Bio
Zahra Fazal, from Morogoro, Tanzania, is pursuing a master’s degree in epidemiology and clinical research at Stanford School of Medicine as a Knight Hennessey scholar. She graduated from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada with a bachelor’s degree with distinction in Global health and nutrition as a Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow scholar. Zahra plans to apply her graduate degree towards researching health inequities amongst under-served populations and advocating for data-driven policy change within Sub-Saharan Africa. During her undergraduate degree, Zahra founded a club for first-generation and low-income (FGLI) students, launched a podcast and hosted Canada’s first conference for FGLI students bringing together universities and education ministers across Canada. Inspired by her advocacy, UBC established a scholarship for FGLI students. Zahra was also a research assistant on a patient-partner project at Arthritis Research Canada investigating COVID-19 outcomes in patients with immunosuppression within Canada. Zahra has received the UBC Dean Blythe Eagles Medal, UBC International Community Achievement Award and is a 2022 Rhodes East Africa finalist.
