A Los Angeles native, Andreas Lazaris attended elementary school at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox School in the San Fernando Valley, where he furthered his understanding of the Greek language and his Greek identity. Following St. Nicholas, he attended Chaminade College Preparatory High School and subsequently began college at UC Berkeley, where he majored in Cognitive Neuroscience with plans to attend medical school. Now a graduating fourth-year medical student Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, Andreas is enrolled in a dual degree program pursuing both a Medical Degree (MD) and Master’s Degree (MSc) in Primary Care and Population Medicine. Andreas has applied to residency programs in Family Medicine.

As a medical student, he has served as a board member of the Brown Human Rights Asylum Clinic, providing medical assessments and legal affidavits in support of individuals seeking asylum in the United States. He also has served as the Community Advocacy Director for the Rhode Island Medical Navigator Partnership, a program providing medical care and health advocacy for homeless individuals in Providence, RI. Andreas serves as a volunteer at the Rhode Island Free Clinic, providing free care and subsidized medications for uninsured and low-income Rhode Islanders. He is a member of the Hellenic Students Association at Brown and continues to engage with and build his Greek community while in medical school.

Through his work, Andreas strives to understand both the individual ailment and the sociopolitical fabric that medical issues are embedded in, stepping beyond the clinic doors and into the communities with which he hopes to create systemic change. He is incredibly honored to have been selected as a 2019 recipient of the HAMDS Scholarship and humbly offers his thanks to HAMDS for its work and support.