2022–2023 NHLCC Scholar: Devin Barzallo

Devin Barzallo
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio

3^rd Year Medical Student

Devin Barzallo is a third-year medical student at Case Western Reserve University, passionate about serving the Latino community. He grew up in New Jersey and was fortunate to be surrounded by a large Spanish-speaking community. During his formative years, he began to identify the systemic structures and barriers for advancement of Latinos in his own community and around the country. Language was a big one. His family members, who immigrated from Ecuador, had limited English proficiency, which led to inadequate healthcare and difficulty navigating activities of daily living. He knew he wanted to be a physician if he could remember and treat Spanish speaking patients. Coming into medical school, fostering community was essential. His medical school had a very active Student National Medical Association (SNMA)/ Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) chapter, in which he served on three leadership roles including Research Chair, Community Service Chair and Public Relations Chair. He is also a proud member of the LGBT+ community. He has worked with the Cleveland Clinic LGBT+ center on an HPV vaccination campaign, University Hospitals Gender Care Center on a pronoun campaign, and the HIV+ Clinic at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on a research fellowship. He is passionate about providing quality care specially to Queer patients of color, who have been neglected by the healthcare system. He's excited to be an NHLCC Scholar to further explore the conditions that affect his community and to learn and be inspired on creating solutions to increase access to healthcare to Latinos throughout the country. He wants to grow a network of colleagues who share this passion and collaborate on projects and service.