Major: Molecular Biology | Destination: The Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program & The NIH Oxford-Cambridge (OxCam) Scholars Program
Why did you choose to be a physician-scientist? / What did you do to get there?
Choosing the pre-health track can be a straightforward decision for some and a winding journey for others. My path to medicine fell somewhere in-between. I entered Pomona undecided about my major. My passion for languages and literature initially drew me to the humanities, while my growing fascination for the brain and human behavior led me to explore Pomona’s pre-health courses.
Classes like BIO40 and 41C exposed me to research for the first time. I was immediately hooked and decided to apply to summer undergraduate research programs (SURPs) to develop more independent research experience. These programs also provided opportunities to both shadow physicians and volunteer in clinical settings. Back in Claremont, I participated in the COPE Health Scholars Program, pursued an internship at a psychiatric hospital, and volunteered at free health clinics.
These experiences taught me that medicine encompasses more than just diagnosing illnesses and treating symptoms; it also calls physicians to bear witness to the most vulnerable parts of patients’ lives. It additionally became clear to me that scientific advances are yet needed to bolster the compassionate care that physicians can offer. Learning about the MD-PhD track made me realize that the role of a physician-scientist embodies what I aim to accomplish in my career: to improve human health by bridging the gap between biomedical discoveries and their clinical applications.
Yet I never gave up on my other interests and I am grateful that my mentors at Pomona encouraged me to continue pursuing my passions outside of medicine as well. Each semester, I took music and dance classes to de-stress and have fun. I also taught art classes at a community center for youth facing housing insecurity in Los Angeles. In my junior year, I decided to study abroad in Spain, where I immersed myself in studying history instead of taking traditional pre-health courses.
I knew I wanted to take some time off from school before starting my MD-PhD training (typically 8 years long!). I was able to explore my interests in both languages and neuroscience by spending my first gap year in Portugal, where I conducted research and community outreach on drug addiction with the support of a Fulbright fellowship. During that year, I also studied for the MCAT and began preparing my application materials.
When the pandemic began, I returned home early and joined a local lab in Los Angeles to help run diagnostic tests for COVID-19. With another year remaining in my MD-PhD application cycle, I found myself with extra time to pursue experiences in areas I had not yet explored. I was inspired by my time in the COVID-testing lab to delve into immunology, a completely new field for me. Over the next year, I worked in an immunology lab in the NIH Postbac IRTA program while completing my applications and interviews for MD-PhD programs.
Looking back on my experiences, I am grateful for the support I received at Pomona – from both my professors and peers alike. My advice to prehealth students would be to lean on your community, to keep an open mind, and to not lose track of what is important to you (in both your professional and personal life). Everyone’s path is different. It can be easy to fall into the “pre-med” mindset of doing certain activities simply to check off a box, but it is much more rewarding to engage in what you truly enjoy. Don’t be afraid to explore and take advantage of all the resources and opportunities that Pomona has to offer!