On December 26, 2000 at approximately 3:00 A.M., the Lord changed my life forever by calling me to the field of Neurosurgery. The following movie clip is a good illustration of what it has been like for me to obey the Lord's calling into this field:
Although I was skeptical at first, the Lord continued to open door after door for me, enabling me to progress and learn about the field. Below are some of the people whom He has used to guide me into and through Neurosurgery.
The very first person God used to guide me was Dr. Judy Huang, who at the time was a senior Neurosurgery resident at Columbia. After finishing residency, she was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins (the first woman to achieve such an honor). During my fourth year of medical school, I was able to see her again and she was extremely helpful in guiding me throughout the month I spent at Johns Hopkins. She was also nice enough to take this picture with me. I am forever grateful for her impact on my life.
After graduating medical school, I remained at Columbia (Neurological Institute of New York) to spend the year performing NIH-funded clinical research on the impact of temporal lobe epilepsy surgery on postoperative auditory naming. This is Marla J. Hamberger, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology in the Department of Neurology, who was my mentor and boss during that year. She is very kind and humble, and is the best boss I have ever worked with.
During this year of clinical research, I was granted the honor of mentoring Rebeca Garcia (pictured), a sophomore pre-med college student whom I met while in my church's Young People's Choir. Her productivity, kindness, and willingness to work hard made it a pleasure to mentor her and greatly aided me in completing three research projects.
Following my year of clinical research, I went to the Cleveland Clinic to pursue a year of basic science resarch involving gene therapy for movement disorders and spinal cord injury under the mentorship of Dr. Nicholas M. Boulis, M.D. He was a great mentor and boss during my time there, and was gracious enough to let me learn the world of grant-writing and lab direction firsthand by allowing me to join his lab. In addition to being a top-notch basic scientist (world-renowned for his gene therapy work), Dr. Boulis (pictured) was also an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the Cleveland Clinic, specializing in surgery for movement disorders (essential tremor, Parkinson's disease, dystonia, etc.) and disorders of the peripheral nerves.
This is Dr. Ali R. Rezai, M.D., Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and formerly the surgical director of the Center for Neurological Restoration at the Cleveland Clinic. Under his guidance, the Cleveland Clinic became the premiere center in the United States (and among the top three in the world) for surgical treatment of movement disorders. During my time at the Cleveland Clinic, he served as my mentor and biggest advocate, and I am grateful to him for taking the time to support me.
This is Dr. Andrew Freese, M.D., Ph.D., former Vice-Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Minnesota, where I began neurosurgery residency. I am grateful to the University of Minnesota for allowing me to begin my training at their program.
This is Dr. Kolawole Okuyemi, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the Program in Health Disparities Research and Professor of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota. During my time in Minnesota, he aided me greatly in my quest to investigate and address disparities in adult and pediatric neurosurgery on a nationwide level. I am grateful for his continued support.
