Distinguished Anchorage neurosurgeon Dr. Louis Kralick donates funding to establish first-ever Alaska WWAMI Professorship in Biomedical Science

by Kathleen McCoy  |   

Kralick Pichon Case

Longtime Anchorage neurosurgeon Dr. Louis Kralick recently pledged funds to the University of Alaska Anchorage to establish the Louis Kralick M.D. Alaska WWAMI Professorship in Biomedical Science, the program's first-ever professorship.

Dr. Kralick's gift to UAA and the Alaska WWAMI School of Medical Education is an investment in medical education in Alaska and aims to attract high-caliber medical faculty from across the nation to Anchorage. The initial gift provides a two-year commitment; further funding will be through his private foundation.

A physician in Anchorage for 30 years, Dr. Kralick co-founded Anchorage Neurosurgical Associates Inc. His special interests include degenerative and traumatic spine disease; minimally invasive cervical and lumbar spine surgery; brain and spine tumors; pituitary tumors; disc replacement surgery; chiari malformations; and carpal tunnel syndrome.

"With all my years of practice in Alaska, the state has become my adopted home," says Dr. Kralick. "It is only fitting that I give back to enhance the future of medicine in Alaska."

This generous gift will enable the Alaska WWAMI School of Medical Education to hire a senior researcher and faculty to UAA. Robert Furilla, Alaska WWAMI interim director, says Dr. Kralick's contribution "...will allow WWAMI to continue to improve what is already an excellent educational experience for Alaska's medical students. The professorship will add depth and inspiration by bringing world class expertise to Alaska's future physicians."

For more information on the Alaska WWAMI School of Medical Education or the Alaska WWAMI Professorship in Biomedical Science, contact Bob Furilla, interim director, at afraf1@uaa.alaska.edu , or visit www.uaa.alaska.edu/wwami.

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About Alaska WWAMI School of Medical Education

The Alaska WWAMI School of Medical Education is a collaborative medical school among universities in five northwestern states, including Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho-hence the WWAMI acronym. Prospective students apply to the University of Washington School of Medicine and, upon admission, Alaska's WWAMI students complete their first year of medical school at UAA. The first year of training includes courses in basic sciences and an introduction to clinical medicine.

Students from all five WWAMI states attend second-year courses at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. The third and fourth years of the medical school curriculum are comprised of clerkship rotations in the various medical specialty areas. These clerkships may be taken in any of the five WWAMI states. Students who choose the "Alaska Track" can take nearly all of these clerkships in Alaska.

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