Combining research and care

After earning her bachelor’s degree at Boston University, Minh-Thuy Nguyen (ENG’15, MED’21) knew that returning to BU’s diverse and welcoming campus to study medicine was the best fit for her. This time, thanks to financial aid that makes room in her budget for housing, she no longer has to commute the two hours between Boston and her hometown of Lowell.

“It is simply liberating,” says Nguyen, who hopes to become a physician-scientist in order to serve the most vulnerable patients. “My scholarship means that I can live a walkable distance from school and get the full experience.”

For Nguyen, that experience includes participating in the BU for Down Syndrome (BUDS) program as well as many research projects. “The more medicine I learn, the more I am learning that there are many questions without good answers,” she says. “Well thought out research will help many people, especially underserved patient populations.” Her dream job would satisfy both her passion for research and her desire to take care of those who may have been overlooked, and she appreciates the people in her life who have allowed her to pursue what she loves most.

“When my family moved to the US from Vietnam, my parents worked long hours as assemblers in various factories to support our family of five,” says Nguyen. While their support has carried her to success and inspired her to work hard, she is grateful, too, for the donors whose scholarships have allowed her to take some of the financial pressure off her family. “For me to go to school here is mind boggling, and I cannot appreciate their kindness enough.”