School of Engineering and Applied Science junior Hannah Gong and College of Arts and Sciences junior Sanya Tinaikar received the 2026 Sarah Katz Award for designing a Philadelphia-based high school summer health initiative.
The award, announced on April 10, provides $5,000 in funding to undergraduate students who develop projects that advance heart health advocacy. The winning project aims to increase cardiovascular disease awareness through a four-week program that will teach students how to take vital screenings, use medical equipment, and educate their communities through a four-week program.
Gong, a current DP staffer, expressed hope that program participants will “gain confidence” and learn to “advocate for their communities” in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian.
“It’s mainly about encouraging them that they’re able to do what they put their minds to,” she added.
Tinaikar — a former DP staffer — added that the program stems from one of its “key stakeholders,” the United Community Clinic, which is a free organization that serves Southwest Philadelphia. The “ultimate end goal” of the winning project, titled “Clinic to Community,” is for students to become leaders at the UCC Health Fair — which will be held for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Participation and encouragement is something that will be really beneficial to revitalizing the health fair,” Tinaikar explained.
The Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships and the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education first offered the Sarah Katz Award in February 2024 in honor of Sarah Katz, a College junior at the time of her death, who passed away in September 2022. Katz, a SCUE member, was “devoted” to increasing health literacy and heart health awareness within the Penn community.
Gong described receiving the Sarah Katz Award as “serendipitous,” adding that it aligns closely with the program’s mission. She said that the funding will support CPR instruction and help students create educational projects that provide “resources for their communities.”
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College junior and SCUE Wellness Committee Chair Daphne Hicyilmaz told the DP that the selection committee looks for applicants that “understand who Sarah Katz was, what her legacy is,” and can carry forward her mission
The winning program “stood out not only because of its idea, but because of the two girls that are running it,” according to Hicyilmaz. She added that the project “helps bring the youth into the conversation and allows us to start this health literacy earlier on.”
The initiative will begin in July and run in partnership with Academy at Penn, a college preparatory program managed by Penn’s Graduate School of Education. 10 to 15 students demonstrating a “genuine” interest in health care careers will be selected for participation from the Academy’s 2026 cohort, according to Tinaikar.
Students will meet three days a week — each with a specific purpose. The first day of each week will focus on cardiovascular health education and health literacy. On the second day, students will hear from healthcare professionals in preparation for the United Community Clinic health fair.
The third day will involve on-site volunteering at the Penn Medicine Mammography van — which Tinaikar described as a “mini health fair” that can give students exposure to community-based health care.
“A lot of times, students might think that medicine has to be within a very strict clinical setting, but it doesn't necessarily have to look like that,” Tinaikar added. “It can also be very community-integrated, focused, and personable.”
During its inaugural year, the award was given to 2025 College and Wharton graduate Aravind Krishnan for his work on Penn’s Shelter Health Outreach Program — which provides healthcare services to Philadelphia’s homeless population.
Last year, College senior Keanu Natan received the award for creating Matkah, a project addressing gaps in cardiac emergency preparedness among individuals with limited English proficiency.
“The award is bringing Sarah back to Penn and back to campus, where we can do good in a way that she was doing it when she was here,” Hicyilmaz said.
