Meet Sana
Sana was born in Quetta, Pakistan, and belongs to the Hazara minority ethnic group, who have been suffering persecution by extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan due to their ethnicity and religious views. Sana’s family sought asylum in the U.S. in 2013 after a deadly suicide bomb attack ravaged her community two years prior. Although acclimating to her new life presented a multitude of challenges, she felt empowered by the opportunity to continue her education.
In the spring of 2014, Sana enrolled at Macaulay Honors College at Lehman College to pursue her degree in biochemistry. Yet, commuting four hours every day to attend classes and working full-time to cover the cost tuition, books and transportation left both a physical and emotional strain. Her scholarship from St. George’s Society of New York lifted her financial burden and allowed Sana to refocus her efforts on completing her degree.
“I have the opportunity to become the first person in my family to attend college. I will continue to apply the same diligence to the rest of my collegiate studies as I have to this point, making education and service to others my top priority.”
Sana’s interest in biochemistry and her passion for medicine led her to Prabodhika Mallikaratchy’s laboratory, where she conducted cancer research for three years. She designed and synthesized novel, multifunctional oligonucleotides for biomedical applications, which resulted in five peer-reviewed publications and numerous presentations.
After graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Lehman, Sana spent her gap year volunteering, teaching and doing research, which resulted in three additional manuscripts. She was awarded the prestigious Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans in 2019 and recently completed her first year at Harvard Medical School. After completing an MD, Sana hopes to make lasting contributions to the Hazara community and work with vulnerable refugees and asylees as a health professional on a global level.
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