{"id":6342,"date":"2026-03-12T16:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T20:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/?p=6342"},"modified":"2026-03-23T15:53:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T19:53:39","slug":"powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Powered by purpose, Carolina medical student prepares for Match Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Yasine
Yasine Mirmozaffari (at left) was a student emcee for last year’s Match Day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yasine\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0never took academics too seriously in high school.\u00a0Growing up in a family living below the poverty line, college and medicine once felt like distant possibilities. He enrolled in rigorous courses but rarely studied or took notes, instead dreaming of a future playing soccer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0earn\u00a0his first\u00a0A\u00a0until his\u00a0senior year and\u00a0openly admits\u00a0he failed pre-calculus along the way.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNowadays,\u00a0my friends\u00a0say, \u2018You\u2019re\u00a0in med school?\u00a0You\u2019re\u00a0going\u00a0to be a doctor or surgeon?\u2019\u201d\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0said. \u201cThat\u2019s funny to look back on, but it also lit a fire under me.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today,\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0is a testament to\u00a0what can happen when\u00a0someone\u00a0discovers their purpose and commits to pursuing it.\u00a0In just a few short days,\u00a0he’ll\u00a0join his\u00a0UNC School\u00a0of Medicine Class of 2026 classmates in opening\u00a0their\u00a0Match Day\u00a0envelopes\u00a0on March 20.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Developing\u00a0an\u00a0interest in medicine<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The one high school class in which\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0earned an A was AP Biology. It marked the first time he felt truly engaged in a course, sparking a passion that led him to major in biology and public health at UNC Wilmington.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While adjusting to new study habits in college,\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u2019s\u00a0twin brother developed schizophrenia and experienced his first psychotic break.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was one of the first things that pushed me toward going to medical school,\u201d Mirmozaffari said. \u201cHis providers did more than treat him. They made sure my family felt supported, too. Seeing that level of compassion made me realize that this was the field I wanted to enter.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With this decision in mind,\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0looked for hands-on clinical experience. He\u00a0found a role\u00a0at St. Mary\u2019s Health Center in Wilmington,\u00a0working\u00a0as a medical assistant triaging and volunteering in the clinic.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Through patient interactions, complex medical discussions, and the opportunity to help others,\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0began to see his life\u2019s mission take shape.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThose experiences really\u00a0grounded me,\u201d\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cI finally felt like I had a purpose and that this was my calling.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Making his mark at Carolina<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

After arriving at the UNC School of Medicine,\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0quickly\u00a0began to make his mark.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He founded Health Professional Athletics at Carolina\u00a0(HPAC), a nonprofit that has raised\u00a0more than\u00a0$10,000 for\u00a0UNC\u00a0Children\u2019s\u00a0Hospital.\u00a0Between his third and fourth year\u00a0of medical school,\u00a0he\u00a0was elected as student body co-president for the School of Medicine.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Mirmozaffari and former co-President Samuel Tate alongside the owner of Purple Bowl, a local sponsor of HPAC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Along the way,\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0knew he wanted to pursue a career in academic medicine.\u00a0Although he could have entered the match last year, he chose instead to take an additional research year to gain confidence in guiding a project from its initial conception through publication.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to publish 18 articles within the year,\u201d\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0said. \u201cIt was an extremely productive year, but I also was able to\u00a0see how things that we research in the lab can help patients in the clinic.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mirmozaffari\u00a0applied to otolaryngology \u2013 head\u00a0and\u00a0neck surgery. He is drawn to the field\u2019s wide scope, having the\u00a0chance\u00a0to treat children and adults and perform both minor procedures and major surgeries.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Pali Shah, an otolaryngologist and\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u2019s\u00a0advisor since his first day of medical school, played a key role in shaping his path.\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0said he hopes to model his career after hers and credits her mentorship throughout the past four and a half years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYas has the rare combination of genuine kindness and deep intellectual curiosity,\u201d Shah said. \u201cHe approaches everything he does with genuine joy, which is contagious. His peers seek him out for guidance and support, making him a natural leader. These qualities make him not only an exceptional future doctor, but an exceptional person.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The genuine joy that Shah speaks\u00a0of\u00a0comes from\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u2019s\u00a0passion for\u00a0becoming a Tar Heel doctor. He\u00a0praised\u00a0the number of opportunities that were at his fingertips and the\u00a0School of Medicine\u2019s\u00a0strong culture of\u00a0lifelong learning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUNC really teaches us\u00a0how to be a\u00a0complete doctor,\u201d\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cUNC\u00a0not only builds a strong foundation in clinical and social\u00a0medicine, but\u00a0also provides countless opportunities for growth\u00a0helps you become a well\u2011rounded physician.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Preparing for Match Day<\/b><\/h3>\n

