Hamza Saeed is a junior at Brown College majoring in Bioengineering. He is also pursuing a minor in Medical Humanities and intends to pursue a M.D./P.H.D. On a typical day, you can find him in a BRC lab, Brown’s movie room, at the gym, or in a nearby restaurant.
What degrees in what subjects are you pursuing at Rice?
I am pursuing a B.S. in Bioengineering and a Minor in Medical Humanities.
You are going to be a senior next year! What are your plans post-graduation, and how have your medical humanities courses at Rice shaped your post-graduation goals?
I only have one more year at Rice, and to be honest, it’s really hard to internalize that fact. When you sit in a spot your friends saved for you in lecture, or go on a late-night Chaus run, or even just put a movie on in commons and fall asleep on the sofa, you don’t really think about how this time isn’t forever. That being said, I have given a decent amount of thought to what I want to do post-Rice, and I have come to the conclusion that the M.D/P.H.D. pathway is what is best for me. In order to be an innovator in the field of biotechnology, I know I will need comprehensive knowledge of pathophysiology made possible with a M.D. as well as a significant experience in the research sector. Completing Medical Humanities courses at Rice have helped me recognize, however, that there is a third key aspect in bioengineering design- the human element. At the end of the day, any meaningful progress towards improving patient outcome in the field of medicine will require taking into account just that- the patient. This human component of medicine often gets overlooked in traditional engineering coursework, but following the completion of several Medical Humanities courses that emphasize and analyze the complex interactions between technology, medicine, and all patient populations, I am confident that I have the skills.
What advice would you give to new Rice Owls curious about the Medical Humanities Program, or who have just begun the minor?
The Medical Humanities program allows you to explore a variety of ideas, conflicts, and stories in the field of medicine. Take advantage of that by finding a topic that speaks to you. Find a problem, a conflict, or a niche that just keeps you up at night. Something you can wrestle with, that you are passionate about. You can easily find yourself obsessing over a work of art or a super niche theory that you would have never otherwise been exposed to, and I think that’s amazing!
Could you describe some of the research you’ve pursued in medical humanities, or how you’ve added medical humanities perspectives to research grounded in a different discipline?
As part of the Medical Humanities practicum course, I have conducted research into various legal and ethical views surrounding life saving treatment and DNRs in the State of Texas. Currently, I am working on a project that attempts to track the dissemination of the principles and ideas behind social epidemiology in academia to the greater social consciousness. As part of my project, I am analyzing existing works in sociological theory, movies within the last few decades that illustrate evolving social perceptions of the healthcare system. As part of a collaboration between Texas Children’s Hospital, Texas Heart Institute, and Rice, I was also able to participate in a Clinical Immersion Needs Finding program with a focus on healthcare disparities. We came up with several projects for the senior engineering design course, as well as these fun and informative video lectures on bias in device design for the class!
What will you miss about Rice?
The night sky. There were a lot of nights where I would just grab my hammock, crack open a cold Diet Coke, and answer my emails outside in the dead of night. You hear people laughing nearby as they walk back to their dorms. You hear the hustle and bustle emanating from Brown Commons. And you look up at the sky and think about what you are going to do tomorrow. There’re a million things to do, and there’s another million things you could do. You nod at the passerby as you sip your drink and smile. Rice is a place that fully and in no uncertain terms rejects the notion on an “upper limit”. You can be whatever you want to be. But perhaps, more importantly, you can be at home. Rice is my home, not because I have a class scheduled at O’ Connor, but because of what it represents. And I am going to miss that one day.