University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson

08/31/2026

Hiyun Lee discovered her path to becoming a physician through a passion for leadership, advocacy and serving her community.

As a middle and high school student in Chandler, Arizona, Lee imagined a future in academia, drawn to physics and mathematics. As the first person in her family to pursue a career in healthcare, medicine wasn't initially on her radar. Instead, she immersed herself in community leadership, serving on the City of Chandler Mayor's Youth Commission, the Arizona Youth Arts Council and later representing Arizona on the national stage as the state's Distinguished Young Woman, a scholarship program.

“I really loved getting to go out into the community, listen to people and then bring what I heard onto larger platforms to advocate for change,” Lee said.

That passion found its direction during the Saturday Scrubs program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. Listening to physicians describe careers that blended patient care with community leadership, something clicked.

“There was a way to combine STEM, everything I'd been passionate about regarding community service and leadership, and directly serve people in a clinical setting,” she said. “From there, it just made sense.”

That realization eventually led her to the University of Arizona's Accelerated Pathway to Medical Education (APME), an early assurance program that allows Arizona high school seniors to earn a bachelor's degree while securing a reserved seat in the College of Medicine – Tucson. The program gives students early exposure to medical education, mentorship opportunities and a strong support network before they begin medical school.

“It literally said the words ‘community service' and ‘leadership,'” Lee recalled. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, yes.'”

Through APME, Lee entered medical school with more than academic preparation. Early clinical experiences, faculty mentorship and a supportive cohort gave her confidence, while public health projects centered on fall prevention and skin cancer prevention reinforced her belief that meaningful change begins long before a patient enters an exam room. Today, as a new member of the College of Medicine – Tucson Class of 2030, Lee hopes to build a career that combines compassionate patient care with broader community impact.

“I hope patients know they're going to receive the clinical care they need,” she said. “But for me, their care doesn't stop there. I want to take it one step further, find their needs outside the hospital and use the platform, education and connections I have to help create lasting change.”

Born and raised in Arizona, Lee says returning to serve the community that invested in her makes the journey even more meaningful.

“These are the people who made me who I am,” she said. “I'm really excited to give back where I can.”

08/28/2026

Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry Catalina Uribe Rini, PsyD, spoke to KOLD News 13 about the idea that “addictive” features on social media are harming children.

“We don’t really realize how algorithms work behind the scenes. Sometimes kids will get looped into a cycle of hearing the same things over and over again that may not be as helpful to them and may also not be realistic.”

https://www.kold.com/2026/08/26/arizona-doctors-warn-social-media-pressure-teens-meta-reaches-17-billion-settlement/

08/27/2026

Meet Sameeha Rashid, MS, an MD/PhD student who working with University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center researchers in the Sadek Lab to investigate the heart’s power to heal itself.

“The first integral step of making a difference in medicine happens in the laboratory,” she said. “One scientific breakthrough can transform medical practice for generations to come.”

https://medicine.arizona.edu/news/2026/mdphd-program-produces-bilingual-physician-scientists-who-translate-between-clinic-and?publication=20260827&utm_campaign=University+of+Arizona+College+of+Medicine+-+Tucson&utm_content=Meet+Sameeha+Rashid%2C+MS%2C+&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

08/25/2026

Meet MedCat Jontae Couzens, a physiology senior whose interest in medicine has grown from learning how the human body works to asking questions that could one day improve how patients are cared for.

As a physiology senior, he has spent his undergraduate years creating a path toward a career in medicine, but stepping outside the classroom and into the research lab gave him a new perspective on what that future could look like.

After being selected as a fellow in the American Heart Association Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program, Couzens gained hands-on experience in cardiovascular research, spending long days and often late nights learning what it takes to pursue a scientific question from the laboratory to presentation.

“I think this experience was definitely worth all of the time put in,” Couzens said. “It has allowed me to develop a deeper appreciation for the work behind scientific discovery and also gave me a newfound appreciation for wet lab research.”

Along with his cohort, Couzens had the opportunity to travel to Boston and present his research at the American Heart Association’s 2026 Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions. The experience became one of the highlights of the program for him.

“I loved that Boston conference. It was amazing,” Couzens said. “I think I’ll have a lot to talk about in the interviews regarding the research that I did and what it was like to go to that conference and present.”

His research focuses on coronary artery bypass grafting, or CABG, a type of surgery that helps restore blood flow when arteries in the heart are blocked, with the ultimate goal of informing ways to improve heart surgery and patient care. As part of a research team under his mentor, Toshinobu Kazui, MD, PhD, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Surgery’s Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Couzens studied how the amount of oxygen delivered to the body during heart surgery may affect a patient’s recovery. The team found that patients who did not receive enough oxygen during surgery had a greater risk of developing kidney problems afterward.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to contribute to these findings, which could improve recovery for patients undergoing heart surgery.”

