Rahim Hirani is the Recipient of the Doctor of Distinction’s Promise for the Future Award

“The opportunities I’ve had at NYMC and the access issues and inequities I’ve witnessed in the health care system have deepened my resolve to do more,” said Hirani. “This award feels like recognition not just for me, but for the journey—the road traveled, the challenges met, and the sacrifices my family has made—and for the impact I hope to make.”

The event honors changemakers in medicine—those driving innovation, collaboration, and progress across the health care landscape, and whose work continues to shape the future of health care, exemplified by Hirani’s path to becoming a physician-scientist.

In Pakistan, Hirani experienced the loss of loved ones due to limited access to health care and gained firsthand insight into the consequences while shadowing in hospitals in high school. Soon after moving to the U.S., alone at 17 years old, he lost his father, who was awaiting imaging for a suspected head bleed at a hospital that lacked sufficient equipment for all its patients. The delay in care, compounded with other health complications, resulted in a tragedy for Hirani and his family. Every second counts, especially when it comes to receiving treatment and this is a fact that Hirani knows all too well and was one of the defining moments in his life that led him to pursue medicine.  

First-generation high school and college graduate, Hirani moved to Texas to continue his education. He went on to study cellular and molecular biology and international relations for his undergraduate studies at Hampshire College and completed his master’s in biochemistry and molecular biology at Georgetown University.

Hirani completed various research programs and fellowships along the way, including at the Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University and Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center at the University of Washington. While attending New York Medical College (NYMC) to pursue his M.D. and Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology, he also undertook competitive fellowships at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, and Boston Children’s Hospital.

“I was shadowing my mentor at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, who is also a physician-scientist,” recalled Hirani. “He was speaking with a patient about how the new therapies we were developing in the lab could make him eligible for clinical trials and potentially change the trajectory of his disease. Seeing that firsthand really motivated me to do more—to pursue the M.D.-Ph.D. path and the opportunities it offers to impact patient care and research.”

Recipient of the 2024 Harvard Hope Scholar Award, Hirani has published more than 100 research studies, contributed to many additional projects, and has presented his findings at dozens of conferences across the country and abroad since joining NYMC.

His research at the College with the mentorship of Mitchell S. Cairo, M.D., professor of pediatrics, medicine, pathology, microbiology and immunology, and cell biology and anatomy, and vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics, is on understanding the role of inflammation in the disease process of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa and designing immunotherapies to restrict the inflammation process and its transition to squamous cell carcinoma to increase the lifespan and quality of life in these patients. He was invited to present his findings at the special DEBRA UK session during the 54th Annual European Society for Dermatological Research Meeting in Antwerp, Belgium, in September.

“I realized that science and compassion have to move together in order to become the best version of physician scientists,” said Hirani. “The goal is to translate the research that I'm doing in the lab into real-world treatments that can change the patients’ lives.”

When Hirani is not in the lab, he serves as executive director of the Center for Human Rights at NYMC. His own immigrant experience, combined with the financial and mental challenges he witnessed in other immigrant journeys, inspired him to join the Center—a student-run clinic also staffed with faculty physician volunteers that provides pro bono forensic medical evaluations for asylum seekers and victims of human trafficking. These evaluations are a critical component in determining their asylum or legal protective status in the United States.

As the Graduate School Association president and Office of Campus Engagement project coordinator, Hirani stays engaged and connected to the College and values fostering a sense of community among students and faculty. He has benefited from countless mentorship opportunities at the College, which have shaped his growth and inspired him to give back to the community.

“When I first arrived in the U.S., I was often told how difficult it is to get into medical school as an international student—and it is—but that challenge motivated me to exceed expectations and strive for excellence. Because of that, I’ve always felt like I had to be better than everyone else in the room to access the same opportunities as local students—and that mindset really pushed me to go above and beyond. People often say I have my feet in a lot of boats, which is true, but it’s part of why I’ve always tried to do more,” said Hirani.