Princeton senior Isam Mina ’26 has been selected as a Rhodes Scholar and will pursue graduate studies at the University of Oxford. He is one of two scholars chosen this year by the Rhodes program for Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine. Additional 2026 Rhodes Scholars, including those from the United States, will be announced at a later date.
Mina, who grew up in Amman, Jordan, is a molecular biology major. He is also pursuing minors in global health and health policy and quantitative and computational biology.
The Rhodes Scholarship is a prestigious international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford. Last year, there were no Rhodes Scholarship recipients from Princeton.
Mina is a member of Mathey College and Ivy Club, and serves as co-chair of the Compassionate Medicine Fellowship and co-director of Medical Education with Princeton Emergency Medicine.
Most of his research has been focused on genetic underpinnings of skin and breast cancer. Last summer, Mina was a clinical research intern at Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Breast Medicine Service in New York City.
For his thesis, he is examining the microbial contributors of cancer by studying associations between the gut microbiome and colorectal cancer.
At Oxford, he will pursue a Master of Science in Applied Cancer Science and another Master of Science in Health Services Improvement and Evaluation. He will begin his studies there next October, and after completing his master’s, plans on attending medical school.
“I always wanted to take a gap year [before medical school], and I wanted to do something that I felt was really worthwhile,” Mina said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian. “The postgraduate fellowships gave me an opportunity to do that.”
Mina was notified on Sept. 27 that he was selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship among 10 other candidates. As a finalist, he engaged in a two-part process to win the scholarship.
“There’s two components to the interview process. The first is a social engagement event, which is essentially a dinner with the selection panelists, and it was hosted by HRH Princess Sumaya of Jordan,” Mina told the ‘Prince.’
“We all sit at these circular tables, and everyone converses with the other finalists and the panelists there. It was a great experience and really eased the pressures of the whole process, getting to know the people that were choosing us,” he added.
The second part of the selection process was an interview with the panelists, where finalists were asked a series of questions about their field of study and goals.
“They saw that I had taken the Children’s Literature course at Princeton, and asked me what children book best represented my favorite concept in Molecular Biology,” Mina shared with the ‘Prince.’ “The questions were tough.”
That same day, the panelists let the winners know that they had been granted the Rhodes Scholarship.
“The panelists told me later that night that they had some follow up questions for me,” Mina said. “They started grilling me on different parts of my application … I was really stressed and wasn’t sure what to think. And for their final question, they asked: ‘Do you want to be a Rhodes Scholar?’ It was such a surreal moment.”
When asked about the response to his win, Mina described his gratitude for the support he has received.
“People have been so supportive, and there’s been just such an amazing outpour of love from everyone. Professors, students, my friends, my family,” he said. “I feel incredibly grateful.”
Mina advised any student thinking about applying for similar scholarships to “just go for it.”
“When I applied, I absolutely didn’t think that I would get [the Rhodes Scholarship]. I knew it was something that I would love to do, and you won’t know until you try. I encourage anyone who’s interested in something like this to just apply and see where that takes them.”
Caitlyn Tablada is an assistant News editor for the 'Prince.' She is from New York, N.Y. and typically covers student life.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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