Dan Xia, a 2026 Pisacano Scholar, is fourth-year medical student at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Originally from New Jersey, Dan studied global public health at the University of Virginia (UVA), where he developed an early passion for leading community health initiatives and working with diverse populations.

As an undergraduate, Dan served as a peer health educator and EMT and was later named Greek Person of the Year and a Lawn Resident, UVA’s UNESCO World Heritage residential community, for his service and impact on the University. He also participated in a Semester at Sea, where real stories and intercultural dynamics breathed life into the statistics he had learned from textbooks. To continue building these connections, Dan embarked on a series of expeditions that have since led him to over 150 countries, gaining experience in medical systems and fundraising for local clinics.

This drive led Dan to Mfangano Island, Kenya, where, over three years, Dan led the fundraising and development of the first health clinic in the Wakinga village through the Sagrema Foundation. The clinic now serves over 100 patients per month and partners with an Emergency Ambulance Boat that serves all 20,000 residents on the island. He continues this work as International Director of the Sagrema Foundation and as co-founder of Seeds of Ngima, a non-profit dedicated to expanding the health services provided by the clinic. During his four gap years, he also worked as a teacher and volunteer on several disaster-relief missions in the U.S.

At Rochester, Dan has turned that same commitment toward serving the immigrant and refugee communities closer to home. As clinic co-director of the Rochester Human Rights Initiative (RHRI), he has led asylum case evaluation and co-authored medical affidavits and worked to expand the clinic’s capabilities for community advocacy. Through RHRI, he has also partnered with legal aid organizations to train medical students and clinicians on the intersection of medicine and immigration law, as well as organized tutoring for refugee students navigating a new country and language.

Outside of school, Dan also serves as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force through the Health Professions Scholarship Program. He stays grounded through a number of eclectic hobbies – studying languages, acrobatics, calisthenics, piano, scuba diving, and paleontology.

Looking ahead, Dan is excited to continue his life of service through family medicine. Domestically, he envisions building a nationwide network of medical-legal teams to directly link primary healthcare systems to legal and social resources for vulnerable populations. Dan also hopes to continue his involvement in global health through initiatives on Mfangano Island and disaster-relief humanitarian missions. At the core of his work is the belief that no one is more deserving of the right to health than anyone else.