First-Gen. First-Class. Fellowship Winner.

By Office of the President | Nov 18, 2025

We proudly congratulate Lashawn Peña, a fourth-year student in Downstate’s College of Medicine and MPH candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, on receiving the 2025 William and Charlotte Cadbury Award, the highest honor presented by National Medical Fellowships (NMF).

The Cadbury Award recognizes one medical student nationwide for outstanding academic achievement, leadership, and commitment to advancing health equity in underserved communities. Lashawn will be honored at the AAMC’s Annual Learn Serve Lead Conference in San Antonio, where he will proudly represent Downstate on a national stage.

Born in New York and raised in the Dominican Republic by a single mother, Lashawn is a first-generation Afro-Latino college graduate whose journey from poverty and community violence to national recognition reflects extraordinary resilience and a definitive sense of purpose. A lifelong advocate for access and equity, he has transformed his personal experiences into a mission to uplift others through education and medicine.

As a current NMF Health Equity Leadership Program (HELP) Scholar, Lashawn partners with the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health (AAIUH) on a study addressing imposter syndrome among underrepresented students in STEM fields, developing mentorship models that foster a sense of belonging, confidence, and academic success. His research continues a career-long focus on dismantling systemic barriers in medicine and education.

Lashawn’s leadership and service span include Downstate, Stanford University, Harvard Medical School, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he has contributed to research in immunology, surgical oncology, and health disparities. At Downstate, he is a peer interviewer on the Admissions Committee. He is also a mentor to students through the Arthur Ashe Institute’s Health Science Academy.

His growing list of honors includes the Tylenol Future Care Scholarship (2024), White Coat Investor Scholarship (2024), Wayne Anthony Butts Scholarship (2023), and the inaugural NBME/NMF Scholarship Fund (2023). He has also been recognized as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and received an Honorable Mention from the Ford Foundation Fellowship Program, a distinction awarded to applicants who were not selected but demonstrated exceptional promise.

Through his achievements, mentorship, and scholarship, Lashawn embodies the next generation of physician-leaders committed to equity, advocacy, and excellence.

Congratulations, Lashawn!