Student ScholarsJohn P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine

Carlos Chavez was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. He grew up on both sides of the border where he was able to encounter the inequities of the Hispanic community firsthand which influenced his pursuit of medicine. He was the first member of his family to be fluent in English, pursue higher education, and achieve a college degree. He would teach his family members English as well as tutor his younger relatives to assist them in their pursuit of higher education as well. Carlos pursued a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Texas at El Paso where he graduated with honors. He worked multiple jobs during his time at UTEP while working at least 3 full-time jobs simultaneously at any given moment to help fund his higher education. He would work 12-hour night and weekend shifts in the multiple emergency departments where he was able to immerse himself in the health disparities that plagued his community. As a result of his upbringing, he developed an immense passion for mentorship, fighting health inequities, and increasing underrepresented minority representation in higher education.

Carlos embraces these passions at UTMB by contributing to several organizations and causes on campus. He has devoted much of his time to helping mentor his colleagues and serve the URM communities within Galveston and in the border regions. He has served as the Vice-President of the Latino Medical Student Association, Vice-President of the Class of 2024, Phi Beta Pi Medical Fraternity President, Que Quiere Decir Student Organization Co-Director, and the Simulation Society Vice-President. He hopes to uphold and teach the principles of Sir William Osler in the attempt of improving the state of our healthcare system and promote the equity and personalization of the patients seen.

Carlos is interested in general surgery with the hopes of increasing underrepresented minority (URM) representation in the field, mentoring students who are interested in pursuing it, as well as inspiring future generations of students. He aspires to elicit change in the healthcare system and advocate for health equity among disadvantaged populations. Above all else, however, he wishes to follow in the path of the trailblazers that came before him so that he may also leave a trail for those who may follow. 

Caleb was born in San Jose, California and lived in the tropical island of Taiwan during his high school years. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, majoring in mathematics and biophysics and minoring in Latin. He immersed himself into research, whether it be solving for protein dynamics with mathematical models or writing essays on Cicero’s political rhetoric. Outside of academia, he held several jobs in community housing and education. He worked at an independently run housing cooperative, a non-profit organization founded on shared resources and social justice. He mentored and tutored middle school students for an afterschool program, where he started various initiatives including science demonstrations and field trips to UCLA. He also taught SAT, GRE, and MCAT courses for The Princeton Review.

After college, Caleb worked as a research trainee at the NIH, where he studied brain network changes in patients with motor neuron diseases. Seeing the suffering of these patients with debilitating, incurable diseases inspired him to pursue a career as a physician-scientist, where he would be able to find solutions for patients by combining the creativity of scientific research and the humanitarian mission of medicine. He currently serves as a QI/R&D director at St. Vincent’s Student Clinic and a research and publications chair for the Society of Student Run Clinics. He was also recently named a Schweitzer fellow to develop a community garden program to empower patients suffering chronic diseases to take control of their health. On his off time, Caleb has immersed himself into Galveston’s island culture and taken up surfing in the infamous “Galveston brown”; last year, he had the privilege of helping children with disabilities learn to surf through Waves of Impact. As a physician-scientist in training, Caleb hopes to serve as a link among the realms of scientific theory, clinical practice, and spirituality. He is honored to be part of a community of students and faculty who seek to learn from medicine’s past, contribute to its present, and advance its future.

A lifelong Texan, Grayson R. Jackson was raised in Grapevine and attended Baylor University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2020. At Baylor, Grayson studied biology, public health, and medical humanities as a University Scholar and completed the Honors Program and the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core while maintaining a perfect GPA. He was named a Hillis Scholar in Biomedical Science and a Texas finalist for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship and inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Grayson was introduced to scientific research in an environmental science lab at Baylor where he investigated lead-contaminated soil and childhood lead exposure. He also spent two summers at the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development in Houston where he conducted projects related to antigen cloning and purification for neglected tropical diseases like schistosomiasis and dirofilariasis. This research inspired his honors thesis, which explored the intersections of vaccine hesitancy with populism, political polarization, and public policy. Aside from his undergraduate studies, Grayson was also actively involved as a trumpet player and staff member in the Golden Wave Marching Band and as a member of student government, in which he helped organize Baylor's inaugural mental health awareness week.

