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Donald A. Pegg Student Leadership Award

Application Deadline: Monday, May 1st, 2023

This memorial award will serve to:

  • Demonstrate lifestyle medicine’s value to students, as well as to seasoned practitioners
  • Inspire the next generation of lifestyle medicine leaders by providing seed funding for Lifestyle Medicine Interest Groups at academic institutions
  • Spreading the word about lifestyle medicine

What is the Donald A. Pegg Student Leadership Award?

Donald A. Pegg, was a New York City businessman who in 1986 suffered a heart attack and a stroke at the age of 52. In response to this health set back, he went on a mission of finding ways to prevent it from happening again. He participated in residential intensive lifestyle change programs where he added fruits, vegetables, more whole grains, healthy proteins and structured physical activity in the form of stationary bike rides five days a week. The combination of these lifestyle changes and Donald’s medical care allowed him to live another 27 meaningful years with his family and friends. Donald served as an inspiration to many, especially his daughter, Elizabeth Pegg Frates, who has spent the past 30 years researching, studying, teaching, and practicing lifestyle medicine.

Why was the Award established?

Donald and his family believe in the power of lifestyle medicine to transform lives and help individuals be healthier and more productive. The award was established to encourage student leadership in lifestyle medicine for the advancement of this important field. The goal of the award is to empower students to establish a Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group (LMIG) at their medical or other healthcare professional school.

What is the history of the Lifestyle Medicine Interest Groups (LMIG)?

In 2009, Dr. Beth Pegg Frates established the first LMIG at Harvard with the mission of empowering the next generation of physicians to tackle lifestyle-related illness. Today, LMIGs provide students with opportunities in education, leadership, scholarship, mentoring, and networking. The establishment of an LMIG cultivates multi-institutional, student-initiated programming that supports healthy habits for medical students, residents, and attending physicians, as well as the local community. A student leadership position in an LMIG exposes students to the latest advances and research in the field as well as career opportunities and professional advancement.

Who are the award recipients?

This year, the award will be given to five student leaders who commit to advancing this important field through the establishment of an LMIG at their respective educational institutions. Student leaders must have completed one of ACLM’s LMIG Orientation process that was offered in July 2022, October 2022, and March 2023, prior to applying for the award. Only those who have completed the orientation are eligible to apply. Each application is considered based on the following criteria: personal and professional commitment to lifestyle medicine; vision for the Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group; support from a faculty member; previous experience in lifestyle medicine and relevant activities; previous leadership roles and community involvement; speaker list and quality of the topics selected; marketing plan to advertise and recruit members to the group.

NOTE: Residents and fellows are ineligible for this particular award. Medical, nursing, graduate, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychology, and other healthcare profession students are eligible to apply.

Click here to see the names of the previous award recipients.

What is awarded?

The $1,500+ award consists of $500 seed funding for the development or enhancement of a Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group, a scholarship to attend LM2023 in-person, from October 28th – November 1st, a $500 travel stipend and a Lifestyle Medicine Handbook.

What are the required application components?

The Donald A. Pegg Student Leadership Award application form.
NOTE: Applicants are expected to be available to attend the ACLM annual conference, which, this year, will take place in-person from October 29th – November 1st in Denver, CO at Gaylord Rockies Resort.

LMIG Orientation Completion

In order to ensure that winners have the tools and support they need to be successful in their endeavors, we require completion of the LMIG Orientation process prior to applying. Orientation sessions are offered in March, July, or October.
Click here to apply for an orientation cohort.

Personal Statement – 1 page, single-spaced

Addressing the following questions:

  • What are your interests and previous involvement in lifestyle medicine?
  • Have you been involved in any research and/or community service initiatives related to lifestyle medicine?
  • What motivates you to start an LMIG and how has your personal journey impacted your commitment or dedication to growing the field?

Resume

Letter of Faculty Support – 1 page letterhead, single-spaced, signed

  • Explaining their relationship to the applicant and any knowledge of character, work ethic, experience, and goals. Provide information about the advisor’s personal interest in lifestyle medicine. Describe the advisor’s role within the institution and how that will support the success of the group.

List of Committed Speakers

  • Provide a list of lifestyle medicine topics and credentials of at least four lifestyle medicine practitioners, faculty, or clinicians that have committed to giving a talk to the LMIG over the course of the next year (including dates).
  • Include information about how each lecture aligns with lifestyle medicine pillars, is innovative, or offers a unique perspective on the topic as well as rationale for the chosen presenters in regards to their leadership and expertise in their field.

Funding Proposal – 1 page

  • Provide detailed information about how the funding will be used to advance the goals of the LMIG and/or have an impact at your institution and greater community.
  • NOTE: The Taste of Lifestyle Medicine micro-grant allots funding to provide plant-based foods at LM educational events. All LMIGs are eligible to apply for up to $500 in grant funding, four times per year. Click here for more details.

When is the application deadline for the award?

Click here for the online application form.

May 1st, 2023, 11:59 pm PST. Extension of the deadline is not available, so please make sure to submit your entire application on or before the deadline.

When are awardees notified?

On or before June 9th, 2023.

If an applicant doesn’t win, can they reapply?

Yes, applicants who were not awarded in a particular year are able to reapply as long as they continue to be students. Each winning application is selected from the pool of applicants in a particular year so we encourage you to reapply.

NOTE: All runners up are considered for a registration grant (when available), which covers the cost of the conference registration for the annual ACLM conference.