family Medicine each year. Named the Sandra L. Panther Fellowship in the History of Family Medicine in honor of former AAFP Foundation executive director, Sandra L. “Sandy” Panther, interested family physicians, residents, students, other health professionals, historians, scholars, educators, scientists, and others are invited to apply for the fellowship. For more information, please visit the Center's website.