Amogh Chariyamane, a senior majoring in health sciences at Doisy College of Health Sciences and a Medical Scholar, has a passion for health care and improving lives. During his time at Saint Louis University, Chariyamane has been able to perform undergraduate research, gain clinical experience and serve the community. 

Now, as he prepares to enter the SLU School of Medicine, Chariyamane reflects on the last four years and what he hopes to achieve next.

What drew you to study medicine?

I think it's beautiful how we can break down the human body into the smallest functional unit, like a cell or even an organelle, and see how it works. One amino acid might cause an entire hemoglobin or red blood cell to be folded wrong, causing a disease that impacts life in tangible ways. It's fascinating how small-scale things can make such drastic impacts on patient health and human health.

What field of medicine do you hope to study?

I haven't narrowed it down to anything, but I'm interested in internal medicine, and then a fellowship into cardiology, GI or endocrinology.

You’ll be back on campus soon for the first day of classes at the medical school. Are you excited? Nervous?

Mostly excited. It's a culmination of a dream that I've been working on since high school. I can't wait for rotations. One of the biggest things that's drawn me towards medicine is the ability to sit down with patients and connect with them.

You’ve also been involved in research while at SLU. What was that like?

So much of your journey in school goes toward learning knowledge, but in research, you actually get to contribute to the knowledge. The blood test I worked on is just one blood test for one specific disease, but I’m still contributing to the literature. It’s fun and exciting for me to be able to give back to the field that I’ve drawn from. 

Whose lab did you work in?

Dr. Tim Randolph. He's just been such a great inspiration for me. He writes textbook chapters, teaches multiple classes, performs research and attends different conferences, and despite that, he makes time for each individual student. He’s the kind of mentor I want to be. 

Speaking of mentors, do you have any words of advice for your fellow Billikens?

One thing I would definitely tell students is to pursue your passion, and when you find something you’re interested in, be bold and take steps to make it possible. 

There's so much you can do to get involved at SLU, and this is a wonderful time of your life. If there's something that interests you, try to get as immersed as you can in it, and wonderful things will come out of it.