Sameeha Rashid

Hello. My name is Sameeha. I am from San Diego, California. I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of California San Diego (UCSD). Driven by a desire to better understand my younger sister’s progressive bilateral hearing loss, I joined Dr. Rick A. Friedman’s neurotology laboratory during my undergraduate years. There, I had opportunities to research noise-induced hearing loss, clone mouse constructs to convert postnatal cochlear non-sensory cells (mESCs) into functional cochlear hair cells (HCs) for an inner ear organoid development project, and help identify the genetics underlying age-related vestibular dysfunction via mouse genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Outside the lab, I also met Dr. Friedman’s patients in clinic and observed his acoustic neuroma translabyrinthine removal procedures. The importance of research and biotechnology for identifying diseases and creating personalized treatments was constantly reinforced.

My personal experiences taught me how innovative research work can significantly change the lives of vulnerable patients. My work in the clinic and laboratory helped me recognize the limitations of clinical medicine and the importance of well performed research. I believe clinical medicine and sciences are interconnected, and I absolutely desire to not only be an excellent clinician but also work to push the field forward. As such, wherever my clinical interests may lie in my future career as a physician, my drive for scientific pursuit in that area will certainly follow. I am excited to advance my goals and contribute meaningfully to both medicine and science as a member of the MD-PhD program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.

Outside of school, I enjoy reading, trying new foods, learning new languages, game/movie nights with my siblings, travelling, and discovering seasonal home decor at Target.