Three siblings are chasing their dreams – and supporting each other – as students in the VCU School of Medicine

By Grace McOmber
School of Medicine

gisham Vohra admitted that his first semester of medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University was easier than he expected. It hasn't been without its challenges, but he has a built-in support system that not many first-year medical students can claim - two older sisters, Habeebah and Hiba, who are both also M.D. students at the VCU School of Medicine.

"There's just less stress because of them," Hisham Vohra said. "They let me know when I should and shouldn't be worried about things. I know I have it pretty easy compared to what they went through."

One after the other, yet on different paths, the Vohra siblings are making their way through VCU School of Medicine's M.D. program, an experience they said has brought them together in a way they didn't plan or expect.

"I feel like we're closer now than we were before, but in a different way," Hiba Vohra said. "When we see each other, it's more meaningful because we have such different schedules. We can relate to each other going through this together."

Early influences

One of eldest sister Hiba Vohra's earliest memories was joining her mother to drop her father off at the MCV Campus, where he completed his geriatric medicine fellowship in the Department of Internal Medicine in 2001.

"We always knew that our dad was a doctor, but he didn't talk about work all that much," Hiba said. "Whenever he would come home, he would smell like the hospital and we would get a bunch of stuff from it, like pens from pharmaceutical companies."

The family patriarch, Muhammad I. Vohra, M.D., immigrated to the U.S. after graduating from medical school in Karachi, Pakistan. He currently practices as a geriatrician in Midlothian, the Richmond suburb where the Vohra siblings spent most of their childhood.

"I think that's the immigrant story," Habeebah said. "He came here so he could give back to his community. He sends money in our names sometimes, as a way to keep us involved."

Giving back to his community also meant establishing a free clinic in Karachi, where the siblings spent two summers volunteering during their adolescence. Having lived in Karachi for a few years when they were much younger, going back to serve that community let them reconnect with family they hadn't seen in years.

"Our dad cares a lot about where he grew up," Hisham said. "I really appreciate how much it means to him."

Hisham and his sisters also share a desire to stay connected to the place they call home. Proximity to their parents and younger sister, Hoda, was a key consideration when choosing VCU School of Medicine, especially after their mother was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

"It feels like everything worked in our favor to stay here," Hiba said. "She is really well now, but being together as a family during this time was really important to us."

Staying in the area also allows the older three to watch their youngest sister find her own path as she finishes high school in Richmond. Hiba, who's 12 years older and has always been especially close with the baby of the family, noted that Hoda is "still trying everything out." Just as their father has encouraged all the kids to pursue their own interests, she doesn't want to put pressure on Hoda to also become a doctor.

"I think it's important that she finds her own passion," Hiba said.

With three of his four children following in his footsteps so far, Muhammad Vohra cites the support his wife, Aasiya, has given to both his and their children's medical education.

"Supporting each of them through the journey of applying to and going through medical school is difficult at times," he said. "But it's a lot easier with the help of my dedicated wife who took charge and is relentless in her love and support of our children."

The School of Medicine independently removed the legacy admissions box from applications years before the Virginia General Assembly voted to ban legacy admissions at all state universities in March 2024. According to Donna Jackson, Ed.D., interim director of admissions, family units like the Vohras are uncommon and a testament to the quality of education in the M.D. program.

"It just shows how a passion and love for VCU can be transferred," Jackson said. "We are a family too, and perhaps we draw people from the same family, like the Vohras, as a result."

Hiba Vohra: First in line

Hiba said she was initially averse to pursuing medicine, citing teenage rebellion and a desire to differentiate herself from her father's career.

"Growing up with my dad as a doctor, the career was always an option, but I didn't want to be the stereotype of a Pakistani kid that follows what their parents do," Hiba said. "Once I got to high school and took some more advanced science classes, I found my own interest in the field."

Along with a passion for science, Hiba developed an interest in public health. This led her to a service trip to Nicaragua as an undergraduate at the College of William and Mary, an experience she said helped her start to envision her own path toward medicine.

"I still wasn't set on going to medical school before that," she said. "But being on the ground and seeing how useful medical training is in those settings pushed me in that direction."

That trip helped solidify her decision to pursue a M.D. And when her husband, third-year dental student Abdelrahman Aboulatta, was accepted into the VCU School of Dentistry, Hiba said getting into VCU was a "dream."

Hiba was familiar with the MCV campus after completing her master's degree in the Department of Biophysics and Physiology under Javier Gonzalez-Maeso, Ph.D., who said she took a proactive role in joining the lab and designing experiments.

"I would walk around campus when I was doing research and see everyone with their yellow med school badges," Hiba said. "I kept thinking 'that's going to be me one day.'"

After Hiba defended her thesis, Gonzalez-Maeso offered her a research assistant position in his lab, where she completed experiments she designed. Hiba was listed as first author on her lab's published study, an impressive achievement for an M.S. thesis student, Gonzalez-Maeso said.

