MD Admissions Fellows 2026-27
The MD Admissions Fellowship is our inaugural fellowship. It is designed to support a small cohort of exceptionally talented American Muslims who are applying to medical school this year. The fellowship offers free comprehensive guidance throughout the entire MD application process including support on the primary application, secondaries, interviews, and school selection guided by high-quality Muslim mentors in medicine. Additionally, the fellowship includes an innovative curriculum on Islam and medicine designed to educate future physicians who understand their practice and healthcare’s biggest challenges through the lens of Islam. Fellows are selected for their academic and personal excellence, as well as their demonstrated passion for working with Muslim communities and Islamic ideals.
Arwa Faruk
Sina FellowArwa is a recent Stanford graduate and Course Associate in the Human Biology department, where she teaches undergraduates health policy, public health, and more. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, she was deeply involved in Muslim community life at Stanford and is passionate about art, storytelling, regenerative agriculture, and previously researched the enteric nervous system.
Stanford University
Ashar Khan
Sina FellowAshar is a senior at Columbia University majoring in Middle Eastern, African, and South Asian Studies with a concentration in Biology. He is involved in research studying the neuroscience of pain and touch. Originally from Southwest Virginia, he enjoys spending time with friends and family, hiking, and fishing in his free time.
Columbia University
Baraa Abdelghne
Sina FellowBaraa is a junior at Stanford University studying Cellular, Molecular, and Organismal Biology with a minor in Human Rights. A first-generation Syrian refugee, he conducts neuroscience and cardiovascular research and works with refugee communities in Turkey. Baraa is passionate about public service and hopes to pursue medicine focused on global health equity.
Stanford University
Lina Chihoub
Sina FellowLina is currently Clinical Research Coordinator at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Emergency Medicine and Neurology. She recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied neuroscience and computer science. Her clinical and research interests include the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders, culturally competent psychiatric care, and digital health innovation in neurology and psychiatry, with a focus on improving access and outcomes for underserved populations. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and photography.
University of Pennsylvania 
Reyan Ghanim
Sina FellowReyan is a third-year biomedical engineering student at The University of Texas at Austin. He is heavily involved in his community, where he leads healthcare screenings for underserved communities and coordinates programs at Nueces Mosque, a student-led mosque. He is passionate about cancer biology and conducts research on modeling brain cancer to innovate treatment outcomes for glioblastoma. Reyan enjoys hiking, watching football, and brewing coffee.
University of Texas at Austin
Sarah Qaddo
Sina FellowSarah is a senior at Vanderbilt University studying Molecular & Cellular Biology, Medicine, Health & Society, Human & Organizational Development, and Physics. She is passionate about healthcare accessibility, diabetes research, and supporting community and mentorship. In her free time, she enjoys staying active, exploring new coffee spots, and spending time with friends and family.
Vanderbilt University
Pre-Med Roots Fellows 2026-27
The Pre-Med Roots Fellowship is our inaugural fellowship for current sophomores/juniors in college on the pre-med path. Like the MD Admissions Fellowship, it is designed to support a small cohort of exceptionally talented American Muslims. Unlike the MD Admissions Fellowship, the Pre-Med Roots Fellowship is not focused on supporting students in the medical school application process. Instead, the fellowship offers free comprehensive guidance on the pre-med journey earlier in college as well as Islamic character formation. The goal of the fellowship is to help students build their stories, not just tell them. Fellows are selected for their academic and personal excellence, as well as their demonstrated passion for working with Muslim communities and Islamic ideals.
Bilal Malik
Roots FellowBilal is a sophomore at Columbia University where he is pursuing a double major in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies and Biology. He is interested in combining South Asian public health studies with his research in epidemiology, endocrinology, and neuroscience. He is a Resident Advisor and serves on the board of the Bhagat Puran Singh Health Initiative at Columbia. He wants to pursue medicine to combine research and patient care. He joined the Pre-Med Roots Fellowship to explore how Islamic values can inform his approach to patient care as a future Muslim physician.
Columbia University
Hamza Modan
Roots FellowHamza is a sophomore at Yale, where he studies biology and economics. He is interested in renovating the healthcare industry at a critical inflection point, from understanding the role of inflammation in aging as a researcher in the Flavell Lab to exploring how AI can transform a massively convoluted healthcare system. He serves on the Dwight Hall Executive Committee, works as an EMT, and is Yale MSA’s Religious Chair. He joined the Pre-Med Roots Fellowship to explore how Muslims can leverage a remarkable historical and contemporary presence in medicine.
