MIT senior Arianna Doss has been selected as a 2027 Rhodes Scholar and will begin fully funded postgraduate studies at Oxford University in the U.K. next fall.
Doss, who is from Houston, is double-majoring in biological engineering and political science. At Oxford, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in comparative social policy, followed by a master’s in global health science and epidemiology.
She aspires to become a physician and health policy leader who advances health equity, particularly to improve maternal health and chronic disease outcomes among marginalized groups.
Doss was supported by Associate Dean Kim Benard and the Distinguished Fellowships team in Career Advising and Professional Development. She received additional mentorship and guidance from the Presidential Committee on Distinguished Fellowships.
“No two applicants have the same story, and MIT students never fail to surprise us with their ingenuity,” says Professor Taylor Perron, who co-chairs the committee along with Professor Nancy Kanwisher. “Seeing Arianna earn this recognition and opportunity is exhilarating. We don’t know what lies ahead, but I’m confident the world will be better as the result of her work.”
At MIT, Doss worked in the Bryson Lab for more than two years, studying protein degradation within the phagosomes of mammalian macrophages. At Rice University’s Segatori Lab, she investigated gene circuits in retinal pigment epithelial cells to reduce chemotherapy toxicity. She has also researched rural-urban disparities in maternal mortality and analyzed the effects of abortion clinic closures on maternal health.
Doss’s policy and clinical experiences include serving as a maternal health intern for Representative Lauren Underwood, supporting the Black Maternal Health Caucus, and interning at Northwestern Medicine’s Bronzeville Outpatient Center, where she shadowed in family medicine and studied medication hesitancy among hypertensive patients. As a patient navigator with Link Health, she connects patients in East Boston with public benefits.
Doss is the founding president of the MIT Alliance for the Advancement of Black Athletes, and previously served as attorney general of MIT’s Black Students’ Union. She is also a three-year starter for MIT’s nationally ranked women’s soccer team. Her honors include NCAA Scholar All-American, First Team All-Region, the Princeton Prize in Race Relations Certificate, and Scholastic writing awards.
