CCNY’s 2025 Salk Scholars, from left: Janice Rateshwar, Beliz Kayis, Sameah Algharazi and Abiola D. Laguda.
Two current City College of New York students and two recent graduates are recipients of Jonas E. Salk Scholarships awarded by The City University of New York. The scholarships recognize exceptional students who plan careers in medicine and the biological sciences.
CCNY’s 2025 Salk Scholars are:
- Janice Rateshwar, graduating senior, biomedical science;
- Abiola D. Laguda, graduating senior, biomedical science;
- Beliz Kayis, Class of 2024, BS biomedical engineering, Macaulay Honors College; and
- Sameah Algharazi, Class of 2023, BS biology.
As Salk Scholars, the four will each receive a stipend of $8,000 to be allocated over three or four years of medical studies.
Following are brief bios of the Scholars:
Janice Rateshwar:
A graduating senior in the Sophie Davis Program, Rateshwar will attend the CUNY School of Medicine (CSOM). On campus, she conducts biomolecular computational research under the mentorship of Dr. Linda Spatz, investigating the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus—an autoimmune disease that disproportionately affects women of color. The Long Island native raises awareness about her research by presenting at several national conferences. She serves as Vice President of CCNY’s Women in Science Organization, is a Dean’s List student, and a recipient of CUNY’s Belle Zeller Scholarship for Community Service. Janice also shadows at Columbia Dermatology and volunteers with NYU Langone to organize free community skin cancer screenings for immigrant populations. She has worked with the Bronx-based nonprofit, The Inspired Community Project, to champion educational opportunities for neurodivergent children. Janice aspires to become a physician-scientist dedicated to holistic care and advancing health equity in underserved communities.
Abiola D. Laguda:
A member of CCNY’s Class of 2025, Laguda will enroll at CSOM after graduation. He plans a career as a physician with the goal of improving health literacy and accessibility in underserved communities. He’s volunteered as a community healthcare worker at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, worked as a research assistant at Weill Cornell Medicine Center and interned there also for immunologist Dr. Lishomwa Ndhlovu. Laguda’s resume includes a clinical research internship at Mount Sinai in Manhattan; a health science internship at the Remedy Project, and a spring 2024 stint as an intern at the Washington, DC-based Center for Science in the Public Interest. On campus, the Bronx resident has served as a Colin Powell School Racial Justice Fellow, and as a CSOM biochemistry tutor. Laguda’s honors include the Dean's List, the David and Ruth Levine Scholarship, and the Merit scholarship.
Beliz Kayis:
The 2024 alumna and Long Island resident enrolls at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University this fall. Raised in Türkiye, Kayis plans to specialize in surgery and pursue an early career with Doctors Without Borders that will enable her to travel globally serving underserved populations. She graduated summa cum laude with a BE in biomedical engineering, on a pre-med track, from the Macaulay Honors College in CCNY’s Grove School of Engineering. Along with volunteering as an emergency responder, Kayis worked as a research assistant for Dr. Steven Nicoll's team tasked with developing a new cellulose-derived biomaterial for multiple medical applications; and in Dr. Lucas Parra's lab, helping develop an algorithm able to analyze and detect anomalies in breast MRIs. In addition to her Macaulay scholarship, Kayis’ other honors included the Peter F. Vallone Scholarship, Undergraduate Academic Excellence awards in biomedical engineering, Wallace H. Coulter awards for Outstanding Undergraduate Performance and the Dean’s List.
Sameah Algharazi:
From CCNYs class of 2023, Algharazi is also headed to SUNY Downstate to study medicine. Her career goal is to become a neurologist specifically to utilize patient care to direct research work on memory disorders. Born in New York of Yemeni immigrant parents, she graduated magna cum laude with a BS in biology. Algharazi participated in neuroscience research at Columbia University on a project related to neuroimaging analytical techniques used in studying longitudinal changes in brain activity. Additionally, she helped with the development of a project studying autobiographical memory recall and music. At CCNY, the Bronx resident conducted honors research with Dr. Jay Edelman on saccadic eye movements and memory. She was a peer mentor in the CCAPP Science Mentoring Program and learned patient care while being a hospice volunteer. Algharazi’s academic honors included the Excellence in Neuroscience Award, the Peter F. Vallone Scholarship, and inclusion on the Dean’s List.
About the Salk Scholarship Program
The Salk Scholarship is named for Dr. Jonas Salk, a 1934 graduate of City College, who developed the first polio vaccine in 1955. Dr. Salk turned down a tickertape parade in honor of his discovery, and asked that the money be used for scholarships instead. New York City provided initial funding for the scholarships that year. The Jonas Salk Scholarships are awarded annually to eight graduates of CUNY senior colleges who have been accepted by, and plan to attend, U.S. medical or graduate schools.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Jay Mwamba
p: 917.892.0374
e:
jmwamba@ccny.cuny.edu