Gelareh Bagherzadeh, was studying molecular genetic technology at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. She was of Iranian descent and was very active in promoting Iranian women's rights

◼ Med student shot to death near Galleria - Dale Lezon, Zain Shauk and Mike Glenn/Houston Chronicle

Bagherzadeh participated in protests against the Iranian government in 2010 and was among those calling for a change in the current regime as demonstrators in Tehran pushed for revolution.

At the time, she, like other outspoken protesters, requested that her last name not be used in a Houston Chronicle online video because she feared persecution.

"We want change and we want freedom in our country," she said in the video.

She was an organizing member of SabzHouston, a group that pushed for political change in Iran.