Lineth Izaguirre Casanova (she/her/ella) is currently a third-year undergraduate student at San Francisco State University (SF State), majoring in Cell and Molecular Biology. She is a proud first-generation college student. Originally from Mexico, she immigrated to San Francisco at the age of fourteen, an experience that inspired her passion for medicine and service to underserved communities.
Before attending SF State, she participated in the FACES for the Future Health and Behavioral Sciences Pathway at John O’Connell High School in San Francisco during her junior and senior years. Looking back, she is extremely grateful for the early exposure to healthcare careers and the mentorship that helped shape her educational journey. Through FACES, she volunteered at an elderly care home and worked with patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Additionally, she shadowed a public health nurse. Both experiences were the first exposures she had to a clinical setting. She hopes to continue giving back to her community by mentoring future students who aspire to careers in healthcare.
At SF State, she is a Genentech Foundation SEO Scholar and joined a research lab where she supports neuroscience research using zebra fish models to study brain development.
Outside of school, she works as a medical assistant in a pediatric clinic, completed CPT-1 phlebotomy training, and volunteers at organizations, including Clínica Martín-Baró, St Anthony’s Foundation, and MEDLIFE, where she helps serve medically and economically underserved communities. She recently completed UCSF’s Aspiring Physicians Program (APP), where she had the opportunity to shadow physicians, learn from healthcare professionals, and further explore her interest in medicine.
Her long-term goal is to become a physician, with a particular interest in surgery. Through her clinical, research, and community experiences, she hopes to combine scientific discovery with compassionate patient care, while helping improve access to healthcare for immigrant and underserved communities.