Women in Medicine: Afaf Saliba
Afaf Saliba, PhD Candidate
Department of Medicine
Division of Nephrology
Long School of Medicine
Ms. Afaf Saliba is a 4th-year Ph.D. student in the Cell Biology, Genetics, and Molecular Medicine program with a research interest in metabolic diseases and contributing to therapeutic discoveries.
Ms. Saliba receives training at the Center for Precision Medicine by Dr. Kumar Sharma with an intense focus on precision medicine and identifying molecular signatures in renal diseases that can guide therapy. She has developed a mouse model that will facilitate the identification of therapeutic targets for progressive kidney disease.
Ms. Saliba’s work is gaining recognition at UT Health San Antonio and the national level. She was awarded the highly competitive institutional predoctoral fellowship NIH/NCATS TL1. In addition, Ms. Saliba received a Translational Science Award from the Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) as the Outstanding Predoctoral Trainee of 2022 (Chicago). She also received prizes and travel awards, including the Burroughs Wellcome travel award. Ms. Saliba is one of the prominent student leaders at UTHSA, advocating for equity and inclusion. She often volunteers and facilitates community service (promoting science, kidney health initiatives, women empowerment) and leads self-promotion, mental health, and inclusion initiatives on campus.