Hiba Anwar Receives Darden’s Freeland and Franklin Fellowship

Hiba Anwar (Class of 2028) has been named the 2026–27 recipient of the James R. Freeland and Laurence C. Franklin Fellowship at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. The data scientist brings experience studying how illness and treatment affect patients’ everyday lives.

The fellowship recognizes interest and experience in data analytics and evidence-based decision-making. Announcing her selection at First Coffee on 1 October, Professor Emeritus Jim Freeland described Anwar as “almost ideal” for the award.

Anwar studied neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder and earned a Master of Public Health at Dartmouth. She was one of the earliest data scientists at Folia Health, whose app lets patients track their symptoms and treatments. Her work helped pharmaceutical companies understand patients’ experiences through the information they recorded themselves.

She co-authored a study with Ionis Pharmaceuticals involving 183 adults with severely elevated triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood. Patients’ own tracking captured health problems that standard questionnaires missed. These included digestive and skin problems, illustrating what researchers can learn when patients choose which symptoms to record. The findings were presented at the Endocrine Society’s 2026 meeting.

She also co-authored research with Novartis and Mayo Clinic examining symptoms, treatment use and quality of life among people with a rare blood disorder as new therapies became available. That work sought to understand patients’ priorities and experiences beyond their medical appointments.

Established in 2020 through gifts from Freeland and Laurence C. “Larry” Franklin, the endowed fellowship provides partial tuition support for MBA students. Larry, his wife, Mei Kwong Franklin, and his brother, Sterling, have made a broader commitment to supporting Darden students and the case writing that underpins their education.

Anwar’s next target is a summer internship in healthcare investment banking.

For students pursuing healthcare careers, Darden’s Healthcare Initiative connects business education with the industry through courses such as Healthcare Finance, projects with healthcare organizations and connections with alumni and industry leaders. Housed in the Institute for Business in Society, it also shares faculty research and brings practitioners and policymakers together to examine the business decisions that shape healthcare.

The Freeland and Franklin Fellowship helps support Anwar’s MBA as she adds business and finance training to her experience studying the patients healthcare companies serve.