"Hiba is extremely organized and a hard bench worker," Gonzalez-Maeso said. "She was able to generate new ideas related to our research program. On a more personal note, Hiba is very friendly and a great team member."

When Hiba learned her younger sister Habeebah was accepted into the class a year behind her, Hiba said she felt a responsibility to look out for her sister and share what she had learned, both academically and otherwise.

"I remember thinking 'crap, I should have taken better notes,'" Hiba said. "I think I was projecting some of the stress I felt during my M1 year. I wanted to make sure she was making friends and staying organized."

Now starting her fourth year in medical school, Hiba said she is interested in oncology and global health. She is also part of the VCU Program for Global Surgery's Acute Care and Systems Strengthening in Low Resource Setting (ACCESS) Program, a four-year longitudinal program for students interested in providing care in low-resource and international settings.

"Working with underserved people is definitely important to me in my larger career goals, even if I weren't pursuing medicine." Hiba said.

Hiba, Hisham and Habeebah Vohra (left to right). (Photo courtesy of Hiba Vohra)

Habeebah Vohra: The best of both worlds

Second-born Habeebah Vohra still has the white coat-shaped pen topper she received from her father when she was a child, a gift for her early interest in medicine. With a knack for creativity and building, Habeebah has always had her eye on the surgical fields, which she said meld the principles together. When reflecting on the childhood experiences that began to shape her career goals, she said interacting with patients at her dad's free clinic was especially influential.

"Volunteering at the clinic in Pakistan really showed me the human side of it all, like being part of a community." Habeebah said. "It involved a lot of education and talking to people that we had established a trusting relationship with."

Habeebah is already a double-VCU graduate, with a bachelor's in biomedical engineering from the College of Engineering and a master's in biophysics and physiology from the School of Medicine.

Initially, Habeebah said she had mixed feelings about attending VCU again for medical school.

"I knew I had my sister here who had just gone through what I was about to start, which was reassuring," Habeebah said. "But I was also worried about not being able to differentiate myself and kind of be my own person. Luckily, the school is big enough that it really hasn't been an issue."

During her time at the School of Medicine, Habeebah has taken on a leadership position in the ACCESS Program and works closely with VCU Program for Global Surgery director and associate professor of surgery Edgar Rodas, M.D., who describes Habeebah as a dedicated leader to her class cohort. This spring, Habeebah and a resident will be traveling with Rodas on a mission trip to perform surgeries in rural Ecuador.

"If you give her a task, she sees it through," Rodas said. "She's incredibly organized and looks outside of the box to find answers."

Rather than beginning third-year medical rotations when she returns to Richmond, Habeebah is excited to spend the next academic year focusing on research. She'll be working under David Limbrick, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Neurosurgery to learn more about the specialty.

Now in Hiba's shoes when it comes to mentoring a first-year medical student sibling, Habeebah said she enjoys passing along her older sister's advice, and her own insights, to her younger brother.

"Overall, it's nice to have someone to look up to," Habeebah said. "And then I can pass that along to him as well. He can learn from both of our mistakes."

Hisham Vohra: In great company

While his friends may have gone to camp or competed on their neighborhood swim team, Hisham spent his middle school summer break learning to take and record blood pressure. He was around 11 years old when his father first took the siblings to the free clinic in Karachi, an experience he said fascinated him at the time.

"I think I was too young to really know what was going on, but I was really interested," Hisham said. "It was just cool to be involved at that age."

While earning a bachelor's in mathematics in the College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU, Hisham competed for the men's track and field and cross country teams. When he wasn't representing the Rams at meets around the country, Hisham worked as a research technician in the lab of Brian Wattenberg, Ph.D., in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Here, Hisham gained hands-on experience and a long-term mentor.

"He's the perfect mix of serious about the tasks at hand, quick to smile and thoughtful about both science and life," Wattenberg said. "Hisham is an independent thinker, full of purpose and open to opportunity who effortlessly related to the diverse membership of the lab."

Hisham's undergrad years also saw him shadow a pediatrician, an experience that further confirmed his passion for medicine and sparked an interest in primary care.

"I really liked the preventative guidance aspect of it," Hisham said, noting that he's considering pursuing pediatrics but still eager to explore other specialties. "Helping to establish healthy habits early and watch kids grow is really impactful."

Prior to starting medical school, Hisham explored another interest across the country serving in the Washington Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps program, where his crew worked on habitat rehabilitation and trail maintenance for seven months. The experience was "like a reset," and the long days in nature and out of his comfort zone helped to clear his head before medical school.

He considered staying out West to attend the University of Colorado School of Medicine. But ultimately, Hisham was drawn back to VCU, bringing him full circle to the hospital where he was born in 1999. He is one of 12 inaugural recipients of the merit-based James and Frances McGlothlin Scholarship, and returning to Richmond has brought him closer to his entire family.

"My first semester has gone really well. I've made a lot of friends and am having a great time," Hisham said. "I owe some of that to my sisters. They really took a weight off me with their advice and help."

This story was originally published on the VCU School of Medicine's news site.

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