Farid Akhavan Rezayat

With only a week’s notice, Farid and his family had to leave Tehran, Iran, because of rising political tensions, and immigrate to the United States.  Farid was in high school at the time.  As a result of this experience, Farid volunteers at a refugee shelter where he meets many people who share his background.  “As a volunteer interpreter, I work with Farsi/Dari-speaking families mainly from Iran and Afghanistan that are in the process of searching for sponsors, submitting legal documents, and smaller tasks such as finding jobs or navigating transportation. The majority of these families are asylum seekers who fled wars in the Middle East and passed dozens of countries and entire oceans to get to the United States. Being in the position to guide this group reminds me of how privileged I am to have had a relatively convenient immigration experience as a green card holder.”

One of Farid’s career goals is to establish a free clinic for diverse refugee populations. He is currently a volunteer with the Patient Assistance Program at the UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic where he weekly aids a number of uninsured patients apply for free medications given out by certain pharmaceutical companies. “Working at the UCSD Free Clinic has been one of my most rewarding experiences. From attendings and medical students to undergraduate volunteers, every member of the staff brings a level of passion and enthusiasm that can only be found at the Free Clinic. This is partly because the clinic provides great care to patients that are otherwise unable to afford treatment. In the future, I hope to build on this project by accounting for the increasingly diverse population of patients with a variety of languages and backgrounds, especially in neighborhoods with large refugee populations.”

With a major in Human Biology at Thurgood Marshall College, Farid has an interest in not only social justice and medicine for the underserved, but also in research. He originally joined a metabolism lab following his diagnosis with hyperthyroidism. In the lab, he studies the localization of nutrient transporters and lipid metabolism. It was while working in the Saltiel Lab that Farid developed a passion for the field of research and hypothesis-driven studies.