VUSM Student Stories

  • A husband and wife medical student duo stand outside wearing their white coats

    A tale of two specialties: George and Sara Lin (MD Class of 2023) prepare for their future

    Fourth-year couple George and Sara Lin reflect on their time at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine as they look forward to residency and their life ahead By: Lexie Little In January 2016, George Lin sat at a table near the entrance of an academic building. He checked the time, which… Read More

    Feb. 8, 2023

  • A family stands in front of an outdoor medical school seal

    From a grain of passion: M3 Andrea Lopez builds initiative with family, student peers

    M3 Andrea Lopez and her family founded Grains of Love, a mission organization committed to providing basic care supplies to communities in and around Honduras By: Lexie Little M3 Andrea Lopez and her family When M3 Andrea Lopez went home for the holidays in 2021, she truly went home. Boarding… Read More

    Nov. 3, 2022

  • A man in a mask and long white coat helps a Black woman in a mask put on her short white coat at a medical school ceremony

    Sylvie Muhimpundu (MPH ’19, MD ’26) applies a degree of experience

    Rwanda native Sylvie Muhimpundu wanted to be a physician well before she ever came to the United States. Now, she’s working on her second degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. By: Lexie Little Shuffling past bustling cars along 21st Avenue in Nashville, Sylvie Muhimpundu reviewed they day’s tasks ahead… Read More

    Oct. 4, 2022

  • A young man in a short white coat stands with his grandfather and mother in a biomedical library

    Moving ever forward: M1 Russell Stewart envisions medical future

    Though his family has a long history at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Russell O. Stewart Jr. keeps his focus on the future in an ever-changing field By: Lexie Little In 1920, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine sat at the intersection of present-day Fifth Avenue and… Read More

    Oct. 3, 2022

  • A man in a long white coat helps a student to put on a short white coat

    Diagnosing problems, providing solutions

    M1 Darryl Delsoin joins the Medical Innovator Development Program (MIDP) with an entrepreneurial mission By: Lexie Little M1 Darryl Delsoin Darryl Delsoin peered through the white smoke cloud. He watched as local Haitian women and men cooked over ash-riddled round stoves fueled by charcoal. Nearby wooden doorways, some stained with… Read More

    Sep. 6, 2022

  • Close up of a man smiling

    Connecting through service

    Vanderbilt University School of Medicine M3 Thomas Ueland connects with patients, peers, and people in need By: Lexie Little Thomas Ueland Approximately 157.5 miles from third-year medical student Thomas Ueland’s hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, sits the merged mining towns of Fleming-Neon. Rains ravaged Neon in early August, flooding businesses, homes,… Read More

    Aug. 25, 2022

  • A woman stands behind a rail. She's wearing a white coat.

    Meet a Medical Scholar: Maddy Ball

    M3 Maddy Ball traveled to Barcelona, Spain, for a year-long research project By: Lexie Little Maddy Ball is no stranger to travel. Maddy Ball hikes all over the world. Her favorite trails in Tennessee include Fiery Gizzard and nearby Beaman Park. A native of Mill Valley, California, just outside of… Read More

    Jul. 11, 2022

  • Runners cross the starting line below a Nashville Striders banner

    M2 Harrison Thomas leads the race

    Second-year Vanderbilt University School of Medicine medical student Harrison Thomas served as this year’s Shade Tree Trot 5K Run/Walk director, leading an effort to raise $46,500 for the student-run free clinic By: Lexie Little Harrison Thomas felt a tug in his right hip as he raced past Southeastern Conference opponents… Read More

    May. 19, 2022

  • A man and a woman both hold baby boys while standing on a stage.

    Q&A with MSTP Lizzie Flook (PhD ’21, MD ’22)

    Lizzie Flook at her Orientation Welcome Picnic in 2015. Photo by Joe Howell After seven years in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Dr. Lizzie (Hale) Flook prepares to graduate with her MD this Friday. The University of Miami alumna, who played collegiate volleyball,… Read More

    May. 9, 2022

  • A man smiles

    Thank you, Dr. President: M4 Leland Dunwoodie

    After four years serving as the Council of Class Officers president for the MD Class of 2022, Leland Dunwoodie reflects on his VUSM community By: Lexie Little For graduating students, the weeks leading to commencement mark a time of great excitement and anticipation of the future. And while that common… Read More

    Apr. 27, 2022