“Scholarships received are investments in what I do and stand for, and I want to pay that forward.”

In the seventh grade, Lauren Edwards was tasked with creating business cards, in which she listed her “profession” as “child psychiatrist.”

This spring, Edwards will graduate from Howard University Medical School to begin her psychiatry residency, followed by a child and adolescent fellowship.

“I’m 30 years old now and never swayed,” she said. “In today’s world, I especially want to be able to help protect and preserve the holistic well-being of Black children.”

In addition to pursuing a career as a community-based physician scientist, Edwards said she is also interested in continuing STEM outreach to and helping cultivate the social identities of children from Black families.

“We need more people helping these kids process the realities they’re surviving.”

Last year, Edwards received NMF’s William and Charlotte Cadbury lifetime achievement award for her continued commitment to community-based behavioral health initiatives.

“I’m always looking for ways to make an impact, especially on larger scales,” she said.

Edwards grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where she said she witnessed several friends “not make it out of childhood unscathed.”

“The world is particularly difficult for kids,” she said. “For example, by the time I met my best friend at the time, she had already been addicted to heroin, sexually assaulted, and experienced a plethora of other traumas.

“She was 13. She was abused by adults and failed by others. Because I came from a more stable home, I was her friend to lean on and talk with.”

Edwards also recalled the night a starving young girl knocked on her family’s apartment door after escaping the closet her mother and stepfather had been locking her in.

“She knew, somehow, we were a safe family to run to, and that we would call the police. And I knew I needed to become some sort of answer to these pervasive problems.”

Edwards earned her undergraduate degree in neuroscience and cognitive science from the University of Arizona, and her graduate degree in neuroscience from Emory University. She also began her research career studying child linguistics and transcranial magnetic stimulation for stroke recovery.

Upon graduating from Emory University, Edwards accepted an interim position as the first executive director of 500 Women Scientists, an organization dedicated to making science more inclusive that now has more than 500 local chapters and 20,000 members globally.

“I began volunteering with 500 Women Scientists during graduate school and soon became the director of fellowship, supporting women of color-led community-based projects,” she said.

“Women of color, especially, are not paid for much of the work they do, and even end up paying out of pocket to get things done. Dedicating transparent resources and financial assistance to such projects became incredibly meaningful.”

Edwards also coordinated the organization’s reproductive justice initiative educating researchers on how to best incorporate the framework into their scientific work.

“I was really proud of what we were able to accomplish together before I left to attend medical school,” she said.

Edwards said she chose to attend Howard University for its strong commitment to community.

“Local hospitals in Washington D.C. will not treat uninsured patients past stabilization – instead, they send them to Howard University Hospital,” she said. “These patients wouldn’t be receiving care if it weren’t for Howard, a safety net teaching hospital with far less resources.”

While earning her medical degree from Howard University, Edwards joined NMF’s Primary Care Leadership Program to spend a summer at Fenway Health in Boston evaluating the reasons patients at high risk for HIV stop taking pre-exposure prophylactics.

“The program was incredibly multidimensional,” she said. “I also was able to learn more about psychiatric disorders, harm reduction techniques, substance use counseling, and LGQBTIA+ health.”

Edwards then applied to become a Johnson & Johnson/NMF Alliance in Medicine scholar, of which she is currently in her third year of the service-learning program.

“I had just had my daughter, I was caring for my mother, and the additional financial support has been a game changer. Especially for medical students who are also caregivers, programs that provide monetary support in addition to mentorship, research opportunities, and professional development are absolute gems.”

Lastly, Edwards worked as a graduate research assistant at Georgetown University, leading the American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s “Just for Me!” project to create individualized cultural pride boxes for Black preschoolers and their caregivers.

“In today’s society, it’s incredibly important for families to center and fortify their children’s racial identity against future microaggressions and adversities,” she said.

It’s important to Edwards that she matches a residency that allows her to continue community advocacy and clinical research, as she will be serving in a medically underserved area following her residency and fellowship to satisfy her National Health Service Corps scholarship requirements.

“Institutions have never truly been safe places, especially those with exploitative and harmful histories,” she said. “The systems won’t save us, so who and what must we rely on? Community – we collectively must do the work to help the most vulnerable.”

NMF is excited to learn of her next steps during Match Day this March.

“My experience with NMF has been so fantastic that I am particularly interested in future mentorship opportunities with the organization. Scholarships received are investments in what I do and stand for, and I want to pay that forward.”