Why OEM?

Since 2023, the ACOEM Ambassador Program and the History and Archives Section have partnered to host the ACOEM Student Essay Contest, open to medical and Advanced Practice Provider (APP) students with an interest in occupational and environmental medicine.

Each year, winning essays spotlight the next generation of leaders in the field, offering thoughtful perspectives on worker health, safety, and the evolving role of OEM professionals.

Click on each winner below to read their essay!

2026 Winners
Topic: Three key figures in the development of occupational and environmental medicine in the United States had ties to Chicago: Alice Hamilton, Harry Mock, and Clarence Olds Sappington.  Which of these figures do you think has the most relevance to occupational and environmental medicine as it is practiced today, and why?

• First Place – Alabidun Umulkhair Titilayo, University of Ilorin, Final Year Medical Student
• Second Place – Maggie Weichert, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, MS3
• Third Place (Tie) – Ellis Bronstein, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, MS4
• Third Place (Tie) – Brian Luby, Northeast Ohio Medical University, M2

2025 Winners
Topic: Healing Cities: What Austin Teaches Us About Growth, Sustainability, and the Role of Medical Professionals 

• First Place – Tracy Tang, University of Texas Medical Branch, John Sealy School of Medicine, MS4
• Second Place – Carlyn Haas, Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Class of 2026 MD.MPH Candidate
• Honorable Mention –  Sadiq Abdullahi Musa, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria

2024 Winners
Topic: Protecting Workers from the Heat

• First Place – Patrick Butler, Dalhousie University (Canada)
• Second Place – Andrew Cho, University of Rochester School of Medicine, and Dentistry

2023 – Inaugural Essay Contest Winners
Topic: Proponents of Worker Health and Safety in Philadelphia

• First Place – Magdi Elghannam, University of Maryland
• Second Place – Justina YuSyuan Syu, Ohio University (PA Student)