Norman F. Gant/American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology Fellowship
The next call for nominations will open in March 2025.
The Gant/ABOG Fellowship is named in honor of Norman F. Gant, MD, a member of the NAM and a former executive director of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG). The overall purpose of this fellowship is to enable talented, early-career health science scholars in obstetrics and gynecology to participate actively in health- and medicine-related work of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies) and to further their careers as future leaders in the field. Supported through an endowment from Dr. Gant and ABOG, the program especially welcomes nominations of historically underrepresented candidates. Diplomates or Active Candidates for Certification by ABOG, who hold non-tenured faculty positions in any university, are eligible for the program.
The Gant/ABOG Fellowship is part of the NAM Fellowships for Health Science Scholars program. See all opportunities >>
Current Fellow
Michelle Debbink, MD, PhD
2023-2025 Gant/ABOG Fellow
Dr. Debbink is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and Assistant Professor at the University of Utah in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her clinical interests include complex maternal and fetal care, with a particular emphasis on high quality, responsive care for structurally and historically marginalized pregnant people with high-risk pregnancies. She has focused her clinical, professional, and investigational efforts on the structural and community level factors that contribute to racial and geographic health equity in pregnancy outcomes. As a current Reproductive Scientist Development Program scholar, she has worked with community partners to conduct community-engaged mixed-methods research with Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander as well as Native American/Indigenous mothers to understand community risk and resilience related to maternal morbidity and perinatal health. These collaborations have resulted in multiple funded awards to develop, implement, and test culturally responsive interventions for mental health and substance use disorders. She also has expertise in geographic population health and social epidemiology analyses which inform and bolster qualitative and community led research. In addition, she currently serves as the Departmental Vice Chair for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department and on the state of Utah Perinatal Mortality Review Committee.
Dr. Debbink earned her MD and PhD in Health Services Organization and Policy at the University of Michigan. She completed her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at the University of Michigan and her Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship at the University of Utah.
Previous Fellows
Alexander Melamed, MD, MPH
2021-2023 Gant/ABOG Fellow
Melissa Simon, MD, MPH
2011-2013 Gant/ABOG Fellow (Elected to NAM in 2021)
Saul D. Rivas, MD, MSPH, FACOG
2019-2021 Gant/ABOG Fellow
Rebekah E. Gee, MD, MPH
2009-2011 Gant/ABOG Fellow (Elected to NAM in 2017)
Ebony Carter, MD, MPH
2017-2019 Gant/ABOG Fellow
Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds, MD, MPH, MS
2015-2017 Gant/ABOG Fellow
Kathleen Schmeler, MD
2013-2015 Gant/ABOG Fellow
Fellowship Description
The Gant/ABOG Fellowship will be awarded for a two-year period. During this time, the fellow is expected to continue to work at their main academic post, while being assigned to a health- and medicine-related board of the National Academies. The boards are:
- Children, Youth, and Families,
- Food and Nutrition,
- Global Health,
- Health Care Services,
- Health Sciences Policy, and
- Population Health and Public Health Practice.
The fellowship requires a 10- to 20-percent commitment of time for two years, and includes attendance at a one-week orientation to health policy, the NAM Annual Meeting in October and the meetings of the assigned board. Domestic travel expenses are covered for participation in approved fellowship activities. Additionally, the fellow will participate actively in the work of an appropriate study committee or roundtable, including contributing to its reports or other products. Studies that would enable the potential for the fellow to contribute to the value of integrating medicine and public health will be identified.
This experience will introduce the Gant/ABOG Fellow to a variety of experts and perspectives, including legislators, government officials, industry leaders, executives of voluntary health organizations, scientists, and other health professionals. In addition, each fellow will be assigned to an NAM member who will serve as a senior mentor during the two years of the fellowship.
A flexible research grant of $25,000 will be awarded to each Gant/ABOG Fellow, which will be administered through the appropriate department in the fellow’s home institution to advance the fellow’s professional and academic career. This grant is not intended for use as a salary offset for the fellow, and no indirect costs are allowed.
Eligibility
Nominees for the Gant/ABOG Fellowship must:
- Be nominated by a member of the NAM or the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society or a Director of the ABOG
- Be an ABOG Diplomate or an Active Candidate for certification by ABOG
- Be a non-tenured member of an academic faculty
- Be able to dedicate 10 to 20 percent of time to the fellowship for two years
- Be within the first five years of an initial faculty appointment
- Be sponsored by academic department head
- Be endorsed by the dean
- Hold U.S. citizen or permanent resident status at the time of the nomination
Selection Criteria
Nominees will be evaluated by an NAM-appointed committee based on their professional qualifications, scholarship, and quality of professional accomplishments as evidenced through publications and research grants, and relevance of current field of expertise to the work of the NAM.
Nomination Packet
A complete nomination packet must be submitted electronically through the online nomination system at https://fellowship.nam.edu/ and will include the following documents:
- A nomination letter from a member of the NAM or the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society or a Director of the ABOG
- Letters of recommendation and endorsement from:
- Department chair
- Academic dean
- An up-to-date curriculum vitae
- A brief one-page bio
- A one-page personal statement
Timeline
Fellowships will be awarded in odd years.
- March 2025 | Call for nominations opens
- June 2025 | Nomination packets are due at 3:00pm ET
- July 2025 | Awardee is notified
- September 2025 | Fellow orientation week at the NAM is held
- October 2025 | Fellow is introduced to the Membership at the NAM Annual Meeting
Program Administration
Inquiries about the Gant/ABOG Fellowship should be directed to:
Yumi Phillips
Program Officer
Health Policy Fellowships and Leadership Programs
National Academy of Medicine
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 334-1506
Email: yphillips@nas.edu
The Gant/ABOG Fellowship was established in 2009 through an endowment from Norman F. Gant, MD, and the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.