A Ph.D. student and two UT Southwestern Medical School students who made time to serve the community while also pursuing demanding academic coursework were recognized with scholarships during this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration.

Martyna Kosno, an international student and a Fulbright Scholar in the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, won the $5,000 Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship for Community Service. Finalists Siddhakshi Solanki and Heba Zakaria received $500 scholarships each.

At the event, Ms. Kosno spoke about her passion for international education as a way to increase diversity, dialogue, and understanding between cultures. “I was incredibly honored to receive the scholarship,” she said.

Scholarship Winner
Martyna Kosno

Senior graduate student

Ms. Kosno first came to UT Southwestern in 2014 as a pharmacy student from her home country of Poland after learning about a research trainee program called BioLab for those wishing to gain biomedical research experience in the U.S. Ms. Kosno liked the experience so much that she returned to UTSW in 2016 as a graduate student working toward a Ph.D. in biological chemistry. She hopes to receive her doctorate in February, then return to Poland to work as a medical science liaison, helping bridge the gap of communication between doctors and scientists.

While here, Ms. Kosno has been active in volunteer activities focused on education, increasing women’s participation in scientific fields, and enhancing support for international students.

She joined the Alliance for Women Scientists at UTSW, becoming President of Outreach. In that role, she helped organize career-oriented seminars for students at the Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School in Dallas, as well as at other girls’ schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. She established an online exchange program between the Rangel school in Dallas and one in her hometown of Opoczno, Poland.

In recognition of the role the Fulbright Program plays in international exchange and education, Ms. Kosno and Karolina Stepien, a fellow Fulbright grantee and UTSW Graduate School alumna, founded the Fulbright Association Dallas Chapter. Ms. Kosno served as President the first two years.

“As an international student, it takes a lot of courage and dedication to be so far from family for so long in the pursuit of excellence in research,” Benjamin Tu, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry, said of Ms. Kosno. “It is also the rare person who can at the same time unselfishly volunteer so much personal time to community service and helping groups underrepresented in STEM.”

Ms. Kosno is particularly committed to international education. “I really believe that if we educate people about other cultures and other nations more, and if we expose people to contact with other people, this makes communities more inclusive. We are less scared of the unknown and we realize that ‘normal’ is a much bigger spectrum than what we are used to,” she said.

Finalist
Siddhakshi Solanki

Second-year medical student

Ms. Solanki, who is interested in pediatrics and family medicine, is a Texas native aspiring to be the first doctor in her family.

She helped found “Books for Babies,” an initiative through the Neonatology Student Interest Group that encourages parents whose children were born at Parkland Memorial Hospital to read to their babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. In the program, medical students are trained to identify newborns who are isolated and work alongside families to encourage reading as a bonding activity from infancy.

In addition, she worked with underrepresented students at area high schools through the Project Education, Leadership, and Mentoring fellowship. Mentors helped the students develop a 30-minute health education presentation on microbiology to show kindergartners.

Another of Ms. Solanki’s goals is to help sexual and gender minorities feel represented in medicine. She is an officer of PRIDE-UTSW and works to empower groups traditionally left out of health conversations. As the Community Outreach Coordinator at a new startup, spotLIGHT, she conducts research and creates health workshops to make it easier for LGBTQIA+ adolescents to obtain health information in an ungendered, inclusive manner.

“The role of a health care team is to create a welcoming environment for all patients, particularly those who are in a transitional period of development and may need more support. As a future pediatrician, I strive to give patients the space to flourish and grow into independent, confident individuals,” she said.

Finalist
Heba Zakaria

Second-year medical student

Ms. Zakaria, who grew up in Mansfield, Texas, has worked as a coordinator with the American Muslim Women Physicians Association (AMWPA), planning informational workshops for Muslim women considering medical school. She recently started an AMWPA Chapter at UT Southwestern.

Ms. Zakaria has also advised incoming medical students as a member of Southwestern Student Advising. During the summer of 2022, she helped plan a weekend of fun activities for new students.

“As a first-generation college student and future doctor, I know how difficult it was to navigate educational opportunities and find valuable, honest advice,” she said. “Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.’ Whether it’s through mentorship or volunteering at a free clinic, I want to continue emulating his legacy by volunteering my time to help others.

“I also strive to continue learning the skills and knowledge needed to treat my future patients with compassion, humility, and integrity,” she added.