From Avicenna to ASCI: embracing the challenges and opportunities of biomedical research

In a speech, Tavazoie shares his journey as a physician-scientist and the challenges and opportunities of biomedical research. What insights can young trainees glean from his experiences? First, he and his family, like many others, encountered challenges that ultimately led to remarkable opportunities. Progressive social programs in Iran granted his parents significantly more opportunities than their own parents had. Similarly, grants, loans, scholarships, work-study programs, and Medical Scientist Training Program funding afforded my siblings and me opportunities to become biomedical researchers and healthcare providers. Second, early exposure to science can pay tremendous dividends by igniting a lifelong passion for the field in young people. Thus, they should all strive to introduce young, impressionable students to the marvels of science, be it through teaching at local schools, conducting interactive lab demonstrations, or, most importantly, mentoring high school and college students in summer programs.