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>> My name is Lauren Kett.
I'm in my sixth year in the program, which
means that I am in my fourth year of my Ph.D.,
and I hope to go on to be a neurologist.
I knew that I was really interested in research.
But I didn't have very much experience,
hands on experience with that.
I did a post-bachelorette fellowship at
the NIH where I studied prion diseases.
And I realized that while I really liked the
research a lot I also wanted the interaction
with people that medicine would bring.
And so from those experiences I realized
that I really liked the research,
and I really liked the patient
interactions that I got.
And that was why I decided to
apply to the M.D.Ph.D. programs.
The biggest thing for me was finding an
institution that was both top notch in terms
of the medicine and the clinical
experiences, but then also a place
that I could get a really stellar Ph.D. as well.
When I talked to people about medical schools,
Michigan consistently came up both in terms
of people who were doing interesting
research but then also in terms
of the clinical training that you get here.
The interview process can be really stressful,
and so Michigan was one of the few places
that just made is seem really
easy and laid back to be here.
I think one of the real strengths of our program
is that we have people who are really interested
in a diverse group of academic fields.
Even if you don't come in knowing
exactly what you want to study,
this can be a really great place
to try and figure that out.
There were a number of people
that when I first came and looked
at the university I could see working with.
And I rotated through a number of different labs
and actually have still maintained
relationships with all of those people today.
But Bill is far and away the most
important person in my career at the moment.
I think he is a great model
of physician scientists.
And that's really nice to have is someone
who has successfully walked this line
between clinical medicine and
research and to see somebody
where they take the observations they have in
clinic and actually bring it back to the lab.
Doing research has solidified for me both
how much I like the research process,
how much I find it stimulating to solve these
problems that no one has ever looked at before,
but then also how important the
clinical care part of it is too
and actually seeing the patients and seeing
the difference that the research is making.
I think that spending time in Ann Arbor
you realize what a special places this is.
There's all the opportunities
that a bigger city has,
and it has the close-knit community
feel that I was looking for.
I spent a lot of time playing sports.
Or I go to the Michigan game.
That is certainly a big draw.
And then there's also a lot of stuff to do
in terms of this city like shows to go to
or restaurants to eat at
or places to go explore.
This is a long process.
You know, you're going through medical
school, you're going through graduate school,
and this is not the right choice for everyone,
but if you know that this is something
that you want to do then
this is the place to do it.
This place will allow you to try out
everything that you could possible imagine.
I have been really happy here, and I'm excited
to spend the next three years here too.
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