Black youth in the United States disproportionately experience fatal drowning at rates up to five times higher than their White peers. These statistics relate to historical and structural barriers Black youth face in learning to swim. In efforts to overcome these inequities, an innovative summer swimming program in Evanston, IL, was offered to Black kids entering third through fifth grades. After the three-week program, participants demonstrated significant improvement in objective and parental-reported swim skills, according to an evaluation study published in the International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education.

A three-year project, led by the University of Plymouth and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is exploring why some international medical graduates see their careers blossom once they start working in the NHS while others do not. The ‘SUP IMG’ project started this summer, building on research carried out for the General Medical Council which found that less than 5% of graduates who complete their training overseas join specialist or GP registers on arrival, and few – 11.6% within five years and 27.2% within 10 years – go on to become consultants or GPs. By contrast, around 75% of UK graduates become consultants or GPs over the same timeframe.

Lori Lerner, MD, associate professor of urology at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, is the recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Contribution Award from the American Urological Association (AUA).

Lerner, who also is chief of urology and deputy chief of surgical service at the VA Boston Healthcare System, received this honor for advancing novel surgical technologies and education related to benign prostatic hyperplasia, also known as BPH. Each year, the AUA honors the contributions of physician researchers and educators to the field of medicine, the specialty of urology, and the AUA.