Two Indiana medical students will assist the ISMA Government Relations (GR) team for the summer as part-time, paid health policy fellows. They will research significant health policy issues and learn firsthand about Indiana’s legislative, legal and regulatory processes.

Abigail J. Deal, a student at Indiana University School of Medicine and IU Kelley School of Business, is a biology and Spanish Top 100 graduate of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She is an AMA Region 5 alternate delegate and ISMA Medical Student Society vice president. Deal is currently working toward both her MD and MBA degrees.

“I am most looking forward to digging into health policy research to gain perspective on how our ISMA policy interacts with the Indiana government and state health care systems at large,” Deal said. “I am also eager to learn best practices to navigate the ever-evolving field of health policy and government as I prepare for a career as a life-long patient advocate." 

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Anna Prall, who attends Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine, is a Purdue University Honors College graduate in neurobiology and physiology. She also has worked as an undergraduate research assistant with Philip Low, MD, and Riyi Shi, MD, at Purdue and volunteers at Riley Hospital for Children.

“I hope to use this opportunity to gain exposure to health policy and learn how I can implement such advocacy into my future career,” Prall said. “This opportunity allows me to challenge myself and learn more about how decisions regarding health policies are made. I am most looking forward to learning from all of the professionals in this organization, becoming more educated on policies that are currently being pushed, and challenging myself to pursue resolutions that I am passionate about.”