Aalia Farukhi

Aalia Farukhi of Houston, Texas was 1 of 2 students from UT Health San Antonio, and 1 of only 13 qualified students in the nation that spent the summer doing research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Aalia graduated from the University of Houston where she gained a solid foundation in applied science through a pre-professional Bachelor of Science in Nutrition degree plan. Shortly after graduating, she came to San Antonio to pursue the Doctor of Dental Surgery program at UT Health San Antonio.

Today, she is an accomplished Doctor of Dental Surgery candidate, and has completed a summer of research at the National Institutes of Health. In the future, she would like to do a combination of research and dentistry in the public health sector in conjunction with the American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

Her advice to other students with interest in the dental research programs offered at UT Health San Antonio includes the simple suggestion to “Do it.” She also wants potential students to know that while the program requires a lot of work, it’s worth it and they will have a lot of fun. Aalia got to visit Washington, D.C. for the first time as an adult because of this program. An experience students may not think to be a part of a research program. With a majority of the 13 students chosen to participate in National Institutes of Health being from the east coast, Aalia recommends more students from our region take an interest in it. Since UT Health San Antonio is highly recognized for its research, more of its students should consider getting into the program.