Grayson is currently an M.D.- Ph.D. student at UTMB with aspirations to become a physician­ scientist, physician-advocate, and medical educator. His clinical interests include infectious diseases and LGBTQ+ health, and he will pursue a Ph.D. at the Institute for Bioethics & Health Humanities to study ethics, law, and health policy. A believer in interdisciplinary education, Grayson also studies in the interprofessional Scholars Program and the global and public health tracks. Since moving from Waco to Galveston, Grayson has volunteered at St. Vincent's as a member of the steering committee and administrative team for the newly established interprofessional Clinic. He also serves as president of the Pediatric Student Association, chair of Allies in Health, and UTMB's student delegate to the Texas Medical Association. Grayson hopes to promulgate the values of Sir William Osler as a student and in his future clinical practice-one which integrates the medical humanities with patient-cent ered care.

Bianca Obinyan was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Growing up under the roof of two Nigerian immigrant, Bianca learned to go above and beyond in her academics and community service. She completed her undergraduate career at the University of Texas at San Antonio where she wrote an honors thesis highlighting how socioeconomic status impacts how elementary students process language and mathematics. Bianca graduated with a B.S. in Biology with a concentration in neurology. Prior to starting medical school, she took a gap year where she worked as a clinical research assistant at The Developmental Neuropsychology Clinic (DNC) at UTHealth Science Center at Houston. In this role, she worked with a team of child psychologists and administered parent questionnaires to measure adaptive behavior in children with cognitive, developmental, and behavioral concerns. Bianca also collected and processed stool samples of a large-scale study investigating the role probiotics have in autism-related gastroenterology issues in autistic children. 

Bianca has continued to be a phenomenal leader and advocate since joining UTMB as an MD-MPH student in 2019. While she has served as the president of Student National Medical Association, Healthy Policy Coordinator of the Center for Violence Prevention, and Deans Ambassador, Bianca is most known locally for her role as the Policy Task Force coordinator of The Future is US. The Future is US is a community-based organization focused on improving the quality of education for Black students in Galveston Independent School District (GISD). As the Policy Task Force Coordinator, she has created a policy brief highlighting the racial inequities in school discipline. Her brief led to a grant prompting an equity audit of GISD. Bianca’s received the prestigious US Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Award for the impact she has had in the Galveston community. She plans on becoming a Child and Adolescent psychiatrist where she will continue advocating for youth in and outside of the hospital through service and community engagement.

Jacqueline "Jackie" Ochoa was born and raised in McAllen, Texas. Growing up on the border, she experienced social and health disparities within her community, influencing her to pursue a degree in Community Health and a Master of Public Health at Tufts University in Boston. At Tufts, she was given the opportunity to further study the health disparities she witnessed back home from an academic perspective. During her freshman year, Jackie received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship allowing her to study abroad. She did comparative research on the anti-obesity initiatives, food supply, and cultural perspectives of food in the US and France. Throughout college, Jackie was involved in mentorship and global health equity work through the Latino Peer Leader Program, Compass Scholars, Jumpstart, and GlobeMed. During her time in Boston, she interned at the Brigham and Women's Center for Community Health and Health Equity. As an intern, she worked on a formative evaluation to gain a deeper understanding of barriers to care that impacted new and expecting mothers within low-income communities. Jackie also worked at Massachusetts General Hospital as a clinical researcher in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, conducting bilingual consultations for parents of pediatric patients regarding analgesic dosage and management. After graduating, she moved to Spain to continue learning and experiencing the world, becoming an Elementary ESL teacher in Madrid.

Jackie continues her passion for mentorship and health equity at UTMB as the President of the Latino Medical Student Association, AHEC and interprofessional Scholar, St. Vincent's Clinic Intern, and Andreas Vesalius Osler Student Society Social Coordinator. Given her personal and professional experiences in childhood development, Jackie hopes to become a pediatrician and work on clinical and policy initiatives that address adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) within vulnerable communities. She plans to practice medicine in the Rio Grande Valley to stay close to her family while working with and serving the community that raised her.

Cynthia Okafor, originally from Nigeria, has spent the majority of her adult life in Houston. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health, driven by her passion for effecting change on a global scale. Throughout her career, Cynthia has actively pursued diverse roles and experiences that align with her goals. In her previous role as an Epidemiology Lead, Cynthia led a team of case investigators and contact tracers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her leadership, empathy, and ability to adapt to challenging and changing environments were crucial in mitigating the spread of the virus.

 As a medical student, Cynthia is deeply committed to her educational institution, where she serves as a student ambassador, academic tutor, and holds the position as her class vice president. Additionally, she is actively involved in other impactful organizations and dedicates her time as a volunteer when she is not engrossed in her studies. Additionally, as a firm believer in self-improvement, Cynthia actively seeks out opportunities for professional development. She has attended multiple conferences, with her most recent one being the AAMC RISE conference held in Washington D.C. These conferences enable Cynthia to stay updated on the latest advancement and trends in medicine, broaden her knowledge base, and network with other like-minded professionals.

