Congratulations to Ashley Thrower, MD, a second-year resident in the combined Medicine-Pediatrics Residency program, who was selected as the recipient of the 2022 Dr. Brenda Armstrong Award for Service Towards the Advancement of Diversity and Inclusion at Duke. She was recognized at the 2022 SNMA Martin Luther King, Jr. Banquet on Saturday, January 22.
“We are incredibly proud and grateful for the work Ashley does to advocate for diversity and inclusion at Duke, for the field of med-peds, for our residency program, for her patients and for the broader patient community,” said Jane Trinh, MD, associate professor of medicine and pediatrics and program director of the Medicine-Pediatrics residency program. “She was chosen out of a pool of accomplished Duke residents and was fully supported in the nomination for the award by both Kathleen Cooney, MD and Ann M. Reed, MD in the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics respectively.
Dr. Brenda Armstrong was a visionary on a mission. Throughout her time at Duke, she assumed multiple pivotal roles, including associate dean of admissions. In this position, she, along with her team, completely transformed the landscape of Duke to enhance the diversity of and push for inclusion within the Duke School of Medicine community. Dr. Armstrong’s vision was not limited to the medical school, however. Another goal of hers prior to her passing was to see the same changes come to fruition within the resident community here at Duke. This award is annually presented to a Duke resident who has exemplified Dr. Brenda Armstrong’s mission of promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Medicine.