2020 Women's Empowerment Scholarship Recipient

Zara is a second year medical student at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, with interests in Global Public Health and Refugee Health.

Zara graduated from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2017, conferring a B.S. in Biology with summa cum laude. She was awarded the 2017 Robert H. Spaethling Award, the top award given to one graduating senior in the Honors College, and also received the Ina Samuels Award, a top research award in the College of Liberal Arts at UMass Boston. In addition to her commitment to her education, Zara was an exemplary leader on campus. She was the secretary of Alpha Lambda Delta, an honors fraternity, and was the lead peer mentor for pre-medical Freshman Success Communities.

Before starting medical school Zara spent two years at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute doing research in a cancer immunotherapy lab, focusing on quiescent cells in breast cancer primary tumors and their mechanisms of immune evasion. Through this experience, she became involved in the Science and Health Education Center (SHE Center) at Dana-Farber. This center aims to engage female clinicians and scientists in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with the health care community in Boston. Zara’s ultimate goal is to have ongoing involvement through the SHE Center in the MENA region where she can help empower young female scientists.

We’re pleased to award Zara with a $1,000 scholarship for the 2020-2021 school year.