Meet 2026 Award Recipient
Mariana Restrepo
Mariana came to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai from the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in Neuroscience, with honors, and minored in Chemistry and Healthcare Management. She graduated summa cum laude in 2022 prior to entering the MD program.
While at Icahn Mount Sinai, Mariana volunteered with the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP), the student-run, physician-supervised free clinic, as a Chronic Care Senior and Teaching Senior. She also completed the Memorial Sloan Kettering Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship in 2023 under the mentorship of Dr. Jennifer Leng, where her research focused on immigrant health interventions for New York City’s Hispanic/Latino community. Mariana led various research projects at Icahn Mount Sinai, examining surgical outcomes in malignant bowel obstructions and stage IV breast cancer recurrence, as well as evaluating the readability and quality of patient education materials for diverse patient populations.
Outside of Icahn Mount Sinai, Mariana was selected for the Healthcare Administration and Management Cohort of the American Medical Association’s Leadership Development Institute, reinforcing her strengths as an effective physician-leader and patient advocate.
First and foremost, Mariana would like to thank her family, who immigrated from Colombia and taught her the value of dedication, hard work, and perseverance. She would also like to thank her mentors, Dr. Edward Chin, Dr. Christina Weltz, Dr. Michael Marin, Dr. Susan Lerner, and Dr. Garrett Burnett, who have guided her throughout her time at Icahn Mount Sinai and ultimately encouraged her to pursue General Surgery. Lastly, she would like to thank her friends for their unconditional love and support over the past four years, as she could not have done this without them.
Mariana will graduate with her MD degree and is excited to continue her residency training in General Surgery here at The Mount Sinai Hospital.