Making National Impact through Medicine by Centering Access & Local Communities
This year, 30 exceptional immigrants and children of immigrants were chosen from 3,000+ applicants nationwide for the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. The Fellows, who will receive up to $90,000 in funding over two years toward their graduate studies, represent the remarkable contributions of immigrants and children of immigrants across fields like medicine, law, engineering, the arts, public service, and science. Briana Martin-Villa, MD Candidate at the University of Washington School of Medicine, was recently awarded this esteemed award.
Briana Martin-Villa is a child of immigrants from Mexico and daughter of farmworkers that once worked alongside her mother and twin brother picking fruit and became a first-generation college graduate while studying bioengineering at Stanford University. Briana is a committed advocate for accessibility and centering her community through her research and work and co-created a culturally sensitive, linguistically tailored, family-centered communication intervention designed to transform how Latine cancer survivors and clinicians engage in care. She also prioritizes service to those following in her footsteps, serving as an inspiring lead to youth in the Office of Healthcare Equity’s Doctor for a Day programs, a monthly themed academy that exposes K-12 youth to health careers through hands-on activities. Following her innovation of co-founding a biodesign program hosting annual summer camps for youth from the Salinas Valley during her time at Stanford, Briana’s dedication to incorporating community voices into her research led her to the halls of National Government.
What is the greatest piece of advice you have for aspiring First-Generation College Students interested in pursuing medicine?
“Build a supportive community and lean on them! Seek out mentors early who are doing work you hope to pursue, and invest time in maintaining those relationships.”
How has your time at the UW School of Medicine enhanced your perspective on equitable access to care?
“Growing up primarily in Moses Lake, a rural town in Eastern Washington, I saw the impact of limited healthcare access on my farmworking community, which motivated me to pursue higher education to help address these gaps. Now, as a medical student, returning feels full circle. The UW School of Medicine is known for training in both rural and urban areas throughout the WWAMI region, and I am excited to be able to train in the same communities that first inspired my path to medicine. I look forward to continuing to learn how to make care not only accessible, but truly responsive to community needs.”
You can read more about Briana by heading to this link.
The full list of 2026 Fellows and their biographies can be found at pdsoros.org.
