Daniel Alicea, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Class of 2025, continues his volunteer and mentorship work in underserved communities to improve medical access for all. 

Born, raised, and educated in the Bronx, Daniel Alicea knows firsthand what the U.S. health care system is like for patients facing socioeconomic challenges. 

“Specialty health care is considered a luxury,” he said. “When my mother and I were better off financially, imagine our surprise to learn we did not need to ‘live with’ our conditions and could receive treatment.” 

Now a student at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Albert Einstein COM) in the Bronx, Alicea — a 2021 Dr. Prentiss Taylor Scholar and 2023 Aya Locums Future Leaders in Medicine Scholar with National Medical Fellowships (NMF) — said he intends to demystify health care for patients from similar backgrounds. 

“You can and should access specialty care even if you are lower income.”

Needing to translate from English to Spanish for his Puerto Rican family during health appointments inspired Alicea to pursue medicine. 

“I was in middle school helping my pre-diabetic grandmother overcome the language barrier with her physician,” he said. “If her doctor spoke Spanish and had viewed her health conditions with more cultural humility, would she have been better informed and able to incorporate recommendations into her life? That may have improved her outcomes.” 

He also credited his inspiring single mother for giving him the opportunity to make a difference. 

“My mother, who was working across the street from where 9/11 occurred, has since experienced post-respiratory and skin conditions due to the smoke and residue,” Alicea said. “To watch her not only push through that but also sacrifice for me to pursue higher education, I am forever humbled and grateful. 

His mother is now pursuing her master’s degree as Alicea works toward his medical degree.  While earning his undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Fordham University, Alicea also participated in Albert Einstein COM’s Summer Undergraduate Mentorship Program, completed a Weill Cornell Medical College Travelers Research Fellowship, and volunteered with the Bronx Community Health Leaders (BxCHL) at the Montefiore Family Health Center, where he met his mentor, Dr. Juan Robles, M.D., assistant professor of family and social medicine at Albert Einstein COM. 

“Dr. Robles was like a father figure to me,” Alicea said. “I would love to collaborate with him in the near future to continue helping students like me.” 

Alicea obtained his master’s degree in nutritional and metabolic biology from Columbia University and worked for a year as a researcher at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan before applying to medical schools. 

“I entered medical school to take care of the communities and populations that raised me, since the Bronx ranks very low in health outcomes for chronic conditions that are almost always interconnected with inequitable social and economic determinants of health.”

Alicea — a dedicated volunteer, mentor, student, researcher, and more — said he deeply appreciates the timesaving ability to apply for National Medical Fellowships (NMF) scholarships by creating a single profile that matched him with opportunities best aligned with his goals and qualifications. 

“NMF was a top program offering scholarships for medical students from underrepresented backgrounds in medicine, and they made it easy to apply.”

Alicea has made the most of his time at Albert Einstein COM, serving as a National Hispanic Medical Association’s College Health Scholars Program Mentor, vice president of community service focus for The Latino Medical Student Association, co-president of Einstein Future Advocates in Medicine, and more, all while continuing his research and work at the ECHO Free Clinic at Einstein Community Health. 

“I see uninsured and undocumented patients, attempt to treat what it is they’re there for, and then refer them to other services such as age-appropriate screenings,” he said. “Most of the time, they’re also suffering from skin conditions I can speak to as well.” 

Alicea is currently a research fellow in supportive onco-dermatology at Montefiore Medical Center, with expectations to graduate Albert Einstein COM in 2025. 

“Having been accepted into the program by my mentor, Dr. Beth N. McLellan, I’m able to shadow her in the clinic and spend time with cancer patients to see how their treatments affect the skin,” he said. “This was the catalyst for me to want to see similar patients in my future as a dermatologist.