The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans

05/12/2026

We’re thrilled to welcome Bayan Galal to the 2026 class of PD Soros Fellows. 🎉⁣
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Born in Prospect, Connecticut, to Egyptian immigrants, Bayan grew up between two countries—witnessing firsthand how fragmented health systems can impact families.
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At Yale, she made history as the first Arab and Muslim student body president in the Ivy League, advocating for financial aid reform and student well-being. As a Marshall Scholar at Cambridge, she studied population-level cancer screening. Today, she’s in medical school at , leading a student-run free clinic for immigrant communities and founding a health navigation program that earned a $100,000 Projects for Progress Award.⁣
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Her research, published in The Lancet and JAMA Network Open focuses on how health systems can actually work for everyone.
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Congratulations, Bayan!
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05/12/2026

Welcome to the Fellowship, Avi Vadali!

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, 2026 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow Avinash (Avi) Vadali is the son of two immigrants from the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Avi grew up immersed in Indian culture, shaped by monthly visits to the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago and evenings spent reading Amar Chitra Katha comics on Indian history and mythology.

For Avi, mathematics became a way to make sense of that world. In high school, he began his first research project studying the cyclic properties of cellular automata with Professor Ari Turner, resulting in a first-author publication. Avi also collaborated with Gabriel Perdue at Fermilab to develop a machine learning model predicting quantum circuit fidelities, leading to a first-author publication.

Drawn by the creative freedom offered by physics and its ability to describe real phenomena, Avi enrolled at as a physics major. Beginning his freshman year, Avi worked with Professor Xie Chen to develop techniques for designing and classifying combinations of topological orders, which resulted in a first author publication. Subsequently, Avi had the opportunity to spend a summer at Harvard University researching topological bands with Professor Ashvin Vishwanath, providing insight into the topology generated by the interplay between electronic spinor structure and a periodic potential.

During his junior year at Caltech, Avi began studying the unknown stability of non-Abelian topological orders to quantum noise with Professor Jason Alicea at Caltech, discovering novel noise-induced quantum phase transitions.

Avi will pursue a PhD in condensed matter physics, a field that captivates him with its demand for originality and its power to uncover universal principles governing complex quantum systems. He ultimately hopes to become a professor of physics, leading a research group that advances theoretical understanding of quantum phases of matter while training the next generation of scientists.

Welcome to the Fellowship, Avi!

05/10/2026

For decades, oncologists have struggled to predict which patients will respond to immunotherapy. Now, 2011 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow Aadel Chaudhuri and collaborators at Mayo Clinic and Stanford Medicine have developed the first blood test capable of mapping the tumor microenvironment—the complex ecosystem surrounding a tumor that often determines how cancer responds to treatment.

Published in Nature, the test uses a simple blood draw to detect patterns in circulating tumor DNA that can predict whether patients are likely to benefit from immunotherapy. In studies involving more than 1,300 patients across multiple cancer types, the approach outperformed current biomarkers.

“This is a complete paradigm shift,” Aadel said. “For the first time, we can use a simple blood test to understand the tumor’s microenvironment, which is critical for determining how patients respond to modern cancer therapies.”

Beyond improving treatment decisions, the technology could eventually allow physicians to monitor how tumors evolve during treatment in real time—without surgery or invasive biopsies.

Aadel’s career has long sat at the intersection of medicine, biology, and computation. Today, he serves as vice chair of radiation oncology at Mayo Clinic and leads the Liquid Biopsy and Immunogenomics Laboratory, where his team is working to make cancer care more precise, less invasive, and more responsive to patients’ needs.

We are inspired to see Fellows like Aadel advancing discoveries that could change how cancer is treated.

A Blood Test That Can See Inside a Tumor's Hidden World

04/28/2026

Earlier this year, our Co-Founder Daisy Soros joined Fellowship Director Craig Harwood on Zoom to deliver some of the best calls of the year: “You’ve been selected as a 2026 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow.”

Each of our 30 new Fellows will receive up to $90,000 towards their graduate educations in any field and at any graduate institution in the United States.

At 97, Daisy is still at the heart of this moment—personally welcoming each new Fellow into a community she helped build from the very beginning. She often says what sets this Fellowship apart is that it has a heart. These calls are a reminder of exactly what she means. 💙

04/27/2026

Meet the 2026 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellows—a class as dynamic and multifaceted as the communities they come from.

Selected from 3,070 applications, each Fellow will receive up to $90,000 in funding to support their graduate studies.

What they share:
• Immigrants or children of immigrants
• Demonstrated creativity, originality, and initiative
• Sustained accomplishment
• A commitment to the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights

From women advancing STEM fields to first-generation college graduates to alumni of public university systems like the UCs, this year’s Fellows reflect the many paths—and perspectives—that shape excellence in graduate education.

These snapshots offer just a glimpse.

Explore the full 2026 class and get to know their stories:
🔗https://pdsoros.org/meet-the-class-of-2026/

04/15/2026

Today we're proud to announce the 2026 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellows—30 immigrants and children of immigrants selected from a record-breaking 3,000+ applicants through a rigorous, merit-based process. Each Fellow will receive up to $90,000 in funding toward their graduate education.

They're pursuing study across medicine, law, business, engineering, journalism, the social sciences and humanities, AI, physics, the arts, and public policy—and what unites them is not just exceptional talent but a deep commitment to giving back to the United States.

Meet the 2026 Fellows at pdsoros.org.

