Chicago Scholar. Renaissance Scholar. American Heart Association Scholar. College of Science Connects to Innovation Scholar. These are just a few of the titles Dalia Zizumbo has earned while preparing for her bachelor of science in Data Science & Behavioral Neuroscience degree this spring.
Already a first author of a poster abstract “Social Determinants of Health and Cognitive Performance: A Cross-national Study of the U.S. and Mexico” for “Alzheimer’s & Dementia” journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, Dalia has also presented at the 2025 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Toronto, the 2025 Research, Innovation, Scholarship, Entrepreneurship conference in Boston, the University of Chicago CRTEC Student Research Symposium, and theUniversity of Illinois Chicago 2023 Cancer Research Symposium in Chicago.
At Northeastern, Dalia is president of U-F1RST, a student organization dedicated to supporting first-generation
and low-income students. She conceptualized and launched the First-Generation Student
Academic Symposium and expanded the co-op clothing drive, collecting professional garments to help first-gen students confidently enter the workplace. Rebuilding U-F1RST is her proudest achievement. “I spent the summer revamping the organization from the ground up, reimagining its programming, rebuilding its community, and ensuring it could be a real resource for first-generation and low-income students at Northeastern,” she says.
Dalia was also selected to speak at Convocation, where she was able to stand before thousands of students and say, “Your story belongs here.” It also defined leadership for her. “That moment, and the organization I’ve poured myself into, represent what I believe leadership truly is—not just achieving for yourself, but creating space so others don’t have to struggle the way you did.”
In alignment with her academic studies, Dalia has continued her co-op work at the Center for Genomic Medicine at Massachusetts General Brigham as a clinical research coordinator. She is also the only undergraduate working as a trainee with the U.S Consortium of Aging, Dementia & Latino Studies (CADLAS) to advance Alzheimer’s disease research in the U.S. Latino and Hispanic populations. As an intern at the Health & Medicine Policy Research Group, she advocates for evidence-based policies that improve healthcare access and reduce health disparities for underserved communities. Having this access to so many research opportunities is something she never imagined for a first-generation student. “It is precisely because Northeastern invested in me that I feel a deep commitment to investing back into this community, ensuring that students who come after me have the support, resources, and representation I once searched for.”
Director of the Center for Intercultural Engagement (CIE) Cindy Nguyen has helped Dalia rebuild U-F1RST. “She intentionally balances the importance of community-building with the drive to create tangible change,” she says, “critically addressing the barriers that affect first-gen students’ academics and sense of self as they navigate complex systems.”
After graduation, Dalia plans plan to pursue an MD or MD-PhD, combining clinical medicine with research to address health disparities in underserved communities.
