Loma Linda, Calif. — Loma Linda University announced Oct. 26 that it received a $100,000 donation that would provide loan repayment assistance to medical and dental students who commit to serving internationally.
The funds were donated by family members of former Loma Linda University School of Medicine professor and researcher Marvin Peters, Ph.D., who died in July. Dr. Peters had worked at the university for 30 years as a professor of physiology and pharmacology until 1999.
The funds will support the university’s Deferred Mission Appointment program. Through the program, students and residents from the Loma Linda University’s School of Medicine and School of Dentistry commit to serving abroad in exchange for loan repayment assistance.
According to a news release, the program is an opportunity for students and residents to visit other countries to experience and learn about the differences in health care practices, the limited resources available and to see how their profession or specialty is practiced overseas.
“The experiences our students have in the DMA program are critical to their development as health care professionals,” said Loma Linda University President Richard H. Hart, M.D. “We greatly appreciate the contribution of Dr. Peters’ family, which will greatly impact the success of many of our medical and dental students in the years to come.”
The Deferred Mission Appointment program is managed by the Global Health Institute. There are currently 18 physicians and three dentists serving in Zambia, Kenya, Chad, Sierre Leone, India, Malawi, Nepal, Thailand, Haiti, Honduras and Guam. There are six dental students and 47 medical students and residents who are currently part of the program.