Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Student Named to Forbes’ 2017 30 Under 30 List
Denisse Rojas Marquez, a second-year medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), was named to Forbes’ sixth annual “30 Under 30” list, which will be featured in the January 24, 2017, Forbes magazine issue.
Ms. Marquez became one of the first two undocumented students at ISMMS in 2015. She is working toward becoming a doctor for underserved immigrant communities and a leader in shaping health care policies. She is also a co-founder of Pre-Health Dreamers (PHD), a national organization that provides advising, resources, and advocacy for other undocumented students interested in pursuing careers in health care.
“Denisse embodies all of the best values and highest aspirations of a true physician-advocate,” said David Muller, MD, Dean for Medical Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “I have great respect for the work she has done and the lives she's changed as a result. We congratulate her on this outstanding accomplishment.”
Ms. Marquez was 10 months old when she and her family left Mexico for the United States. In their new home of Fremont, California, her family found new opportunities that enabled her and her two siblings to attend college. As an undocumented immigrant, however, Ms. Marquez was ineligible for financial aid and often felt discouraged that no career counselor could offer her guidance on her goals. This experience inspired her to co-found PHD. The organization has since reached 700 members in 42 states, and advocated for legislation to allow California licensing boards to award professional licenses to undocumented professionals. Additionally, PHD has engaged more than 50 medical schools to consider undocumented med students.
The 30 Under 30 list includes 30 honorees in 20 different categories, each judged by experts in their fields. Ms. Marquez is among the 600 honorees selected from a pool of more than 15,000 online submissions, an acceptance rate of less than 4 percent. This year, one in every six of the list members are immigrants, originating from 44 different countries and exemplifying the success of immigrants as well as the thriving American dream.
"Over six years, the Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ list has emerged as the way that the world discovers the next generation of entrepreneurs and game-changers. These are the people that will run every field for the next 50 years,” said Randall Lane, Editor of Forbes Magazine.
For the complete list, feature stories and exclusive videos, visit: www.forbes.com/30under30.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek® and No. 7 in the U.S. on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals 2026 list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 9 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health grant funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.
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