Sadik Karma

UConn School of Medicine

I was born and grew up in Baghdad, Iraq. I earned my associate’s degree in science at Northern Virginia Community College in 2017. I earned my bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in psychological and brain sciences from Johns Hopkins University in 2019.

In 2017, I started volunteering at Thread, a social outreach organization focused on positively impacting the lives of at-risk Baltimore City teens. I also volunteered in the pediatric emergency department at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where I was an ambassador for a food insecurity study. The study’s goal was to provide individuals living with food insecurity with resources that could decrease the hardships they faced in obtaining affordable and healthy food.

I am training to be a physician-scientist to bridge the gap between scientific advancements and their applications in medicine. I want to translate the skills I learn at the bench to the patient’s bedside, and vice versa. I believe that a holistic understanding of medicine, from the basic mechanisms of diseases to the interpersonal relationship between doctors and patients, is vital to advocating against the healthcare barriers that vulnerable populations encounter. The Urban Service Track/AHEC Scholars (UST/AS) Program is unique because it not only addresses modern medical care’s shortcomings, but it also gives its scholars the tools, resources, and motivation to combat such healthcare disparities as part of an interdisciplinary, equitable medical team.