Sara Safa

Though she puts in long hours at work while carrying a full academic load, the sacrifices Sara is making are helping to support her parents as they follow in her academic footsteps. This has been one of Sara’s proudest accomplishments. “My parents don’t have a college education and can’t speak English well,” she explains. The family emigrated from Iran in 2014, and Sara believes every new day is an opportunity for all of them. “I encouraged my parents to go to college to improve their English so that in the future they can pursue a degree in a field that they like.”

The fields that interest Sara will no doubt challenge her, but the road she’s chosen doesn’t daunt her. “As a female from the Middle East, I have faced many difficulties, but I promised myself to never give up on my goals.” With a focus on research in children’s cancer, she is planning to combine medicine with technology and work on the ways in which computer science and bioinformatics can contribute to the future of medicine and improving human lives. She is also interested in these areas because, “they simply amaze me and I see endless opportunities in each field and their combination that can be life- changing for many people.”

Especially children diagnosed with cancer. She feels that computer science and medicine offer particular hope for youngsters’ quality of life and longevity. “I believe that the combination of these two fields can lead to treatments that offer children a painless longer life and eventually to a cure for different types of childhood cancer.”

Her plan is to specialize in bioinformatics as an undergraduate, then enter an MD/PhD program and become a physician-scientist. “I am interested in performing research on pediatric cancer, specially DIPG – a type of brain tumor – by taking advantage of the knowledge and experience that I have and will gain. I believe this also helps me grow as an individual since the path that I will take is full of learning, challenges, hardships and experiences that require strength and motivation, which will eventually help me to become a stronger person and see the value of life. “From the moment I entered the U.S., every single day has been an accomplishment.”