Brian "Yoshi" Laing
The board of directors of the Pisacano Leadership Foundation, Inc. (PLF) has named Brian "Yoshi" Laing, a fourth-year medical student at UCSF, a 2007 Pisacano Scholar.
Pisacano scholars are recognized as outstanding medical students who have made a commitment to enter the specialty of family medicine. Following his residency, Laing hopes to serve as both a clinician and a health care advocate for underserved populations.
The Pisacano scholarships, valued up to $28,000 each, are awarded to students attending US medical schools who demonstrate a strong commitment to the specialty of family medicine. In addition, each applicant must show demonstrable leadership skills, superior academic achievement, strong communication skills, identifiable character and integrity, and a noteworthy level of community service.
Since 1993, the PLF has selected 85 outstanding medical students. About 1,600 applicants representing more than 120 medical schools competed for these scholarships.
Laing graduated with honors from Stanford University with a bachelor of science degree in biological sciences. He also received a number of awards and scholarships, including the Stanford Asian American Community Award/Scholarship for Community Building.
While a student at Stanford, Laing led 12 participants in a winter course on health policy and disparities in health care. They traveled to the California state capitol and to health care sites in rural Central Valley.
As a medical student, Laing has continued his academic excellence and community service. He volunteered for two years with the student homeless clinic, performing histories and physical exams. For the past year, Laing has served as a clinical volunteer with the Mission Neighborhood Health Center, which mainly serves recent Latino immigrants.
Laing has also served as student chair of UCSF's Family Medicine Interest Group and as coordinator for a social activism elective and a health policy elective. He helped found the UCSF Health Disparities Working Group to develop medical school curricula on health disparities, and presented a poster on the working group at several conferences.
During his second year, Laing was co-president of UCSF's American Medical Student Association chapter, which hosted the annual West Coast conference. In his second year, he also volunteered as a student coordinator for Physicians for a Democratic Majority, a committee dedicated to campaigning for candidates working toward universal health care.
Laing is currently spending a year on the staff of the UCSF Center for Excellence in Primary Care (CEPC), working on primary care redesign and health policy. He was selected as the sole medical student presenter at the CEPC's inaugural conference last year. Laing also serves as a reviewer for Primary Care E-Letter, a publication of the CEPC. Earlier this year, he spent a month interning at the Graham Center in Washington, DC, studying the politics of physician payment policy.
After learning Kenpo Karate and Tae Kwan Do as a child, several years ago Laing began learning Capoeira, a dance-like Afro-Brazilian martial art. He founded the Stanford Capoeira Group, and continues to train and perform with Capoeira USA in San Francisco. Laing also enjoys playing the saxophone and has performed at several school functions along with three fellow classmates.
The PLF was created in 1990 by the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) in tribute to the founder and first executive director of the ABFM, Nicholas J. Pisacano, MD. Pisacano is acknowledged around the world as one of the leaders in the effort to recognize family medicine as a major specialty.
His perseverance was finally rewarded in 1969, when the ABFM was designated as the sole agency responsible for the certification and recertification of family physicians. The ABFM continues to serve this role and is considered a leader in ensuring primary care for all Americans.
Related Links:
Pisacano Leadership Foundation
