What is your hometown?
I have called many cities my hometown in the past: Addis Ababa; Fresno, California, Tuskegee, Alabama, Auburn, Alabama, Iowa City, Iowa. But the place that is dearest and closest to my heart is Tuskegee, Alabama.
How or when did you become interested in science and medicine?
Growing up on a dairy farm in a third world country, my interest in science was fostered from early childhood. Whether it was watching my father deliver calves or helping my mother make various types of cheeses, science was something I saw in action on a daily basis. My older brother and I actually spent a significant portion of our early youth collecting every tiny and microscopic creature on the farm and looking at it under a “water droplet” microscope. We did not have a store-bought microscope so we would resort to making a microscope out of cardboard using a design we got out of a library book. We would then suspend a clear water droplet (which served as the lens) from a Vaseline-coated hole made by a hole-puncher. In hindsight, I was glad that we did not have a store-bought microscope because building our own microscope as well as some other toys ourselves fostered inventiveness in my brother and I.
My interest in human medicine began to grow after I participated in the Stanford Medical Youth Science Program while I was a junior in high school. The patient contact and hospital experience I received during that summer swayed my interest from veterinary medicine toward human medicine. Although my journey to medical school took an unusually path (about 8 years out of the way) my summer high school experience at Stanford helped me stay focused on my goal.
How or why did you choose the UI to attend medical school?
I actually ended up at UI Carver College of Medicine purely by accident. At the time of my application my MCAT scores were old. Fortunately, Iowa was one of three schools in the nation that still accepted the old MCAT scores at the time. So I hesitantly added Iowa at the bottom of my list of schools and marched on with the application process. Despite having a competitive application, I was precluded from most of the other schools I applied to because of my old MCAT scores. Iowa did not have such a rule, and I was pleasantly surprised when I got an interview.
After getting an opportunity to visit Iowa during my interview and witnessing the special effort that the Admissions Committee made to have a structured and uniform interview process that was less susceptible to interviewer bias, I was completely sold. The reputation of the program and the facilities were the icing on the cake.
After the interview, Iowa jumped to the top of my list, and here I am.
Is there a teacher, mentor or Carver College of Medicine faculty member who has helped shape your education?
I would be doing a great disservice to the faculty, staff, and members of OSAC if I singled out a few professors and/or mentors to give them all of the credit for my progress. The College operates as a giant complex organism with the various faculty and staff carrying out their individual responsibilities. I can’t give credit to just a few faculty and staff (without making a long list) because I have benefited from the gentle advice and guidance of so many members of College every time I had difficulties or strayed off my path. For that, I do want to express my deepest appreciation to everyone.
Outside of Carver College of Medicine, my previous research advisor, Dr. Vitaly Vodyanoy at Auburn University, still remains my mentor. Although he is not an M.D., he has a very inventive mind and a unique way of looking at and solving problems. I will also be forever grateful for the various faculty such as Dr. Helen Benford, and staff that were critical for my growth during my undergraduate and graduate education at Tuskegee University. It is truly the place that is closest to my heart.
What kinds of opportunities or advantages does being a medical student at Iowa provide? What about challenges?
Iowa has virtually every opportunity one can ask for, and whatever they do not have, they will find a way to send the student to another medical school or campus to gain the experience. So, Iowa is not short on advantages.
The only challenge that I have seen perhaps comes form the lack of diversity in the faculty and staff at Iowa and the lack of exposure to “diverse populations” that exists among some of the medical students. I believe that the presence of culturally diverse faculty is critical for teaching students how to care for patients with diverse backgrounds. The fact that some medical students have lived their lives up to this point in isolated homogeneous communities with minimal contact with individuals of diverse cultural backgrounds can be a significant barrier to the delivery of competent healthcare.
Please describe your professional goals and interests.
I am interested in academic medicine and clinical research. After spending several years doing basic science research, I was frustrated by the lack of medical background that I needed to see the bigger picture and transition the research from laboratory to the bedside.
I get very excited by the idea of creating new medical devices and new procedures for treating diseases. Although I have not decided exactly what area of medicine I would like to specialize in, I am confident that it would have an academic component.
What are some of your outside interests?
I am an inventor at heart, so I am always getting distracted by ideas and ways to do things differently, and perhaps even better. This often gets in the way of my studying. I am currently entertaining a few ideas, but I have actually found that going beyond the concept stage is often very challenging because it always requires some source of funding.
