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Vy Tran Plata

Hospital Resident

Biography

Vy Tran Plata, MD grew up in a small village in Vietnam and immigrated to a diverse community in Atlanta when she was 9. She has been gifted with many opportunities to reflect on power and privilege as a first-generation and low-income background person in higher education/medicine. She graduated from Stanford University in 2016 with a B.A. in Human Biology focusing on Creativity, Innovation, and Change, and in 2018 with an M.S. in Community Health and Prevention Research. From her time being part of various communities (be it in Vietnam, the U.S., Mexico, or India), she’s learned that well-being comes in many different forms. In a doctor's prescription, yes, but also in our inner strengths, in neighbors caring for one another, and in our resilience in making ends meet each day. Dr. Tran Plata sees these strengths as the untapped potential that she hopes to leverage as a future physician. She aspires to co-create community programs and policies helping patients overcome behavioral and systemic challenges in their environment. In addition, she is interested in transforming medical education to reflect the diverse backgrounds of learners and to infuse it with the humanistic values so fundamental to good care.

PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS: primary care/HIV training, medical education, mentoring, community-based participatory research (CBPR), health equity and advocacy, palliative care, writing

HOBBIES: Pyrography, poetry, gratitude journal, yoga, meditation, hiking, biking, running, nature walks, feng shui, cooking, baking, cake decorating

Education & Training

  • MD
    University of Michigan, Medical Humanities; Diagnostics and Therapeutics (2022)
  • MS
    Stanford University, Community Health and Prevention Research (CHPR) (2018)
  • BA
    Stanford University, Human Biology with Honors: Innovation, Creativity, and Change (2016)

Honors & Recognition

AwardAwarding OrganizationDate
Chen Hsing Hsu, MD Humanism AwardUniversity of Michigan2022
ChangeMedEd DEI Bright Ideas Showcase WinnerAmerican Medical Association (AMA)2021
NIH Short-term Biomedical Research GrantNational Institutes of Health, University of Michigan2021
Service Scholar AwardMichigan Medicine Alumni2020
Frederick Holland, MD Tuition ScholarshipUniversity of Michigan2018
Leadership and Enrichment for Academic Diversity (LEAD) GrantUniversity of Michigan2018
Dalai Lama FellowDalai Lama Fellows2017
Fulbright Research ScholarU.S. Department of State2016
Spiritual Ecology FellowKalliopeia Foundation2016
Truman Scholar FinalistStanford University2015
Stanford Alumni's Award of ExcellenceStanford University2015
Community Arts FellowStanford University Haas Center for Public Service2014
Community Health Advocacy FellowStanford School of Medicine2014
Latinos Unidos ScholarStanford University Centro Chicano2012
QuestBridge National College Match ScholarStanford University2012

Professional Service

OrganizationRoleDate
Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC)Member2021 - Present
Gold Humanism Honor SocietyCo-president (Michigan chapter)2021 - 2022
American College of PhysiciansMember2020 - Present
Phi Rho Sigma Medical SocietyBoard member2018 - 2020
Fulbright ScholarsPrincipal Investigator2016 - 2017
La Comisión México-Estados Unidos para el Intercambio Educativo y Cultural (COMEXUS)Researcher2016 - 2017

Departments & Organizations