Ariba Memon, T.H. Chan School of Medicine, Class of 2025

“My interest in UMass Chan Medical School stemmed from the sense of community among students and faculty and the opportunity to engage with diverse communities in Worcester.”

After traveling to South America and learning how access to health care affects housing and food insecurity in the context of culture, religion and social customs, Ariba Memon knew she wanted to pursue a career in medicine from a global health perspective.

“The right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health is protected in human rights doctrines, but the world’s most developed nations still struggle to address health inequity,” said Memon, a second-year student in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine. “I want to become an advocate for the most underserved communities—namely refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers—because I believe everyone deserves access to the highest quality health care.”

Originally from South Windsor, Conn., Memon majored in physiology and neurobiology and minored in political science at the University of Connecticut.

“My interest in UMass Chan stemmed from the sense of community among students and faculty and the opportunity to engage with diverse communities in Worcester,” she said. “I was able to scribe for the Asylum Clinic, where physicians perform an asylum evaluation, and volunteer with the pediatric vaccine program to give vaccines to newly emigrated families. The Medical School’s dedication to establishing programs within the community is what drew me to UMass Chan.”

Memon loves working with pediatric patients and is passionate about reproductive justice.

“At UMass Chan, I’ve been able to gain hands-on experience with an immigrant pediatric patient population and pursue research evaluating cardiovascular risk in pregnant patients. I can pursue my passion of advocating for children and pregnant patients.”