As Match Day approaches,\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0remains\u00a0grateful for the support\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0received throughout medical school. He\u00a0maintains\u00a0a close relationship with his sister, a member of the UNC School of Medicine Class of 2027. The two\u00a0bond\u00a0not only as medical students, but also through their shared experience of having a chronically ill family member.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven though she\u2019s younger than me, I feel like I look up to her,\u201d\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mirmozaffari\u00a0also stays connected with friends from the Class of 2025, the cohort he entered medical school with, who are now\u00a0in the midst of\u00a0residency training. He considers\u00a0them\u00a0lifelong friends.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Soon,\u00a0he\u2019ll\u00a0join them at his own residency program somewhere across the country.\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0approaches the uncertainty of Match Day with the same confidence that carried him from finding his purpose to trusting where it will\u00a0lead\u00a0him next.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be ecstatic to end up at any program I interviewed at,\u201d\u00a0Mirmozaffari\u00a0said. \u201cI know wherever I land, it will be the best\u00a0fit\u00a0for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Yasine Mirmozaffari matched into Otolaryngology at UNC Hospitals during Match Day.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yasine Mirmozaffari is ready for UNC School of Medicine’s 2026 Match Day, hoping to match into an otolaryngology – head and neck surgery residency program. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117964,"featured_media":6346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPowered by purpose, Carolina medical student prepares for Match Day | Medical Doctorate Program<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yasine Mirmozaffari is ready for UNC School of Medicine's 2026 Match Day, hoping to match into an otolaryngology - head and neck surgery residency program.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Powered by purpose, Carolina medical student prepares for Match Day | Medical Doctorate Program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yasine Mirmozaffari is ready for UNC School of Medicine's 2026 Match Day, hoping to match into an otolaryngology - head and neck surgery residency program.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medical Doctorate Program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-12T20:14:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-23T19:53:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cory Van Dyke\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cory Van Dyke\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cory Van Dyke\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#\/schema\/person\/0b96a7151b9a8937cccdd5d8998645d7\"},\"headline\":\"Powered by purpose, Carolina medical student prepares for Match Day\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-12T20:14:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-23T19:53:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/\"},\"wordCount\":936,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/\",\"name\":\"Powered by purpose, Carolina medical student prepares for Match Day | Medical Doctorate Program\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-12T20:14:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-23T19:53:39+00:00\",\"description\":\"Yasine Mirmozaffari is ready for UNC School of Medicine's 2026 Match Day, hoping to match into an otolaryngology - head and neck surgery residency program.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2048,\"caption\":\"Headshot of Yasine Mirmozaffari\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Powered by purpose, Carolina medical student prepares for Match Day\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/\",\"name\":\"Medical Doctorate Program\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UNC School of Medicine Medical Doctorate Program\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2017\/06\/UNC-School-of-Medicine-Logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2017\/06\/UNC-School-of-Medicine-Logo.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":286,\"caption\":\"UNC School of Medicine Medical Doctorate Program\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#\/schema\/person\/0b96a7151b9a8937cccdd5d8998645d7\",\"name\":\"Cory Van Dyke\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8de7199c1e71a3e4753e1b983802e8e34ee8a1372e5d3dc4f00a7d12694ee018?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8de7199c1e71a3e4753e1b983802e8e34ee8a1372e5d3dc4f00a7d12694ee018?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Cory Van Dyke\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/author\/vdyke\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Powered by purpose, Carolina medical student prepares for Match Day | Medical Doctorate Program","description":"Yasine Mirmozaffari is ready for UNC School of Medicine's 2026 Match Day, hoping to match into an otolaryngology - head and neck surgery residency program.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Powered by purpose, Carolina medical student prepares for Match Day | Medical Doctorate Program","og_description":"Yasine Mirmozaffari is ready for UNC School of Medicine's 2026 Match Day, hoping to match into an otolaryngology - head and neck surgery residency program.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/","og_site_name":"Medical Doctorate Program","article_published_time":"2026-03-12T20:14:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-23T19:53:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":2048,"url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cory Van Dyke","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cory Van Dyke","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/"},"author":{"name":"Cory Van Dyke","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#\/schema\/person\/0b96a7151b9a8937cccdd5d8998645d7"},"headline":"Powered by purpose, Carolina medical student prepares for Match Day","datePublished":"2026-03-12T20:14:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-23T19:53:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/"},"wordCount":936,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/","name":"Powered by purpose, Carolina medical student prepares for Match Day | Medical Doctorate Program","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-12T20:14:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-23T19:53:39+00:00","description":"Yasine Mirmozaffari is ready for UNC School of Medicine's 2026 Match Day, hoping to match into an otolaryngology - head and neck surgery residency program.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":2048,"caption":"Headshot of Yasine Mirmozaffari"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/2026\/03\/powered-by-purpose-carolina-medical-student-prepares-for-match-day\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Powered by purpose, Carolina medical student prepares for Match Day"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/","name":"Medical Doctorate Program","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#organization","name":"UNC School of Medicine Medical Doctorate Program","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2017\/06\/UNC-School-of-Medicine-Logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2017\/06\/UNC-School-of-Medicine-Logo.jpg","width":1200,"height":286,"caption":"UNC School of Medicine Medical Doctorate Program"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#\/schema\/person\/0b96a7151b9a8937cccdd5d8998645d7","name":"Cory Van Dyke","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8de7199c1e71a3e4753e1b983802e8e34ee8a1372e5d3dc4f00a7d12694ee018?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8de7199c1e71a3e4753e1b983802e8e34ee8a1372e5d3dc4f00a7d12694ee018?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Cory Van Dyke"},"url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/author\/vdyke\/"}]}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-scaled.jpg","featured_image_medium":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-300x240.jpg","featured_image_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-768x614.jpg","featured_image_large":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-1024x819.jpg","featured_image_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/838\/2026\/03\/Full-Res-Head-shot-150x150.jpg","featured_image_alt":"Headshot of Yasine Mirmozaffari","category_details":[{"name":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/news\/category\/news\/"}],"tag_details":[],"_links_to":[],"_links_to_target":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117964"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6342"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6358,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6342\/revisions\/6358"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/md\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}