Satema Lopez (Apache)
Post Bacc Student

I am a recent graduate of UCLA, where I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Education and Social Transformation with a minor in American Indian Studies in June 2025. My academic path has always been driven by a desire to understand the intersection of community, education, and health.

My passion for clinical research took me to Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital for the Four Directions Summer Research Program. There, I had the privilege of working with Drs. Tanya Laidlaw and Carolyn Baloh to investigate herb and spice allergies within a national patient registry.

I am deeply committed to addressing health disparities, a focus that earned me the Indigenous Knowledge Research Program Award from AISES and the USDA Office of Tribal Relations. This recognition for my work on health equity for Native patients further fueled my resolve to bridge the gap in care for Indigenous communities.

Beyond the lab, I find immense fulfillment in serving on the National SHPEP American Indian/Alaska Native Engagement Committee. Mentoring Native youth who aspire to enter the health professions is a core part of who I am—I believe in lifting others as I climb.

Currently, I am deepening my clinical exposure through the Dornsife/Keck Shadowing Program, where I am shadowing neurosurgeons Drs. Charles Liu and Darrin Lee. I am also honored to be a fellow in the NIH-sponsored Neuroscience Diversity to Elevate Education and Research Development (NDEED) program. As an NDEED Fellow, I’ll be conducting STEM research this summer at the University of Arizona, Tucson, under the mentorship of Dr. Celina Valencia.

My ultimate goal is to serve as both a neurosurgeon and a professor. I aim to provide culturally competent healthcare to my Central Valley community while empowering the next generation of Indigenous scholars to claim their space in STEM. My next big step begins in Fall 2026, when I will start the Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program at USC!