I enjoy traveling, cooking exotic dishes (something I wish I had more time to do), sampling some exotic dishes, and making homemade sweet wines (something I picked up in graduate school in an attempt to deal with the frustration of chronically failing experiments). However, I am not much of a drinker so my wines usually ends up going to waste after I taste them to see how complex the flavor turned out.
Do you participate in any community
service/outreach projects?
If so, what are they and what have your experiences
been?
Within the medical school, I currently serve as the co-editor of Vital Signs Medical Student Newspaper as well as serving on the Accommodations Committee of the College of Medicine.
In the past, I was active in the college’s chapter of Student National Medical Association and the Recruitment and Retention Committee that works with the admissions office to increase minority student enrollment at Carver College of Medicine. I also served on the OSAC Group on Diversity and the UIHC/CCOM Steering Committee on Diversity.
Do you have an insight or philosophy that guides you in your work?
My mother used to always say that I should put my best effort into whatever task I undertake. Of course, that is easier said than done when you have been up for over 24 hours and you are cramming against the clock trying to memorize 30 pages of Pharmacology notes in less than three hours. Still, it is one of the many useful philosophies that I try to live by, although I sometimes fall short. It works well for me because I sometimes tend to be a bit obsessive-compulsive when allowed enough time to spend on the task.
Other philosophies include: you can attract more bees with honey than with vinegar; respect is earned; birds of a feather flock together; don’t judge a person until you have walked a mile in his or her shoes (or skin); if at first you fail, then try-try again; all that glitters is not gold; never let anyone talk you out of doing something you are passionate about because you will later regret having given them that power; some of the world’s greatest inventions can be found at the graveyard; some of the world’s greatest minds can be found in digging trenches, cleaning floors, or in prison; opportunity is what separates the successful and wealthy from the impoverished and disenfranchised; everyone is gifted, but their success is determined by what skill their society values most; success is 25 % hard work and 75% pure dumb luck; eventually we all become someone’s patients.
If you could change one thing about the world (or the world of medicine), what would it be?
I would change the world of medicine (and the world as a whole) into having a more open dialogue about sex and human sexuality.
Even in medical school, I have been surprised by the level of discomfort that exists when it comes to discussing issue of sex and sexuality. Yet, all medical evidence and disease trends tell us that we live in a very sexual world. Nearly 40 million people worldwide suffer from HIV/AIDS. When you throw in the cases of other STDs and unwanted pregnancies, the number becomes staggering. Yet, we are still talking about mainly abstinence, with some churches actually fighting the effort to combat the spread of AIDS worldwide through condom use. HELLO!!! In case you haven’t noticed, the building is on fire and it is turning into an inferno. This is the wrong time to be talking about buying smoke detectors. First put out the fire, then we can talk about whether we should have installed smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher.
Even in the United States, one of the most advanced nations on the planet, there exists profound ignorance about human sexuality. Unfortunately, a silent but conservative minority shames a majority of the country into staying silent about issues related to human sexuality and sexual health. I believe that former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders had a good point when she advocated teaching about masturbation. Perhaps she was too far ahead of her time, but we needed to start a dialogue on human sexuality.
We are often given reasons of religion and culture as excuses for why we should not educated the general public about sexual health issues, suggesting that such education might encourage youth to become sexually active at an earlier age. Yet, if you compare the United States to other industrialized countries that are more open about their sexuality, you see lower incidences of STDs and teen pregnancy across the board. Even though a majority of health problems have a sexual health component, sexual health still remains a taboo even in the health care setting.
What one piece of advice you would give to students who are interested in applying to medical school?
Get as much healthcare and research experience as you can before you apply to medical school. That is what will keep you focused on your goal.
Do not underestimate your abilities and do not let anyone talk you out of doing what you are really passionate about. If you want to go to medical school, do not be discouraged, and do not believe everything written in some of the admission pamphlets. Keep trying. You might be pleasantly surprised. Do not limit yourself by applying to a small number of schools. The culture varies from medical school to medical school and so do the philosophies of the various Admission Committees.
Have fun during undergrad since this is the last time you will be able to truly explore your identity before everyone begins expecting you to behave responsibly.
What do you see as "the future" of medicine?
Lots and lots of tiny nano-robots. I am not kidding. Within my lifetime, we will probably be able to inject tiny robots into a patient’s bloodstream to do microsurgery from the inside using a room full of surgeons fitted with electronic interfaces each manning a nano-robot. Brain surgery and repairing microvascular defects will be virtually noninvasive and significantly safer.