Sohila Sidhu participating as a committee director for the 2025 UWindsor Model United Nations (SUBMITTED BY SOHILA SIDHU/University of Windsor)
From training in the dojo to Model United Nations, Outstanding Scholar Sohila Sidhu is balancing a lot.
At the same time, she is also laser-focused on a career in medicine.
This drive is part of what motivated Sidhu to become part of UWindsor’s Outstanding Scholars program, which facilitates research opportunities for high-achieving undergraduate students.
A second-year student in behaviour, cognition and neuroscience, Sidhu joined Outstanding Scholars in first year after graduating the IB program at Assumption College Catholic High School in Windsor.
She had heard about the program as a way to get involved with research at the University as well as an opportunity to connect with like-minded peers and upper-year mentors.
In her second year, Sidhu received a research position in the lab of kinesiology Professor Dave Andrews.
While outside her academic discipline, the placement afforded Sidhu a chance to explore a related field and get exposure to diverse perspectives.
One area of Dr. Andrews’s research focuses is on human anatomy instructional practices, with Sidhu assisting in the creation of a diverse test bank for anatomy students.
As many anatomy textbooks are historically male-centric and white-centric, Andrews’s work on the Anatomy Video and Imagery Diversity (AVID) project has helped to create a database of images and video showcasing diversity in anatomy teaching materials.
“A problem that we’re starting to notice is that a lot of diseases, especially skin diseases, can go unnoticed on darker skin tones,” Sidhu explains.
“We’re trying to use pictures of darker skin tones and disabilities to produce a more diverse question bank for people that are studying anatomy.”
The experience with this project has helped Sidhu become familiar with the research process.
At the same time, Sidhu balances other hobbies and extracurriculars outside her Outstanding Scholars research.
A black belt in karate, she trains children as young as four in the sport while juggling extracurriculars such as Science Society and Model United Nations.
“I’m super passionate about Model UN,” explains Sidhu, noting that she first got involved as a freshman in high school. Now a committee director with UWindsor’s UWill Discover Model UN, she has managed to continue her participation.
“It’s all the public speaking and collaboration. I just find there’s so many transferrable skills that you can gain from Model UN,” she says.
Between Model UN and Outstanding Scholars, Sidhu cites the value of meeting new people and working together.
“I made so many friends that have the same career path as me, and we all just help each other. It’s such an amazing program to collaborate with people,” she explains.
This article is part of a series celebrating Outstanding Scholars—exceptional students making an impact through research and creative work across campus.