Rice-McGovern Center Sawyer Seminar Fellows
The Rice-McGovern Center Sawyer Seminar Fellows featured here are UTHealth McGovern medical students with enriched curriculum for the Medical Humanities Scholarly Concentration. The Fellows were selected to participate in the yearlong Sawyer Seminar series.
Brandon Ba, UTHealth McGovern Medical Student (2nd-Year)
“I’ve enjoyed my time participating in the Sawyer Seminar series, which delves into the challenges in equitable implementation of medical technology and data, and anticipate this knowledge will better prepare me for my future career as a physician.”
Brandon Ba is a second-year medical student at McGovern Medical School and graduated from Rice University in 2022 (from Baker College!). As a native Houstonian, he enjoys Houston's diverse food scene and sports teams and is passionate about cars, weight lifting, chickens, ducks, and gardening.
Krista Bangs, UTHealth McGovern Medical Student (3rd-Year)
“The Sawyer Seminar has allowed me to be a part of exciting, thoughtful conversations that highlight an often-overlooked truth in medical training: Medicine is not objective. Through lectures and group discussions, I’ve learned to approach medical practice from various disciplinary perspectives and consider ways to make patient care more equitable and ethical.”
Krista Bangs is a third-year medical student at McGovern Medical School with a strong interest in health and writing, particularly within the realms of health equity and healthcare innovation. Her current research focuses on the integration of Medical Legal Partnerships into pediatric primary care clinics in Houston. Krista’s involvement in the Sawyer Seminar and the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics has helped her prioritize patient experience and patient advocacy in her medical training.
Gracelyn Mechem, UTHealth McGovern Medical Student (2nd-Year)
“Participating in the Sawyer Seminar this past year has been such a rewarding experience. As someone training to enter the healthcare field, it's been interesting to learn about the emerging technologies used/could be used in healthcare and how each advancement presents both opportunities and challenges. Our discussions and lectures have taught me how to view these technologies with a humanistic lens and have empowered me to think critically about how we can benefit every patient equally at every stage of technological development.”
Gracelyn Mechem is a second-year medical student at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. She has a passion for mentorship and the medical humanities, and is involved in the McGovern Medical Humanities Scholarly Concentration Program.
Emma Thames, UTHealth McGovern Medical Student (4th-Year)
“Participating in the Sawyer Seminar was a natural extension of my sustained humanities focus, and it has been so enriching to really invest in deep thinking, socratic dialogue, and underscore the importance of interdisciplinary research even in the sciences. I've enjoyed the breadth of perspectives offered through the Sawyer Series at Rice--both those offered by our speakers (from patients, to patient advocates, to researchers) and those brought by my Rice colleagues across various points in their career. I'm coming out of this series invigorated for work in this space, and excited about how it will manifest in my budding career.”
Emma Thames is a current fourth-year medical student at UTHealth Houston, applying into Pathology residency. Originally from Texas, she attended Rhodes College in Memphis TN for undergrad where she married a robust English and liberal arts education with her pre-med pre-reqs. She has continued to be involved in the humanities in medical school, participating in the medical humanities "scholarly concentration."
Karen Zhang, UTHealth McGovern Medical Student (2nd-Year)
“The Sawyer Seminar series was an amazing experience to connect with others about the equity implications of technology. The interdisciplinary group brought unique perspectives to every reading group and topic.”
Karen Zhang is a second-year medical student at McGovern Medical School, pursuing a concentration in medical humanities. She graduated from UT Austin with a BS in Biochemistry. She is particularly interested in the intersection between inclusive research design and AI/technology in patient care.
Image: Computer specialist John Smith arranges and examines cannisters of magnetic tape used in the processing of medical data at the National Library of Medicine (c. 1960). Source