Lili Hafezi was named after her grandmother, who sadly passed away from Leukemia before she was born. “Heart disease is very common in my family and has been a battle for generations,” she said. From the time she was in high school until now, Lili has made it her mission to one day become a physician who will “reduce cardiovascular disease and eliminate it as the leading cause of death in the nation.”

Fundraising Virtuoso

It all started during her junior year of high school when she ran for Student Visionary of the Year — a 10-week philanthropic competition where community students and leaders raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), aiming to fuel research and support for blood cancer patients in their local communities. During her time as a visionary, Lili led a team of 50 students, raising a total of $5,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to fund children's chemotherapy during COVID.

During her sophomore year at UM-Deaborn, she once again joined the cause, serving as the youngest of the six Adult Visionaries of the Year candidates. She worked with her college and hometown communities in the campaign to raise funds for a local child named Audrey, who was battling Leukemia. With a team of over 150 students and a series of fundraising events, Lili helped raise over $15,000 to help fund Audrey’s treatments.

As of November 2025, young Audrey is cancer-free.

Aspiring Physicians

However, Lili’s philanthropy work is not solely intertwined with her work for the student visionaries program. As President of UM-Dearborn’s co-ed medical fraternity, Phi Delta Epsilon (PhiDE), whose mission is to “create future physicians of deeds not words (facta non verba) through philanthropy, deity, equity and education,” she has led multiple initiatives.

In February 2026, the fraternity was invited to attend the International Convention for its philanthropy initiative, Stand for the Kids. Through their efforts, they raised over $3,000 by hosting events such as a dunk tank, bake sale, wings-and-scrubs social, trivia night and a volleyball tournament.

“Ultimately, as I look back on the success of our chapter and the bright future ahead, I am proud to be a part of this community that I would have never had at another university,” she said.

Dedicated Researcher

From the start of her journey to graduation, Lili has also made a difference as a dedicated researcher. In her first year of college, she joined Dr. Kalyan Kondapalli's Cell and Molecular Biology Lab, where she was given the opportunity to pitch, plan and execute her own project. Her research highlights ​​how a key cellular protein (NHE9) helps heart cells communicate and adapt to low oxygen conditions after injury, such as a heart attack. In accordance with this project, she has published two papers in the past year.

“I am very grateful to Dr. Kalyan Kondapalli for taking me under his wing and his invaluable mentorship over these past three years,” Lili said.

And that’s just the beginning. Lili was invited as the youngest speaker at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Annual Conference in Chicago this past April to present her work on “how our heart cells communicate with immune cells to aid in cardiac protection following a stressful event such as a heart attack or stroke through the communication of our ‘bio-messengers,’ exosomes.”

Collaborative Discoveries

Much of her work, whether it be fundraising or research, has been rooted in collaboration. She recently worked with the Johns Hopkins Cardiovascular unit alongside Dr. Sam Das on targeting a specific miRNA, researching how it regulates the way our fat cells communicate with our heart cells during medical contexts such as coronary artery disease and diabetes. She co-presented these findings at the John Hopkins medical campus.

Lili’s tremendous research work has not gone unrecognized. She was nominated for the 2025 Biological Sciences Distinguished Researcher award at the Natural Sciences Award banquet this past April and was recently awarded the Cell and Molecular Biology Excellence Award, as well as the Biomedical Engineering Society Best Interdisciplinary Poster award, for her work in bridging cardiovascular cellular research and clinical implications.

“I truly hope to live and guide others in service, whether through fundraising and advocacy, research and education, or simply being a listening ear,” she said. “I hope to carry on the principles of the Dearborn Difference Maker now and well into the future as a dedicated physician one day.”