Release: UChicago alum named 2024 Knight-Hennessy Scholar

Umar Siddiqi, AB'24, is passionate about enhancing access and quality of care for patients through innovation. Siddiqi was recently named a Knight-Hennessy Scholar, and this fall, he will pursue a medical degree from Stanford University's School of Medicine.

Ultimately, he hopes to practice medicine as a physician-investigator, at the forefront of discovering novel therapies and deploying them in ways that allow for equitable access.

Originally from Elmhurst, Ill., Siddiqi earned a bachelor's degree from the undergraduate College in biological sciences with a specialization in immunology. A past recipient of the Goldwater Scholarship, he has performed extensive research in the field of cardiac surgery-leading national, multi-center studies to investigate critical heart failure phenomena.

Throughout his time at UChicago, Siddiqi worked closely with Prof. Valluvan Jeevanandam, the chief of cardiac surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

"Dr. Jeevanandam allowed me early exposure to the world of advanced heart failure therapy, and I'm thankful to him for taking me under his wing," said Siddiqi. "Shadowing him in clinic and the operating room allowed me to learn so much about what it means to be committed to innovation and excellent clinical care within the field of medicine."

Siddiqi worked on heart pump technology, designing and developing left ventricular assist devices and prototyping the next generation of mechanical circulatory support.

"There are tens of millions of people worldwide who suffer from end-stage heart failure but not enough donor organs, which leads to inequalities in transplant listings," Siddiqi said. "I envision mechanical circulatory support as a scalable solution to this problem, a new gold standard, one that would ideally be accessible for all."

The Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program is designed to build a multidisciplinary community of Stanford graduate students dedicated to finding creative solutions to the world's greatest challenges. Siddiqi is one of 90 scholars in the 2024 cohort.

"The Knight-Hennessy experience is truly unique," Siddiq said. "I am excited to learn from and collaborate with scholars from around the world with different skill sets as we strive to solve the problems of today with the solutions of tomorrow."

Siddiqi received interview support from the College Center for Research and Fellowships (CCRF), which supports College students and alumni who apply for nationally competitive fellowships.