Steven Solar – 2025 District II Award Recipient
With a population of fewer than 500 people, the residents of Tangier Island, Virginia, have an unusually high rate of Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy, an eye disease that can cause blindness. Steven Solar Johns Hopkins ’19 went there to study the disease — but convincing the residents to participate in research required more than his impressive technical credentials.
“I wasn’t sure how to explain this to potential volunteers for our study, many of whom didn’t trust medical institutions,” recalls Steven, now pursuing his MD at Harvard Medical School. “I wanted to help people, but it wouldn’t matter unless I could connect with them.” The breakthrough came on his final day on the island when Steven spoke to the local church congregation, using his experience working with patients to explain the eye disease and its treatment in terms everyone could understand. The result: “a huge number of patients, almost more than we could screen before the last ship left.”
That experience on Tangier Island taught Steven that being a good doctor means balancing scientific knowledge with human connection. As a research scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Steven has published papers in Nature, one of the world’s most respected science journals. His research focuses on genetics — studying how our DNA affects our health.
Steven’s most important discovery involves a genetic condition that affects 1 in 1,000 people and can cause fertility problems — Robertsonian translocation. He developed a new way to detect this condition using existing medical tests, helping doctors identify patients who need genetic counseling for family planning.
“To me, research is the embodiment of intellectual excellence,” Steven explains, “It expands our understanding of the world and generates new knowledge.” But as Tangier Island taught him, that knowledge only becomes meaningful when it reaches the patients it’s designed to help.
In 2025, Brother Solar was awarded the Phi Psi Foundation’s District II Award, recognizing students from District II who demonstrate academic achievement, character, and commitment to their studies.