Abena Appah-Sampong is currently completing her general surgery residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA where she is dedicating two years away from clinical work to focus on academic development. Her long-term goal is to become an academic surgeon-scientist focused on utilizing data science to better understand racial and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease outcomes and advocate for system-level policy change to make surgical care more equitable. Her current research focuses on validating a machine learning tool to identify peripheral artery disease in electronic health databases. Ultimately, Abena aims to utilize the tool to describe area-based socioeconomic disparities in adverse cardiovascular and limb-related risk in patients with peripheral artery disease. Beginning in September of 2024, she will be pursuing a Master of Public Health with a concentration in health policy to continue exploring the intersection of health, equity, and justice. During this time, Abena is honored to serve as one of the Zuckerman fellows and looks forward to learning from leaders across diverse fields of public service.