J.R. Im
M.D./Ph.D. Student
Je Ryong (JR) is a medical student in the South Texas Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD Program). She will enter into the graduate school portion of the training program in 2026.
About Me
I was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea until I was 15 years old, when I moved to the Bay Area in California. In Korea, I went to an arts middle school where I majored in the Fine Arts, and I dreamed to pursue a career as a painter. However, during my last year of middle school, I realized that I was more interested in fixing paintings than creating new ones, so I decided to become an art conservator. I found mentors at Yale, who guided me towards pursuing a degree in chemical engineering to become a conservation scientist. My path changed I was diagnosed with lupus in 2018, which prompted me to delve into research papers in immunology and rheumatology. I was fascinated by the human body that is comprised of so many complex systems and wanted to spend the rest of my time expanding our knowledge in medicine. Throughout multiple research experiences in undergrad, I learned that a lot of research methods are transferable across disciplines, and I hope to be in the forefront of academic medicine by combining unconventional skills and topics together.
Hobbies/Interests
My hobbies often come and go, but here are my more recent hobbies: knitting/crocheting, gardening, cooking, playing bridge. I am also trying to get back into photography and graphic design!
Research Topic
chronic pain; neuroimaging
Why I chose MD/PhD
I chose to pursue an MD/PhD to become a physician-scientist that can use my PhD training to continue doing research throughout my career and establish a lab to contribute to the field of medicine. I also wanted to work clinically as a grounding source for my research direction.
Why I chose MD/PhD at UT Health San Antonio
What drew me to San Antonio is the personalized guidance and support that each student receives during their training here. The program leadership was also very direct and honest, which I appreciated as there are a lot of question marks and ambiguity in the MD/PhD process.
Post-bac work or other affiliations
Research Associate at Yale School of Medicine’s Emergency Ultrasound Section
Education
Chemical Engineering, BS, Yale University