Yale University
Hamza Zafar
Roots FellowHamza is an undergraduate at Harvard College studying the intersection of Chemistry and Social Studies with a citation in Arabic. The son of Pakistani immigrants and a first-generation Muslim student whose faith drives him to end homelessness, addiction, and mental health inequity in underserved communities through direct service, research, advocacy, and storytelling that refuses to let voices go unheard. To him these aren't separate problems but one injustice he'll spend his life dismantling. Outside this, he loves Urdu and Persian poetry, basketball, and bringing people together. He joined the Pre-Med Roots Fellowship to ground his path to medicine in his faith and better serve those the system overlooks.
Harvard University
Hasan Jamil
Roots FellowHasan is a sophomore at Harvard College concentrating in Neuroscience with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy. In his free time, he enjoys watching and playing soccer, traveling, trying new foods, and spending time with friends. He hopes to pursue medicine because he is fascinated by the human brain and wants to combine his interests in neuroscience and global health to better understand disease and improve the lives of others. He joined the Pre-Med Roots Fellowship to explore how his Islamic faith can shape his journey in medicine and his commitment to serving others.
Harvard University 
Laith Alnajjar
Roots FellowLaith is a sophomore at The University of Texas at Austin studying Biology and pursuing medicine. He is passionate about learning, teaching, and building meaningful communities, and has spent several years teaching Arabic to younger students. He is especially interested in how Islam can shape not only the kind of physician someone becomes, but the person they become along the way. He hopes to pursue pediatrics and become a physician who makes patients feel genuinely seen and cared for. He joined the Pre-Med Roots Fellowship to learn, grow, and build meaningful friendships with fellow Muslims pursuing medicine.
University of Texas at Austin
Layan Eltayieb
Roots FellowLayan is a sophomore at The Ohio State University, where she is majoring in Philosophy on the pre-medical track and is a Morrill Scholar. Her interests include healthcare research, particularly the challenges of providing care in unstable regions, as well as international relations and political philosophy. She serves as an Education Chair for Students for Justice in Palestine and a Youth Advocate for the Sudanese American Physicians Association. She is interested in how socioeconomic conditions shape health outcomes and hopes to explore medicine through the lens of Islam. In her free time, she plays classical guitar, reads, and enjoys hiking.
The Ohio State University
Muaaz Ijaz
Roots FellowMuaaz is a sophmore at George Washington University where he is pursuing a major in chemistry with a minor in STEM education. He is passionate about the physical sciences, education, and mental health. He serves as a learning assistant for GW's physics department and is involved with various community service projects. He is also involved with a scoping review at the intersection of climate change and public health. In his free time, you can find him reading, video editing, or playing soccer.
George Washington University
Yasmin Mohammed
Roots FellowYasmin is a junior at Yale University studying Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. She is interested in neuroscience and exploring how biology and social and physical environments interact to shape health. She conducts research in Yale’s Department of Psychiatry, where she investigates how environmental stressors affect cellular phenotypes in Alzheimer's disease. She hopes to improve access to health education through her leadership in MedLife and involvement in supporting health education in New Haven public schools. Through the Pre-Med Roots Fellowship, she hopes to learn how to approach her pursuits with the compassion and excellence encouraged by Islam.
Yale University 
Zainab Al-Atya
Roots FellowZainab is a junior at Stanford University studying Human Biology, Spanish, and Islamic Studies. She is passionate about neuroimmunology and women’s health, as well as her work in local community clinics as an interpreter. An active leader in her campus’s Muslim community, she organizes lectures, teach-ins, social events, and spiritual programming. In her free time, she loves making Arabic calligraphy, visiting national parks, and learning new languages.
Stanford University
Zayd Dhasthageer
Roots FellowZayd is a sophomore at Washington University in St. Louis studying biology and South Asian Languages and Cultures. He seeks to learn more about the intersection of history and medicine to understand the existing gaps in healthcare. At WashU, he serves as the brother's community hood chair for the MSA and is part of the John B. Ervin Scholars program. He resonates with the Pre-Med Roots Fellowship because it provides a space to think critically about how to maximize his impact as a Muslim physician within his field.
Washington University in St. Louis