Natalia Kosyakova

UConn School of Medicine

I was born in Tuapse, Russia and immigrated to Newington, Connecticut when I was nine. I received a B.S. in molecular and cell biology from UConn in 2017.

While at UConn, I volunteered as a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters and served my local community through Community Service Days. I also volunteered and worked as a clinical researcher in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Hartford Hospital. Since graduating, I have been working as a research associate at Yale Medical School conducting kidney tissue engineering research. Outside my professional life, I serve as an educator for underserved populations at HAVEN Free Clinic. My role there is to help patients with lifestyle changes and diet management and to provide preventative care for hypertension and diabetes. I also volunteer with the Elder Horizons Program where I provide delirium preventative care to the geriatric population.

I sought involvement with Urban Service Track/AHEC Scholars Program in order to continue working with urban underserved communities, to become a physician capable of meeting the needs of underserved communities through awareness of the obstacles to healthcare they face. Through my work as an educator, I have observed that the best care comes from a comprehensive understanding of the multitude of determinants that result in the patient’s condition. The UST/AS Program’s combination of medical education and clinical experiences with urban communities will help me obtain this understanding so that I can accomplish my professional goals and have a positive impact on the communities I will serve.