Lamvy Le, of Great Falls, Virginia, has received Virginia Tech’s 2019 Outstanding Graduate Award for the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.

Coordinated by Student Affairs, the Outstanding Student Awards recognize exceptional academic achievement, leadership, and service by a student from each of the university’s colleges.

Le will receive her M.D. during the school’s graduation ceremony May 11 at the Jefferson Center in Roanoke.

Upon arriving at the medical school in the summer of 2015, Le quickly established herself as an academically gifted student with considerable leadership potential. She excelled in the school’s problem-based, patient-centered curriculum and earned 11 Letters of Distinction — which are awarded to top-performing students in various disciplines — the highest in her class. In addition, she was one of two junior inductees into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. This is an exclusive recognition reserved for only 15 percent of a medical school class. She was also inducted into the prestigious Gold Humanism Honor Society, a recognition for students who best exemplify humanism and empathy in their medical endeavors.

As a first-generation American, Le sought international experience while in medical school. She spent six weeks on an away rotation in Taiwan on a visiting student microsurgery fellowship and learning about Traditional Chinese Medicine.

During her four years of medical school, Le has been an active researcher. For her main research, under the mentoring of Zhi Sheng, assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Le investigated and identified a promising therapy for patients with glioblastoma, a common and aggressive form of brain cancer in adults. Sheng is also an assistant professor of internal medicine at the medical school.

In addition, Le conducted two research projects in Carilion Clinic’s Division of Plastic Surgery. Along with mentor James Thompson, associate professor of surgery and a plastic reconstructive surgeon, she identified barriers to care for cleft lip and palate patients and their families in Southwest Virginia. In addition, she worked with Anthony Capito, assistant professor of surgery and plastic reconstructive surgeon, to evaluate the outcomes of patients who had undergone elective carpal tunnel syndrome surgery.

For her research efforts, Le has given two clinical and five poster presentations and has been an author in three publications. She was a recipient of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation Summer Fellowship.

In addition to her academic achievements, Le has served as a student leader for various groups, including the Surgery Student Interest Group and the Group on Women in Medicine and Science, and is currently serving as president of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.

Le has also been an active participant in community service activities as a volunteer at the Bradley Free Clinic and the Boys and Girls Club of Virginia. She was a leader in the establishment of the Carilion Craniofacial Clinic’s Cleft Carnival.

“Lamvy has been an exceptional student, an outspoken ambassador for the school, and an active member of the VTC School of Medicine and Roanoke communities,” said Aubrey Knight, senior dean for student affairs at the school. “She has a bright future ahead of her.”

Le is a graduate of the University of Virginia. She will begin her residency in plastic surgery at University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis this summer. She said she looks forward to continuing to be part of the Virginia Tech Carilion community.

“I am incredibly proud to be graduating from the VTC School of Medicine,” Le said. “I cannot imagine going to medical school anywhere else. The faculty and staff are passionate about crafting the most innovative and progressive medical education curriculum and helping students achieve their goals.”

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