Heart Behind the White Coat | RMC Expert Dr. Pavlos Msaouel
More Programs and Publications Featuring Dr. Pavlos Msaouel
In this program:
Renal medullary carcinoma and kidney cancer expert Dr. Pavlos Msaouel shares what inspired him to switch from laboratory research to clinical practice in this Heart Behind the White Coat (HBWC) program. Watch as Dr. Msaouel explains how his upbringing and mentors impacted his academic journey and his advice to aspiring medical students.
Transcript
Dr. Pavlos Msaouel:
I started medical school thinking I wanted to focus only on laboratory research. But then during my fourth year of medical school, I interacted with my first patient and realized that I truly enjoy directly helping patients, and this is when I realized that I want to continue practicing clinical medicine. So after completing my medical degree at the University of Athens in Greece, I then finished my PhD in tumor biology at the same institution. And during that time, I also spent two years at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota working on modifying viruses to make them attack cancer cells, and that is when I realized I wanted to continue my academic career in the United States. So I subsequently pursued my internal medicine residency training at the Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, where I really got the opportunity to care for underserved populations and learn how to practice medicine in challenging settings. And after that, I moved in 2015 to MD Anderson in Houston to specialize in oncology, and I have stayed there since that time.
Obviously, my mother and my childhood friends set the key foundations for personality traits and values that continuously guide me, and I have also been blessed to have had a number of amazing mentors beside me through my academic journey. This includes Dr. Eva Galanis who mentored my research at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Richard Gralla who mentored me in the Bronx. Dr. Nizar Tannir who is the reason why I focus on kidney cancer and renal medullary carcinoma in particular, Dr. Cheryl Walker, who mentors my lab research in Houston, and Dr. Chris Logothetis, who is an amazing source of wisdom since the time I became faculty, and of course, my spouse, Dr. Bora Lim, herself, a breast cancer oncologist and researcher, is a constant source of support and inspiration. And also, of course, there is a big list of people that I'm grateful to have as colleagues and with whom we work daily to improve the lives of our patients together.
Well, I don't think anyone will be surprised to know that I'm 100 percent a geek, but some people might be surprised to know that I had really long hair for most of my adult life, And I have listened to heavy metal music for as long as I can remember. I'll listen to other genres as well, but metal will always be by far my favorite music style.
Academia can be rough. And if you do not enjoy that lifestyle, there are multiple other ways that you can make a difference like going to industry or community practice and all these pathways can make a big difference to the lives of our patients. So don't pinch and hold yourself to a path even within academia, that is not the right one for you. And also remember that we are all imperfect. None of us is perfect. Demand absolute rigor for yourself, but also be here to make mistakes and admit them and learn from them. That is how we grow, and that is how science grows, and also be nice to others, always. Collaborate and be open. Few things are more gratifying than learning from and working with others.
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