In this episode of Behind the Bench, Lisandra de Castro Bras (East Carolina University) and Jonathan Kirk (Loyola University Chicago) talk with Michael Sayegh, an MD/PhD student in the joint Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory University and Georgia Tech. A rotation project with Hee Cheol Cho at Georgia Tech culminated in a first-author publication in AJP-Heart and Circ in June 2019. When we talked with Michael to get the scoop behind his science, we were struck by his humility and gratitude. Our conversation uncovers the catalyst for Michael to pursue becoming a physician scientist, the sometimes-daunting amount of training this involves, and of course, how all of this relates to Harry Potter. Michael’s personal story as an immigrant from Aleppo, Syria, who used a dial-up connection to apply to Harvard and Yale, shows where perseverance, determination and good luck can lead. If anything, we could all use an inspirational story right about now.

Michael N. Sayegh, Natasha Fernandez, and Hee Cheol Cho Strength-duration relationship as a tool to prioritize cardiac tissue properties that govern electrical excitability Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published June 14, 2019. DOI: doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00161.2019