Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Scholar Spotlight: Komal Safdar ’15

Tuesday, April 28, 2015, By Cyndi Moritz
Share
Students

Komal Safdar committed to come to Syracuse University as a junior in high school because of its tennis program. It was the only program in the country that trained its players to go pro after college. The biochemistry major from Cincinnati, Ohio, no longer wants a career as a tennis pro, but she is still glad she picked Syracuse. Her time here gave her opportunities to push herself and prepare for her ultimate career goal, becoming a physician.

Komal Safdar

Komal Safdar

Q: Being a student and an athlete at the same time is notoriously difficult. How have you managed to excel at both?

A: It comes down to time management. You can’t leave anything until the last minute, and you have to plan out weeks at a time. There is time to fit it all in, but you sometimes have to say no to a movie or a social outing. Sometimes you do have to make a sacrifice. In the end, you will make time for the important things.

Q: And you certainly have excelled, doing well at tennis for four years and winning several academic awards. What are some of the awards you’ve won?

A: I was named to the Golden Key International Honor Society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, as well as the Big East All-Academic Team and the All-ACC Academic Women’s Tennis Team. I’ve been named the Scholar-Athlete of the Week three times. I won the Thacker Postgraduate Scholarship Award, which is given by the ACC to three student-athletes each year for elite athletic and academic performance. And I won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Biochemistry, which is given to one biochemistry major each year.

Q: What are some of your other activities?

A: I do research in the lab of Professor Eleanor Maine, studying the mechanism of C. elegans’ germline development in relation to the GLP receptor. We have specifically worked on isolating a single, but critically important gene in a conserved signaling pathway that regulates the glp-1 gene.

I belong to Phi Delta Epsilon, a pre-medical fraternity. We volunteer at blood drives, attend educational banquets and have discussions about current health policies and common ethical controversies in science. We also have the opportunity to talk to current medical students, doctors and medical admissions staff. Members have mentored me about applying to medical school, and I will mentor others.

I’m also the president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, which liaises between athletes and coaches and administrators, plans life skills events, promotes unity among athletes in different sports and represents Syracuse athletes to the ACC.

Q: What are your plans after graduation this May?

A: I’m applying to medical school for the fall of 2016, so I’m going to take a gap year. I plan to spend most of that time doing research, and have a couple of opportunities in mind, either at the University of Cincinnati or at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. But I also hope to spend some time traveling—to Pakistan, where I have family, and to Europe.

Q: What type of doctor are you hoping to become?

A: I’m not sure yet. I’m considering nephrology (kidney treatment), which is my dad’s specialty, or general practice.

  • Author

Cyndi Moritz

  • Recent
  • Hilda A. Frimpong Becomes the First Black Student to Lead Syracuse Law Review
    Saturday, February 27, 2021, By Robert Conrad
  • Important Update for Flexible Spending Accounts
    Friday, February 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • Message From Dean of Students Marianne Thomson
    Friday, February 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • CAS in Intercollegiate Athletic Advising and Support Addresses Unique Needs of College Student-Athletes
    Thursday, February 25, 2021, By Jennifer Russo
  • Activities for the Weekend of Feb. 25-28
    Thursday, February 25, 2021, By News Staff

More In Campus & Community

COVID-19 Update: New York State Guidance | Mandatory Testing | Vaccine Eligibility

Dear Students, Families, Faculty and Staff: The landscape of federal, state and local policy guidance related to the COVID health emergency continues to evolve at a rapid pace. We are following these policy changes and amended public health guidelines very…

Important Update for Flexible Spending Accounts

Recent COVID-19 relief legislation has allowed the University to continue to offer faculty and staff flexibility in managing their 2020 and 2021 Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). Effective immediately, faculty and staff have additional options for their FSAs including the ability…

Message From Dean of Students Marianne Thomson

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff: I am deeply saddened to share news of the passing of Noah Buntain, a doctoral candidate in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Noah, who was originally from Iowa, joined the University community in…

Activities for the Weekend of Feb. 25-28

Dear Students and Families: As we enter the final days of February, I am writing to share our weekly update about activities on the calendar this weekend. The team and I are grateful for your continued participation; these events and…

Couple Joins Others in Celebrating Their Orange Love

Gianna Mangicaro ’18 and Christopher Szlamczynski ’18 eat, breathe and sleep Syracuse University—literally. Both are Syracuse University employees, alumni, current students and together are one of the thousands of couples whose love story is influenced by their Syracuse University experience….

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.