From early childhood I found living things fascinating. Even so, only near the end of high school did this translate into motivation to do well in school. After a transformative trek the summer before my senior year, I rearranged my priorities, improved my grades, and entered college dreaming of a career in field biology. But I veered off course when the prestige of more technical Life sciences seemed more important than my innate love of nature. I enrolled in a graduate program to study biophysics and neuroscience. When the laboratory work proved too isolating and frustrating, I applied to medical school and—eventually—became a surgeon.
Here’s a list of biomedical educational programs I completed:
- BA, Department of Zoology, University of California, Berkeley
- MA, Department of Biophysics, University of California, Berkeley
- MD, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
- Internal Medicine Internship, New York Medical College
- Ophthalmology Residency, University of California, San Francisco
- Ocular Oncology Fellowship, University of California, San Francisco
- Ocular Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship, University of California, San Francisco
After finishing my training, I worked at Kaiser Permanente as an oculofacial surgeon. Unfortunately, my profession was cut short after only six years, because of cervical degeneration.
After my surgical career ended, I pursued coursework in computer science and biomedical informatics at UC Berkeley extension and UC San Francisco, respectively. Because of health issues, I was unable to complete this training. I soon gravitated toward mind-body traditions.
Biological science remained important to me. It strongly influenced my spiritual development and feels inseparable from it.