Brandon Lu: Seizing opportunities

September 27, 2023

Two men and a woman with name badges standing in front of a research poster display

Brandon Lu (he/him/his) is from Basking Ridge, NJ and graduated from NYU in 2021. Before attending college and opting for an MD/PhD in med school, Brandon was involved with the Structural DNA Nanotechnology lab at NYU. During his first year of medical school, he served as Director of Operations at Doctors of Tomorrow. While at Michigan, he plans to conduct research in structural biology.

Why did you decide to attend Michigan?

I thought that Michigan would give me a great overall experience in my eight years I'd be here. One of the things that stood out to me when I came back to Michigan for the Second Look revisit event was the community in both the med school and the MSTP program. I was impressed by how much support everyone had for each other and how involved students were. Combined with the general academic excellence and the variety of research opportunities I had for my PhD, I knew that I would be happy to be here for the next eight years.

Why did you decide to pursue an MD/PhD?

After freshman year of college, I stumbled upon the Structural DNA Nanotechnology lab at NYU and ended up enjoying my time there enough to make me want a research career. A few months before applying to med school I came across the option for an MD/PhD and I knew that it was what I wanted to do. At that point, I already wanted to pursue medicine so there wasn’t really any other option other than to do an MD/PhD so I could have a career in both medicine and research. Here at Michigan, I am planning to conduct research in structural biology and I hope to use structure to solve problems in human disease in the future.

How has your participation in Doctors of Tomorrow contributed to your med school experience?

Before med school, I was heavily involved in high school debate as a coach and tournament manager. In addition to working in a lab during my gap year, I tabulated tournaments for the New York City Urban Debate League, a debate league focused on NYC Title I schools and bringing access to debate to as many students as possible. Working with underserved communities through debate contributed to my desire for advocacy and outreach so I knew I wanted to join a student organization in that area when I started here.

Joining Doctors of Tomorrow as the Director of Operations allowed me to truly make an impact on Detroit-area high school students as we help them realize their passions for medicine. I enjoyed every moment of their on-campus visits when the students were learning about physical exam skills, radiology, suturing and more. In addition to our monthly programming, I was able to work with med school faculty such as Dr. Finks, administrators in the Department of Surgery and local teachers to keep Doctors of Tomorrow running. Now that I will be starting clinical year, I am going to miss seeing our students every month.

What has been your strategy for finding balance between med school and your other interests?

Striking an equilibrium between studying and pursuing personal interests has not been a particularly difficult issue here. Primarily, I focused on understanding the concepts in the areas that we were learning. This worked because our first year curriculum with recorded lectures and purposeful in-person time really did give us enough free time. As such, I had ample time for relaxation, napping and engaging in fun activities. During M1 year, I was able to attend football games, play video games, visit family, hang out with friends and more without feeling like my time was limited. One piece of advice for finding balance is to engage in events and activities of genuine interest, instead of feeling like you have to do them.

What are some of the things you like about going to medical school in a college town? Anything unexpected?

As a member of the University of Michigan community, I knew that I would be contractually obligated to love college football and root for our team. Little did I know that I would come to enjoy going to games on Saturdays and become such an involved football fan after a few months. Coming from NYC, I also thought there would be less going on in Ann Arbor, but there’s still too much to do so the only difference I feel is the lack of a subway system.

What comes to mind when you think of your fellow students at Michigan, and how have they shaped your med school experience in big and small ways?

Students here work hard and play hard. Every time I meet someone new, I’m always impressed by how much they do even with so much on their plate. I found that it was easy to find my group of friends and meet people with similar interests here. It was nice exploring my interests with my friends by participating in the Smoker, OutMD and Auscultations.

How have you been able to connect with faculty mentors and/or peer mentors and how has that been important to your med school journey?

Mentorship develops organically here as long as you make an effort to put yourself out there. After the first week of school, I met Dr. Martin at the MSTP retreat and then shadowed her in the genetics clinic a month later. I met additional faculty at M-Home block parties during the year and Dr. Finks through Doctors of Tomorrow. When there are so many faculty members and students involved in every organization, you’ll be hard pressed to not find someone with similar clinical or research interests.

What would you say to a prospective student who is considering the University of Michigan Medical School for their medical education?

You can’t go wrong with choosing Michigan for your medical education. I would say that we do things pretty well here and that I’m overall very happy about my experience so far. Michigan is a great place to go for med school because of how painless the first year curriculum is and the countless opportunities to get involved in something you love.

In This Story

Donna M Martin, MD, PhD

Professor

Jonathan F Finks, MD

Clinical Professor

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