Introduction Ever since my undergraduate days at the University of Virginia, I have been interested and engaged in biomedical research. However, it wasn’t until I matriculated to Meharry Medical College, the largest historically black medical school in the country, that I developed an appreciation for the immense scope of disparities that exist in research and the delivery medical care as it pertains to minority populations, and specifically, African-Americans in the United States. As I worked towards a Healthcare MBA at Vanderbilt University and served as the Health Policy and Legislative Affairs Committee Chair for the Student National Medical Association, I developed an even greater understanding for the need for top-down approaches to reducing these inequalities. At the writing of this essay, I am a surgeon-scientist in-training completing a Master’s degree in Biomedical & Translational Sciences , specifically focused on bioethics, biostatistics and research
of a surgeon/scientist-in-training on a long journey. Current stop: Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Resident | Scientist | Biotech Startup Founder | Consultant