If you know an immigrant or child of immigrants heading to graduate school in the United States, the 2027 Fellowship application is open now. The deadline is October 29, 2026 at 2 PM ET.

https://pdsoros.org/meet-the-class-of-2026/

The 2026 Class of Paul & Daisy Soros Fellows is made up of 30 outstanding immigrants and children of immigrants from all over the country and world

04/11/2026

“What you seek is seeking you.” - 13th-century poet Rumi

Hello! My name is Mahdi Al-Husseini. I am a 2025 PD Soros Fellow and a Stanford PhD candidate in the Aeronautics & Astronautics department.

I was born in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and am of Palestinian and Egyptian descent. My father grew up on the outskirts of Jerusalem, in a small, beautiful village called Qatanna, where I spent many childhood summers. My Islamic faith is important to me and a constant in my life. I spent most of my childhood in Atlanta, Georgia and attended Georgia Tech for undergrad (Go Jackets!). I then spent several rewarding years working as a military medical evacuation helicopter pilot in Hawaii before coming to Stanford for my doctoral studies.

My research revolves around a central question – how to make good decisions in teams when our ability to communicate is uncertain and evolving. As a PhD student, I develop models, algorithms, and applications to better understand continuous time multiagent communications dynamics. Additionally, I am passionate about aviation and applying artificial intelligence to assist pilots in real-time. I also support NASA JPL by working on uncertainty quantification for fast-moving autonomous ground vehicles. As you can see in the first photo - I have long been enamored by space exploration!

Life so far has been a remarkable and yet unexpected journey (in the best ways!), and I’m excited to share a little bit of it with you in the days to come.
— Mahdi Al-Husseini, 2025 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow

04/01/2026

Hi, I’m Dora, a 2025 PD Soros Fellow. I am currently a PhD student in CS at Stanford University where I work on building AI systems that prioritize long-term benefits for users, drawing on work from both human-computer interaction and natural language processing.

I grew up outside of Philadelphia (go Birds!). Since I was a kid my parents have made sure to share Chinese culture whether it be through food (which I appreciated more), or attending weekend language immersion schools (which at the time I appreciated less). I’m excited to share some of this with you all this week. To kick off, here are some photos of the people and memories that matter to me:
-my sister’s 8th birthday back in 2002
-sharing about lunar new year with my kindergarten friends
-graduating undergrad in the midst of COVID
-celebrating my sister’s wedding this past september

-Dora Zhao, 2025 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow

03/23/2026

Match Day 2026: PD Soros Edition 🎉

Four PD Soros Fellows matched this past Friday and we couldn’t be prouder.

🧠 Arjun Menta → Neurosurgery @ the University of Michigan
🦴 Adriana Liimakka → Orthopedic Surgery @ Cedars-Sinai
❤️ Zhanlin Chen → Cardiothoracic Surgery @ Northwestern
🔬 Quenton Bubb → Internal Medicine/PSTP @ Weill Cornell

These are New Americans whose journeys have shaped the doctors they’re becoming.

Congratulations to all four. The future of medicine is in good hands.

Learn more about the fellowship: pdsoros.org

03/10/2026

Celebrate a beautiful new children’s book—and a special PD Soros Fellowship collaboration. 💙📚

Join PD Soros and in NYC for an evening celebrating The Blue House I Loved, written by award-winning author Kao Kalia Yang (2003 Fellow) and illustrated by artist and architect Jen Shin (2018 Fellow).

Together, they’ve created a story about a Hmong family’s first home in America—a blue duplex in St. Paul that is imperfect and utterly beloved. It’s a story about memory, belonging, and the homes that stay with us long after we leave them.

During the event:
✨ Kalia and Jen will read the book aloud
✨ Illustrations will be displayed on screen
✨ Audience Q&A (kids welcome!)
✨ Light refreshments and time to connect

Come for the reading, stay for the conversation, and leave with a book your family will return to again and again. will be there selling the books!

📍 Just south of Bryant Park, NYC
📅 Drop in or stay
🔗 RSVP at the link in our bio (space is limited) — exact address shared with registered guests a few days before the event.

Hosted by the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, and the PDSFA.

ImmigrantStories

02/11/2026

"Hey, baby, there ain't no easy way out
Hey, I will stand my ground
And I won't back down"

Those are the Pearl Jam lyrics that play at the end of the new Netflix documentary, "Matter of Time," which features 1998 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow and leading Stanford University School of Medicine Dermatologist Jean Tang—who is on a mission to find a cure for a rare, painful, genetic skin disease called Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).

Jean immigrated to the United States from Taiwan at age 6 with her parents, and her journey from new American to leading Stanford dermatologist and researcher is exactly the kind of story our Fellowship was created to celebrate.

The film follows Jean, several EB patients, and leading advocates, as they come together in Seattle to host a major concert by Eddie Vedder, the lead singer of Pearl Jam.
Eddie and his wife, Jill Vedder, lead the EB Research Partnership, which has raised more than $80 million in 15 years and delivered three FDA-approved therapies with 40 clinical trials currently underway.

While scientists and doctors often work behind the scenes, "Matter of Time" shows how Jean is working and moving in lockstep with her patients and the larger EB community—a testament to the kind of leader she has always been.

We're proud to have supported Jean during her MD/PhD studies at Stanford as a 1998 Fellow, and we encourage everyone to watch this incredible film.

More from Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/eddie-vedder-jill-pearl-jam-documentary-netflix-1235514215/