BENEFACTOR REPORT

John and Valerie Rowe Endowed Scholars Fund

Read More

George Q. Daley, MD, PhD
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
Caroline Shields Walker Professor of Medicine

June 2026
George Q. Daley, MD, PhD

Dear Jack and Valerie,

Sincerely,

Our financial aid program reflects our core belief that cost should never be a barrier to attending Harvard Medical School. Because of you, we can welcome outstanding students regardless of their financial means and enable them to begin their training with purpose and focus. 

Harvard Medical School is proud to offer one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country. In fiscal year 2025, we awarded $31.2 million in MD financial aid, placing HMS sixth nationally in total MD scholarship funding awarded. Seventy-one percent of our MD students receive aid, with an average annual scholarship of $61,758, and half of our scholarship recipients qualify for our Middle Income Initiative, which adjusts the parental contribution expected from HMS families with the greatest financial need. Your support is essential to maintaining this level of aid and directing resources to those with the greatest need.  

Even in a current challenging financial environment, with uncertain federal support, we remain steadfast in our commitment to financial aid. With your partnership, we can continue to prioritize access and opportunity for outstanding students.

Jack, I hope to see you this fall for the next Board meeting, if not before. For now, I wish you both a wonderful summer, and I thank you for helping to educate and inspire the next generation of physicians and physician-scientists and for all the ways you support the Medical School.

It is always great to find a reason to write to you both and today is no exception. Thank you, once again, for your generous commitment to financial aid at Harvard Medical School, for your support through the John and Valerie Rowe Endowed Scholars Fund and for your partnership on the Board of Fellows as well.

 Kimia Heydari

 John and Valerie Rowe Endowed Scholars Fund

 Pathways, Class of 2027

Path to Medicine

Kimia describes her journey in medicine as incredible and joyful. She gravitates toward anatomic fields and continues to love clinical medicine, exploring radiology, obstetrics and gynecology, and surgery while keeping curiosity and patient care at the center of her training.

Training & Development

Kimia serves as a resident tutor on the undergraduate campus and mentors students in both academics and community life. She also writes for In Vivo, a student-designed medical humanities magazine at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, which lets her blend medicine with her background in English. Her name, which means “chemistry,” captures how she brings science, literature, mentorship, and clinical care together.

Access & Opportunity

Scholarship support removes financial barriers for Kimia and her family and creates an environment where she can focus on passion rather than profit. This support lets her explore careers in private practice, academic medicine, and hospital‑based practice without financial pressure shaping her choices. She and her family feel immensely grateful for this generosity and credit it with making her education as serene and curiosity‑driven as possible.

 BA, Columbia University (2022)

Your support of financial aid ensures that the world’s most promising students can attend Harvard Medical School, regardless of their financial means. In turn, these students, representing a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives go on to become innovators and leaders in the field of medicine. HMS is proud to have one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country.

 Thank you

We could not do this without you.

Class of 2029

HST

165

Students

PATHWAYS

135

30

15 students are pursuing both an MD and a PhD (MD-PhD)

14%

From groups historically underrepresented in medicine

62

Colleges

31

U.S. States

09

Countries

The Impact of Financial Aid

Average annual scholarship

$61,758

Qualify for the HMS Middle Income Initiative, which adjusts the parental contribution expected for HMS families with the greatest financial need.

50%

Come from a family whose annual income is $50,000 or less

1 in 5

Receive financial aid

71%

Student Beneficiary

The Impact

Office of Alumni Affairs and Development


25 Shattuck Street
Boston, MA 02115
giving@hms.harvard.edu
Make a Gift →