On her first day of fourth grade, Myra Kamdar marched directly to her new teacher, skipped introductions, and confidently proclaimed she was going to be a doctor one day. Reminiscing on this moment, which her teacher still won’t let her live down today, Myra can’t actually remember when she decided to pursue medicine. It always just felt like something she was born to do. “My dad has a picture framed in our house of me with a stethoscope when I was only one year old. I also dressed up as a surgeon every Halloween, including this year,” Myra laughs.
Now preparing to take the MCAT and apply to medical school, Myra is on track to fulfill her promise to her fourth-grade teacher. Specifically, she has developed a passion for oncology. “When I was in seventh grade, a family friend got diagnosed with cancer. It was so upsetting, and I began to question why this was happening to her. I spent the whole summer researching anything I could possibly find about cancer. The next year, I did a whole career project on why I want to be an oncologist,” Myra explains. “Then when I was in high school, my mother was diagnosed with endometrial sarcoma, and she unfortunately didn’t survive. It added the fuel to the fire that oncology is what I’m meant to do.”
Myra Kamdar graduated in the Fall of 2023 with dual degrees in Psychology and Molecular & Cellular Biology.
While experiencing her mother’s cancer treatment, Myra found a mentor and role model in her mother’s oncologist and Illinois bioengineering alumna, Dr. Amina Ahmed. “Watching Dr. Ahmed handle the situation with me and my 8-year-old brother with such care and grace was inspiring. She would explain to us what was going on and had such an empathetic approach. It helped me realize that medicine is not just a field for treating the body, but also the mind,” remarks Myra.
Inspired by Dr. Ahmed, Myra decided to pursue undergraduate dual degrees in psychology and molecular and cellular biology at Illinois to enable herself to holistically treat patients and build strong relationships for a future in oncology. With her interests in cancer biology and medicine, her father also encouraged her to apply to the Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) Cancer Scholars Program.
“Finding your footing can be hard at a big university, but I’ve found phenomenal friends and mentors through the CCIL-SO and Cancer Scholars Program. The CCIL has been one of the biggest motivators for loving my experience at Illinois, and I really hope that I have helped to make an impact on campus.”
Since arriving on campus her freshman year, Myra has been highly involved as a cancer scholar, performing breast cancer research in Professor Zeynep Madak Erdogan’s group and leading the CCIL student organization (CCIL-SO). Myra says, “When the CCIL-SO began, most students were not aware of the CCIL. There seems to be increased recognition recently, and now there are many students on campus passionate about cancer research and cancer care.”
Having just graduated and now working in CCIL member and Carle Illinois College of Medicine Dean Mark Cohen’s research group while applying to medical school, Myra reflects on her undergraduate experience at Illinois. “Finding your footing can be hard at a big university, but I’ve found phenomenal friends and mentors through the CCIL-SO and Cancer Scholars Program. The CCIL has been one of the biggest motivators for loving my experience at Illinois, and I really hope that I have helped to make an impact on campus.”
Editor’s Note:
This story was written by Katie Brady, CCIL Communications Team