Brian was awarded a Blocker Scholar Student Fellowship in 2003 after the first year of medical school. Previous rotations were done in the lab of Dr. Aubrey Thompson where he worked on the role of PPAR in carcinogenesis and in the lab of Dr. Chiaho Shih where he studied gene expression altered by HBV infection, focusing on how the virus can promote hepatocellular carcinoma. His long-term career plans are to become a physician and scientist in the field of internal medicine, treating and performing research on adult inflammatory diseases and illnesses. Research Project: Inflammation of vessel walls in type 2 diabetes.