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Join us in congratulating Erin Jankauskas, PA-C, who was recently announced as this year’s Debbie Sanstad IFMCP Scholarship recipient! This year’s scholarship was awarded to an international candidate who is dedicated to improving health outcomes on a global scale.

This scholarship honors longtime Institute for Functional Medicine team member Debbie Sanstad and covers the cost of all uncompleted coursework in IFM’s Certification Program (IFMCP). Debbie dedicated 12 years of her life to helping build IFM and expand the role of functional medicine in health care. IFM committed to awarding this scholarship annually to an individual who is starting out on their path to IFM certification in order to provide an enduring impact in Debbie’s name and help support our mission of the widespread adoption of functional medicine.

Erin Jankauskas, PA-C
Erin Jankauskas is a compassionate and motivated physician assistant with a passion for community health education, global public health, and functional medicine. Erin attended Rochester Institute of Technology, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. She is board certified, with nine years of experience as a physician assistant. She has clinical experience in various fields, including primary care, critical care medicine, and vascular surgery. It is through these experiences that she became increasingly interested in understanding the prevention, management, and root causes of chronic disease. Most recently, Erin worked in a primary care clinic in Senegal, Centre de Santé Aristide Mensah, where she treated patients of all ages. She is dedicated to creating accessible functional medicine opportunities and education programs in underserved areas to enable people to live healthy and fulfilling lives. “Being awarded this scholarship will significantly improve my ability to serve more patients, reach more communities, and create more diverse education programs,” says Erin, whose vision is to help patient communities around the world improve their quality of life with impactful lifestyle modifications.

Congratulations, Dr. Jankauskas!

Prior Scholarship Recipients

Erin joins a growing group of clinicians who have received the Debbie Sanstad IFMCP Scholarship since 2021.

We would also like to recognize the 2022 scholarship recipient Yoon Qiu, MD, from Chicago, Illinois.

Yoon Qiu completed her undergraduate studies at Harvard University, where she majored in molecular and cellular biology. She studied medicine at Duke University and completed internal medicine residency training at Northwestern Medical Center, where she is currently completing a two-year fellowship in rheumatology.

After fellowship, she will work as a rheumatologist at Emory University, where she hopes to apply the knowledge and skills of traditional rheumatology training and functional medicine to provide patients with comprehensive, whole-person-focused care. Yoon was inspired to pursue functional medicine because she is passionate about caring for patients with systemic autoimmune disease. As she explains, “I want to provide my patients with a more holistic health experience. An autoimmune disease diagnosis can be life-changing; my goal is to help patients take back control of their lives with a focus on healthy lifestyle habits to complement traditional medical therapy.”

We are excited to follow their progress and see the impact that Dr. Qiu and past recipients Remy Paille, RN, MSN, from California, USA, and Victor Maredi, BSc, MBChB, from South Africa will have on providing functional medicine in their communities!

The Debbie Sanstad IFMCP scholarship serves both US-based and international candidates, with the geographical eligibility alternating each year. The 2024 scholarship will be awarded to a clinician residing and practicing within the United States. More information on IFM scholarship opportunities is available at https://info.ifm.org/scholarships.