Celebrating Downstate’s 2026–2027 Alumni Research Scholarship Recipients

By Office of the President | May 19, 2026

The Board of Trustees of the Alumni Association & Fund is proud to announce the recipients of the 2026–2027 Alumni Fund Full-Year Research Scholarship Grants.

Selected through a highly competitive review process, these outstanding College of Medicine students represent the next generation of physician-scientists, researchers, and innovators. This year’s review committee, chaired by Richard Sadvosky, M.D., Professor of Family and Community Medicine, joined by Riccardo Bianchi, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Foundations of Medicine and Associate Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology, and Jenny Libien, M.D. Ph.D., Chair of Pathology and Professor of Pathology and Neurology, reviewed more than a dozen exceptional applications before selecting four scholars for this year’s awards.

We are pleased to recognize Wen Huang as this year’s first-place recipient, along with first runners-up Elnaz Asadi, Vinay Bijoor, and Abiha Kazmi.

Each recipient will dedicate a full academic year to conducting full-time research at leading institutions across the country, pursuing projects that reflect the spirit of scientific discovery, academic excellence, and innovation that define the College of Medicine.

Scholarship recipients and research projects are:

• Wen Huang
  Project: Allele-Specific Genome Surgery in Juvenile Macular Degeneration
  Research Site: Tsang Lab, Columbia University
• Elnaz Asadi
  Project: Targeted Modulations of Neuroinflammation to Improve Outcomes After Peripheral Nerve Injury
  Research Site: Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh
• Vinay Bijoor
  Project: Perioperative Immunosuppressant Management in Rheumatology Patients Undergoing Elective Total Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Prospective Single-Blind Randomized Trial
  Research Site: NYU Langone Orthopedic Center
• Abiha Kazmi
  Project: Investigating the Tumor Microenvironment as a Driver of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinomas among Solid Organ Transplant Recipients
  Research Site: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Since 2002, the Alumni Fund of the Alumni Association–College of Medicine has supported medical student research through this scholarship program, providing up to $60,000 in funding to help foster future leaders in medicine and biomedical research. Priority is given to projects conducted at Downstate or its affiliated institutions, reinforcing the university’s longstanding commitment to advancing scientific inquiry and improving patient care.

We congratulate this year’s recipients and thank all students who applied. The strength and quality of the submissions reflect the remarkable future of research and innovation at Downstate.

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Tags: Research, School of Graduate Studies, Alumni, Awards, College of Medicine