As he prepares for medical school, Couzens sees research as another way to improve patient care, recognizing that the decisions physicians make are grounded in the knowledge research provides.

“I am very motivated and inspired to contribute to the body of knowledge so that I can make medicine better for people in the future,” he said.

08/24/2026

The College of Medicine – Tucson is proud to announce the expansion of our MD/PhD program!

In 2021, the college was awarded the National Institutes of Health’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) grant, which is reserved for the nation’s best MD/PhD programs. Out of more than 100 of these dual-degree programs across the country, only around half receive this recognition from the NIH.

That original five-year grant was recently renewed for another five years, totaling $2,295,518 — and it includes more slots for students, meaning the college will be able to ramp up admissions.

“We are very fortunate that we tripled the size of the NIH-funded slots. The NIH wants to fund the top programs in the country — they support programs where trainees will end up becoming successful physician-scientists,” said Hossein Ardehali, MD, PhD, director of the program. “The NIH recognized that our program is on the rise. It’s going to be a leading MSTP in the country, and that’s why they wanted to fund it.”

https://medicine.arizona.edu/news/2026/mdphd-students-dont-have-choose-between-careers-physicians-or-scientists-they-do-both

08/19/2026

When Clinical Professor of Medicine Salma Patel, MD, MPH, was an internal medicine resident, she wasn’t getting enough sleep — which attracted her to an elective in sleep medicine. She fell in love with the specialty because of its profound impact on patients’ lives. In turn, her patients inspired her toward a career as a physician-scientist.

“We kept telling our patients, ‘You shouldn’t sleep with your pets. They’re going to disrupt your sleep,’” she recalled. “I kept hearing, ‘I can’t sleep without my dog! They make me feel so much more secure and I have fewer bad dreams.’ I asked myself, ‘What is the evidence behind that recommendation?’ I looked, and there was nothing that supported that, absolutely nothing.”

In response to the lack of research on how pets affect human sleep, Dr. Patel conducted a study on 40 humans and their 40 dogs — and found that the two species could share sleep space without compromising sleep quality. Her study helped reverse some of the bad advice doctors might give to patients.

That early foray into patient-centered research inspired her to continue to seek answers that would directly improve care. Now, she is celebrating her most recent victory: collaborating on national treatment guidelines for chronic insomnia. Read more on our website: https://medicine.arizona.edu/news/2026/sleep-medicine-physician-shapes-insomnia-treatment-guidelines-national-level-helping

08/14/2026

Associate Clinical Professor of Dermatology Rita Fisler, MD, sat down with the Morning Voice on KVOI AM for a long discussion about skin health. Tune in at 42:16. https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com/?feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv2%2Fepisode%2F8553906_2026-07-31-161006

08/13/2026

Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine Julia Cremer, MD, talks about how we can preserve our physical well-being at all stages of life.

Cremer said ordinary daily activity generally isn’t enough to preserve muscle. “We really do need to be carving out 30 to 60 minutes multiple times per week to do resistance training,” she said. “Or else many of us are going to end up weak, frail and sick.”

At Tucson Strength, a strength and conditioning gym on East Speedway, not every client’s fitness transformation involves dramatic weight loss or a newly chiseled physique. Owner Danny Sawaya recalls one 87-year-old woman who joined the gym about 1 1/2 years ago after taking a fall. She was using a...

08/13/2026

Meet some of the students behind our CUP Clinics, which serve underinsured and uninsured people in the Tucson area.

“I really enjoy being able to meet with our patients and being able to help,” said second-year medical student Carolyn Dunlap. “I think this isn’t just a good opportunity for me to be a better physician tomorrow, but I really like being able to help these patients at the moment.”

https://www.tucsonspotlight.org/ua-free-clinic-fills-gaps-in-womens-health-care/

08/11/2026

Do melatonin or magnesium actually work for sleep disorders? Michael Grandner, PhD, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program and associate professor of psychiatry, spoke to the Washington Post about what the science says.

While he recommends melatonin for certain problems, he says the odds that any nutritional supplement will help treat chronic insomnia “are very low,” and could potentially interact with other medications.

As for magnesium, “It’s likely not harmful, and it’s likely at least a little bit helpful, but just don’t expect more from it than it can deliver. The effects generally are not as large as people tend to think they are.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2026/08/02/melatonin-vs-magnesium-which-is-better-your-sleep/