KAMA Healthcare Fellows 2022
The KAMA Healthcare Leaders Fellowship Program selects applicants who are passionate about community outreach and mentorship. Fellows will address public health issues in the Kurdish community, serve the interests of current and future Kurdish physicians, and learn to become future mentors for Kurdish American students interested in the healthcare field.
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Sana Fatah Belmont University I am a first year student at Belmont University on the pre-medicine track, pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Public Health with a minor in Chemistry. I am interested in pursuing a dual degree program for an MD-MPH. My parents emigrated from Kurdistan during the Saddam Hussein regime, and I grew up in Nashville, TN "Little Kurdistan." Through the KAMA Healthcare Leaders Fellowship, I will have the opportunity to dissect the health disparities that ravage my community. As a public health major, I aspire to combine the public health model that emphasizes disease prevention and health of communities with the medical model that focuses on acute care for individuals. In the classroom, I learn about the textbook definition of the social determinants and global health, and this fellowship would provide me with an intimate experience of tailoring medicine to my community's needs. With a fatal family history of cancer, heart disease, and Covid-19 vaccine misinformation, I have witnessed the pitfalls of modern medicine and the absence of public health. Colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, but my aunt who lives in Kurdistan was diagnosed with advanced stage colon cancer last year. Doctors dismissed her symptoms and did not recommend routine colonoscopies — the preventative measure would have prevented her metastatic cancer. My aunt’s preventable diagnosis is a testament to the urgent need for public health. Through the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt, I developed my communication and project management skills. The four-year research intensive program gave me the opportunity to translate my breast cancer bench research into presentations and animated videos tailored to the general public. I intend to further develop my skills through the KAMA fellowship as I work to center the marginalized voices of Kurds and other minorities. |
Kashan Muhammad University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine My name is Kashan Muhammad. I am Kurdish-American and a 2nd-year medical student at the UMKC School of Medicine. I am also a current avid member of KAMA since April 2021 already and would like to partake in the team of Fellows. Thus far in my journey with KAMA, I have led the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, been chosen as a panel member for the first-ever 2022 KAMA Summit, and have also been a recipient of the 2021 Community Leadership Award. My experience as an avid KAMA member so far has been very beneficial for my community and myself and I aim to take my efforts a step deeper into our growing organization and become part of the team of Fellows. I believe KAMA maintains its mission and goals with every project & campaign and I would like to expand my role in curating these efforts. I believe I will be able to do so by being part of the Fellow team. |
Davar Jalal Middle Tennessee State University My name is Davar Jalal. I am from Erbil, Iraq. I and my family moved to the states in 2018. Our family moved here so they can open doors to better education opportunities for me and my siblings. My dream is to become a doctor in either Orthopedic surgery or general surgery. I have finished high school in Tennessee and currently, I am finishing my undergraduate in Biology at Middle Tennessee State University. I am in my junior year right now. I also work part time as Pharmacy Technician. I am also volunteering with American Red Cross as a disaster responder. During my free time, I like to read books, especially Kurdish history books. if weather permits I do hiking and kayaking every now and then and I also like shooting at the shooting rage. As a pre-medical student, I would like to join the KAMA Healthcare Leaders Fellowship because I love to learn more about Healthcare through the Fellowship and spread it with my Kurdish Fellas and in the Kurdish community. I would like to expand my knowledge further about medical schools and the process so that I can help others who struggle in their transition. And Finally, I would like to join the Fellowship, so that I can make our voices heard across the country and make the community a better place for our fellas and everyone else. |
Jeyar Ahmed Middle Tennessee State University My name is Jeyar Ahmed! I am 21 years old. I was also born and raised in Nashville, but my family is originally from Duhok, Kurdistan. Currently I am finishing up my final semester of my Biochemsitry degree at MTSU, and I hope to continue my education in medicine! KAMA is the only of its kind, a program dedicated to the Kurdish community, specifically in medicine. With this tremendous accomplishment, there are plenty of victories for the group to share. Specifically the KAMA Healthcare Leaders Fellowship, which allows real students to increase their outreach and magnify their voices on a much grander scale. Becoming a part of this fellowship would push me to continue fighting for my goals. |