In addition to her professional and academic pursuits, Cynthia co-founded a non-profit organization, where she serves as a mentor to pre-medical students, particularly those from underserved backgrounds. Through this initiative, she provides guidance and support, empowering aspiring healthcare professionals to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. By supporting and uplifting the future generation of healthcare providers, Cynthia is actively shaping the future of healthcare in her community. One of Cynthia’s remarkable contributions to the community is her involvement in the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. As a fellow, she leads a project dedicated to addressing and redefining homelessness. By fostering collaboration with local business owners, Cynthia forms partnerships that positively impact unhoused individual, making a tangible difference in her community.

Outside of her academic pursuits, Cynthia maintains a healthy work-life balance by participating in UTMB intramural basketball. Engaging in this activity not only allows her to enjoy her passion for sports but also provides valuable opportunities to develop her communication skills and foster a strong sense of teamwork.

Cynthia’s empathetic nature, resilience, and unwavering dedication drive her to navigate complex challenges and create positive impacts in her local community and beyond. Through her commitment to continuous improvement, she aims to address community needs, reduce disparities, and advocate for equitable and accessible healthcare for all.

Cynthia is immensely grateful to the John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine for the tremendous privilege of being selected as a student scholar. She is certain that this prestigious opportunity will have a profound impact on her medical education and personal growth.

Jane Onyemachi is a first-generation Nigerian American born and raised in Houston, TX. From a young age, Jane knew she was destined to respond to the call to serve others. Jane built upon this interest throughout high school by volunteering, shadowing, and engaging in healthcare-related classes and extracurricular activities. After high school, she attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated with Honors with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She then began her nursing career in 2018 as an ICU nurse in San Antonio, TX, where she served on several committees, such as Methodist Hospital Unit Practice Council and Resuscitation Committee. She received numerous certifications, such as Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Specialist, to advance her knowledge and skills to better serve the critical patients she encountered in the unit. A large motivator that ultimately led her to transition to medicine was the firsthand account of the exposure and conditions of working during a global crisis during the Covid-19 pandemic. Her time working as a nurse has enabled her to be a compassionate caregiver and truly understand and appreciate the human condition as she responds to the call to a commitment to lifelong learning through medicine.

 As a medical student, Jane has participated in and led numerous initiatives and currently sits on multiple local and national board positions. During her first year of medical school, she co-founded a national organization, Women in Anesthesiology Medical Student Component, dedicated to upholding the commitment to the professional and personal development of current and future women anesthesiologists. Additionally, during her second year of medical school, through the support of the Student National Medical Association chapter at UTMB, Jane planned and successfully executed a virtual conference geared towards those that are underrepresented in medicine, coined Discover Medicine, that provided an opportunity for over 300 pre-medical students throughout the state of Texas to network, receive mentorship, and engage themselves with experiencing what medical school looks like. She is also a co-founder of a new start-up called ProvidersLikeMe which aims to provide an online platform that allows patients to find and connect with physicians proficient in unique patient care needs to create more effective patient-physician interactions and reduce health inequities. Some of her passions in medicine include mentorship, patient advocacy, mitigating health disparities, and her desire to promote a culture of inclusivity and diversity needed for the future of medicine and for improved patient outcomes for all.

 Outside of school, Jane has an interest in Zumba, hiking, and relaxing in nearly any body of water. She also likes to travel and stays busy with her family’s Yorkies, Milo and Marley. Jane values the strength and support of close friends and family and notes her greatest inspiration as her mother, Chinkata Onyemachi, and her late grandmother, Emily Nwariaku.

Bryan Pearson is from Cedar City, Utah, a small town 60 miles North of Zion National Park. Following his graduation from high school, he served a two-year volunteer mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Santa Fe, Argentina. Upon returning from his mission, he attended Southern Utah University (SUU) where he competed on the men’s track and field team and graduated with a B.S. in Biology. While attending SUU, Bryan volunteered to help Angel Flight West collect personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies, and other essentials to be sent to the Navajo Nation during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also during his time at SUU, he partnered with Solid Rock International to provide health screenings, medications, and food to underserved communities surrounding the city of San Juan in the Dominican Republic.

 Bryan has embraced his passion for underserved communities at UTMB by becoming an AHEC scholar and volunteering with the vision and retinopathy screening programs at St. Vincent’s student-run clinic. As a member of the running club at UTMB, he organized a walk-a-thon fundraiser and raised over $1,000 for the St. Vincent’s House Hope Tree to provide Christmas gifts to indigent families. Additionally, Bryan co-founded a Walk with a Doc chapter at UTMB promoting preventive health care to the Galveston community. Bryan plans to become an ophthalmologist where he will continue to be involved in community engagement and focus on serving marginalized populations.

