Our Crowdfunding Groups
Help us raise $50,000 to establish a named endowed scholarship fund to honor the legacy of Priel Schmalbach, MD, PhD, who passed away on October 17, 2018. Created by the efforts of Priel’s family members and faculty mentors, the proposed Priel Schmalbach Memorial Scholarship Fund* will provide an annual award to a UCI Medical Student to support an enrichment experience outside the regular medical school curriculum that will contribute to making that student a more patient-focused physician.
Priel was a vibrant member of the UCI community during his time in the Medical Scientist Training Program, completing his PhD in 2014 and his MD in 2016. During his doctoral studies, he was supported by a TL1 Fellowship from the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science. In addition to being a dedicated and talented scholar, Priel was a compassionate and joyful human being, and was actively engaged in campus life, from teaching yoga at the ARC to co-founding Students for Integrative Medicine at UCI. Despite the rigors of graduate school, he managed to take full advantage of the extracurricular opportunities in Southern California. He was a regular visitor to Coachella and to Joshua Tree, where he loved to go bouldering.
Priel grew up on a 5 acre fruit tree grove and fish farm in Florida, and could often be seen around UCI harvesting fruit from the trees that grow on campus. He entered medical school with the intention of becoming a primary care physician, but during his emergency medicine rotation he discovered a passion for the daily challenges and fast pace of that environment, and so he decided to become an emergency medicine physician. Priel was in his third year of a residency in Emergency Medicine at the combined North Shore-Long Island Jewish Medical Center Emergency Medicine Program, part of the Northwell Hospital System. He was going on to do a fellowship in ultrasound, which had always been an interest of his. He had just gotten married to Morgan Morillo on October 6th. They were on their honeymoon in Thailand when he had an accident while rock climbing. This memorial fund is being established to honor Priel’s dedication to delivering medical care to the whole person with a full awareness and consideration of the lifestyle and other contextual factors that shape personal health.
To get a sense of the person that Priel was, you can view the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQMvLLD9XEA
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wf753fbcxaasg3d/Nordic%20Knights%20in%20Iceland.mp4?dl=0
*In the unlikely event that the minimum for establishing a named endowed fund, currently $50,000, is not reached, all funds raised in this campaign will go towards the Medical Student Scholarship Integrative Health fund, an endowed fund in support of the same purpose. In the unlikely event that the minimum for establishing an endowed fund, currently $25,000, is not met, all funds raised in this campaign will be used to provide current-use support for the same purpose.
**If you would like to write a check please include in the memo of your check Priel Schmalbach Memorial Fund and mail to:
Attn: Annual Fund Director, Zotfunder Campaign
100 Theory, Suite 250 Irvine, CA 92617
With every dollar, you are helping us raise this endowment level to help even more students. Thank you!
Thank you for your gift! Your donation will go a long way toward supporting the enrichment of our School of Medicine students.
WOW! Thank you for your generosity. Your gift will not only support our students, but inspire them to reach higher to accomplish their goals through this scholarship while honoring Priel's memory.
