Meet Zaina – Relentless Intellect, Grounded Purpose

Today, I’m honored to spotlight Zaina Mosalam, a Cornell Engineering graduate, incoming PhD student at Northwestern, and a remarkable woman I deeply admire for her clarity, conviction, and quiet strength.

Zaina’s academic achievements speak volumes. She graduated magna cum laude with departmental honors and a minor in cognitive science, distinctions that reflect not only her intellect but her relentless curiosity. As an undergraduate researcher in Cornell’s Donnelly Lab, she led biochemical analysis on patients undergoing cementless total knee arthroplasty (TKA) — a critical component of her senior thesis. Her work earned her the Junior Research Award, a rare and prestigious honor given to just one student in her major each year.

Zaina has also poured into others as a teaching assistant, guiding both her peers and graduate students in advanced coursework she tackled early. Whether in the lab, the classroom, or in quiet one-on-one mentorship, she elevates those around her.

Graduating from Cornell is no small feat. And for Zaina, it’s just the beginning. She’s now stepping into a PhD program at Northwestern, choosing to expand her influence at the highest academic level. She chases excellence, not ease. And she carries her ambition not as armor, but as a responsibility—to grow, to lead, and to contribute.

To future collaborators, researchers, and institutions: Zaina is brilliant, driven, and deeply grounded. She will open doors that others only dare to knock on—and she’ll leave them open behind her.

Zaina, I’ll always be in your corner. Cheering not just for what you will do, but for who you are, and who you continue to become.