Queens College Senior Receives Prestigious Jonas E. Salk Scholarship

David Musheyev, a senior at Queens College, has been named a recipient of the Jonas E. Salk Scholarship, one of the highest honors of the City University of New York (CUNY). Since 1955, this scholarship has been awarded annually to eight academically gifted students in the CUNY system who have been admitted to medical school or a graduate program in biomedical sciences. They are selected based on their demonstrated potential to make significant contributions to medical research.

“At Queens College, we offer our undergraduate science students the opportunity to participate in laboratory research under faculty mentorship. We consider that absolutely essential to our mission of offering superior public education. It sets us apart from many other undergraduate institutions, and has enabled generations of our talented students to excel at the highest levels,” says President Frank H. Wu. “This award recognizes David Musheyev’s hard work, achievement, and exceptional promise as an emerging researcher in the medical sciences.”

A resident of Flushing, Musheyev is graduating from Macaulay Honors College, CUNY at Queens College. He has carried a heavy academic load, with a double major in neuroscience and biology and a double minor in chemistry and health sciences. While in school, he volunteered in New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s emergency room and at Gallop NYC while also serving as president and treasurer of Future Healers of America and as vice president of the Bukharian Cultural Club. Recently Musheyev has been working under world-renowned surgeon Ash Tewari at Mount Sinai’s Department of Urology, where he helps coordinate clinical trials of prostate cancer patients. At Queens College, his faculty research mentor is biology professor John Dennehy, a virologist who has been at the forefront of monitoring pathogens—like COVID-19—in wastewater, which allows him to identify the presence of new variants like Omicron even before they have been detected clinically.

“I hope to live up to Dr. Salk’s legacy by helping the many New Yorkers who lack access to quality medical care,” says Musheyev. “Queens College gave me a platform for addressing this issue, which will be the focus of my studies in medical school and beyond.”

The Salk Scholarship has held a special place in the CUNY system since its inception, representing the scientific and humanitarian values of its namesake, Jonas Salk, who was a 1934 graduate of City College. Credited with achieving an enormous public health breakthrough when he developed the first polio vaccine, he famously refused to patent or profit from it; instead, he made it freely available for worldwide use. When offered a tickertape parade in New York City, he asked that the money go toward scholarships. These awards are highly prized for their recognition of students’ scholarship, service, and intellectual potential in both medicine and research. Over four years of study, students receive $8,000 toward the cost of their medical or biomedical science degrees.