PROJECT: Expands access to sun protective measures for people experiencing homelessness and reduces skin cancer by providing sunscreen dispensers in community parks and nearby highly-trafficked areas.

McKayla Poppens is a rising fourth-year medical student in the Charles R. Drew/UCLA Medical Education Program. She grew up in rural South Dakota and is the proud daughter of a farmer and nurse.

She moved to Los Angeles to attend medical school, where she has volunteered in several community free clinics, tutored K-12 students experiencing homelessness, co-led a violence prevention health symposium, and researched local and global health care disparities. Poppens was named a 2022 Albert Schweitzer Fellow, which provided her the opportunity for mentorship to raise awareness and address medical misinformation about skin cancer and adolescent-prone skin conditions among high-school-aged students in South Los Angeles.

In her free time, Poppens enjoys running, hiking, and challenging local golfers to longest-drive contests. She aspires to complete a dermatology residency, during which she will continue her passions for community health education and policy advocacy.

Poppens earned her BA in Biology from Augustana University in South Dakota.