The University Writing Program is proud and honored to congratulate one of our students, Mohamad Adada, who has won a University Scholars Program award. With this award, Mohamad will undertake funded research in 2021, mentored by a member of our faculty, Dr. Alison Reynolds, Associate Director.
Every year, the University Scholars Program awards scholarships to only 200 students from a very competitive pool of undergraduate candidates from across the University of Florida. Winning these awards is an achievement that attests to our students’ intellectual promise and ambitions. This year, the UWP is excited to see what Mohamad accomplishes as he plunges into the world of research with his unique and challenging project.
Let’s get to know a little bit about Mohamad and his work.
Originally from Beirut, Lebanon, Mohamad is in his second-year studying public health on the premedical track. He also works as a research assistant in the UF-Shands Dept. of Pediatrics Intensive Care Unit. He aspires to continue research and attend medical school after UF.
Mohamad is working on a metanalytical research study entitled, “Rhetoric, Government, and Medicine: An Investigation of Florida Government’s Role in Influencing Citizen Health Amid a Global Pandemic.” Under Dr. Reynolds’ mentorship, Mohamad’s project is timely. His goal is to evaluate how Florida government has used policy and public outreach as rhetorical tools during the global pandemic of COVID-19. He will examine how the government’s use of these tools affects the process of instituting medicine – with a focus on the State of Florida’s ability to control the spread of COVID-19. By first examining the Florida’s historical political and medical developments, Mohamad will then analyze the effects of Florida’s new policies upon those attempting to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In assisting Mohamad with the application, Dr. Reynolds notes, “the prospect of mentoring a student through the process of such relevant research, and toward possible publication, is such a welcome opportunity for me as a faculty member, and for Mohamad as an undergraduate student. The University Scholars Program makes mentoring an actuality and a rare opportunity to share information and teach beyond the classroom.”
Beyond his USP project, Mohamad’s is also interested in how health operates outside of hospitals. His engagement with institutional and educational initiatives surely reflects this. Mohamad is a First Responder Gator; he’s presented medical research to students and clinicians through the Cleveland Clinic Summer Scholar Program; he’s a research assistant for the PediAtric Critical Care Medicine Interdisciplinary Student InvestiGators Program; and he’s mentored and taught through Alpha Epsilon Delta (UF’s largest pre-health honors society) and through 26 Letters School, an educational program for Syrian refugee children.
At the UWP, we anticipate that Mohamad will flourish as a University Scholar. We wish him and Dr. Reynolds the best for this exciting research endeavor.
For current and past students of the UWP who are interested in becoming a University Scholar, our faculty would love to work with you – we invite you to reach out to us with proposal ideas.
August 31st, 2021