A woman of deep faith, Claire Phillips-Latham espouses first and foremost her Unitarian Universalist belief in a “Spark of the divine in every person,” that every individual has within them a unique and precious light only they can offer to the world. On her medical school journey, it is this faith that drives her – that she may be able to uplift others and help them recover to pursue the work they were born to do.

 Claire received her bachelor’s degrees in human ecology and microbiology from The University of Texas at Austin, as well as her master’s in public health epidemiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center with focus on infectious diseases and global health. A nontraditional student, before attending medical school, she taught public school science for three years, where she delighted in helping students discover the world of science and inquiry.  Though she has left the classroom to begin medical school, Claire utilized her educational training through her research, in which she constructed the curriculum for an intervention training program fostering psychological flexibility in transdiagnostic patient populations, in addition to serving the class of 2026 on the John Sealy School of Medicine (JSSOM) Curriculum Committee. Over the past summer, Claire also took part in a global health preceptorship, conducting community health research and offering community dynamics training to underserved communities in Meru County, Kenya. Her current projects include writing, publishing, and performing poetry at events across the state of Texas, serving as an officer in several student organizations, and volunteering with Luke Society, Frontera de Salud, and Grace Clinic.

 In the future, Claire plans to become a family physician and hopes to one day hold a teaching position at a medical school, combining her passions for education and medicine. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to know that one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” May it be so.

Tracy Tang was born in Vietnam and came to the US at the age of two (2). Her father was a major in the South Vietnamese government and held in a prison camp for over 15 years. Tracy’s family was granted asylum and came to the US as refugees. Tracy grew up in Santa Ana, California and graduated from the University of California Los Angeles with departmental honors in biology. After UCLA, Tracy served in AmeriCorps for two years with a nonprofit crisis center for victims of domestic violence.  Tracy also pursued and received her Master of Arts in occupational therapy (OT) at the University of Southern California. After OT school, Tracy practiced as a licensed clinical occupational therapist for two years across industrial rehabilitation, adult rehabilitation, outpatient pediatrics, and home health settings. She has presented her work in OT at state and national conferences. When the pandemic hit in 2020, Tracy made the decision to apply to medical school.

Tracy is interested in the intersection of humanities, community health, business, and technology. She has chosen activities to reflect these values. At UTMB, Tracy is a student coordinator in her Renee Laénnec Osler Student Society, where she helps promote Oslerian ideals and humanities in medicine. Tracy is passionate about community health and serves as the SOM representative for the Steering Committee for Community Engagement and Education. Tracy is a student advisor for the UTMB Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) Studio. Tracy’s team, Village @ Mile Zero, won 2^nd place at Incubate Galveston’s Inaugural Hackathon for designing a digital health application to empower patients with diabetes in Galveston. Since then, they’ve received a grant from the UTMB Institution of Translational Sciences to move forward with their project. Tracy was selected to participate in the inaugural Bridge Venture Fellowship, a learning-opportunity for historically excluded students to learn about venture capital. Tracy is currently collaborating with UTMB’s I&E Studio to develop Sling Health at UTMB, an incubator for cross disciplinary student teams to develop and commercialize solutions to real-world, clinical problems.

Leonard Wang was born in Bellevue, Washington and raised in Austin, Texas. He completed a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Houston through an accelerated BS/MD program. At UTMB, Leonard is an MD/MPH student. He worked as the Health Policy Research Coordinator for UTMB's Department of Family Medicine and was the first medical student to be selected for the American Society of Human Genetics' advocacy program. His interests in the medical humanities and history led him to the American Osler Society, where he serves on the Board of Governors. As an Albert Schweitzer Fellow, Leonard worked with Teen Health Center, Inc. to deliver a vaping harm reduction curriculum in Galveston. For his work published in Academic Medicine, Medical Teacher, Journal of Rheumatology, Family Medicine, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, and other journals, Leonard received the Elias Hochman Research Award in 2023 and the Dean’s Award for Research Excellence in 2024. 

During medical school, Leonard received a U.S. Department of State Fulbright Award to pursue an MSc in Health and Social Policy at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Following his Fulbright year, Leonard earned a Master of Business Administration at the University of Cambridge as a Rotary Global Grant Scholar. Leonard plans to pursue a career at the intersection of clinical practice, policy, and healthcare management to reduce health inequities and provide compassionate care to the underserved.