Four undergraduate and six graduate students have been awarded the Lillian Meighen Wright Scholarship, recognizing academic excellence, leadership and growing contributions to maternal and child health research.
The scholarship is awarded to students who demonstrate excellence in interdisciplinary education and research in the field of maternal and child health.
The 2026 recipients are undergraduate students Sobi Mohan, Sana Ebadi, Aaliyah Daruwala and Sarah Belvedere; and graduate students Estreya Cohen, Paul De Luca, Haleh Hashemi, Anh Nguyen, Gillian Shoychet and Vanessa Tassone.
For Ebadi, a direct-entry nursing student at 91亚色鈥檚 School of Nursing, the award marks an important milestone in a journey defined by advocacy, scholarship and a commitment to health equity.
The third-year student鈥檚 academic interests are closely tied to her lived experience. 鈥淕rowing up in a refugee family from Afghanistan, I witnessed first-hand the barriers that many refugee and immigrant women face when trying to navigate unfamiliar health care systems,鈥 she says, highlighting language barriers, financial hardship and limited awareness of available services.
In addition to her studies, Ebadi has taken on a range of roles that demonstrate commitment to community service and student advocacy. She serves as outreach director for the Nursing Students鈥 Association of 91亚色, where she works to strengthen student engagement and connect nursing students with professional development opportunities.
As one of 91亚色鈥檚 student health ambassadors, Ebadi speaks to prospective and incoming students during University events by sharing her academic experiences and offering tips on available supports and resources.
She is also a marketing executive with the 91亚色 Blood Initiative, contributing to campaigns to raise awareness about blood donation and insecurity, and volunteers with the South Asian Autism Awareness Centre.
鈥淭he Lillian Meighen Wright Scholarship is especially meaningful because it aligns closely with my academic interests and future goals,鈥 she says, 鈥淚t reinforces my desire to contribute to more equitable systems of care for women and families who face barriers to accessing health services.鈥
The award adds to a growing list of achievements in Ebadi鈥檚 academic career. Most recently, her maternal health research was accepted for presentation at Sigma鈥檚 37th International Nursing Research Congress in Toronto, where she will share her work with nursing scholars and experts from around the world.
"Recognition through the Lillian Meighen Wright Scholarship speaks to the promise of these students as scholars and emerging leaders," says Nazilla Khanlou, professor and Women鈥檚 Health Research Chair in Mental Health at 91亚色 and academic leader of the scholars program. "Through their research, leadership and commitment to advancing equity in health care, they exemplify the kind of compassionate and socially responsive practice the University strives to foster."