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Curiosity, Compassion, and Commitment to Community

NMF Scholar Bryan Redmond is wearing glasses, a plaid jacket, white shirt and black tie. He is sporting a National Medical Fellowships logo pin on his lapel.

NMF Scholar Bryan Redmond shares his personal tenets for academic and professional success.  

Bryan Redmond’s saturated Google calendar can be broken down into three categories: medicine, mentorship, and service.  

All roads lead to those essential building blocks for the three-time United Health Foundation/NMF Diverse Medical Scholar and Johnson & Johnson/NMF Alliance for Inclusion in Medicine Scholar.  

“I view medicine as one of the highest forms of service because we get to physically and emotionally support people when they need it most. And the moments in which my mentors have gone out of their way to support my journey cultivated within me a strong sense to pay that back to others.”

In his fifth year of graduate study and second year of medical school within the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry’s (URSMD) MD/PhD dual degree program, Redmond is motivated to use his experiences to help create pathways for other trainees of color.   

“The type of mentorship that changed the trajectory of my life has been tangible – someone sitting down with me and showing me the steps I’d need to take to succeed,” Redmond said. “That’s the mentor I intend to be, too, because while a lot of systemic educational factors contributed to the skill set I’ve been working with, my mentors have only seen these gaps as critical responsibilities of theirs to mend.”  

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Redmond earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from Xavier University, with minors and research in biology and chemistry. He then earned his Master of Science in Neurobiology and Anatomy from URSMD while pursuing his doctorate degrees in medicine and philosophy in the University’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). 

“I wanted to see what a PhD would do to my mind,” Redmond said. “I can now feel the impact of it on my critical thinking and cognitive abilities.”

Redmond is heavily engaged in research in neuro-ophthalmology, neurosurgery, and epidemiology at URSMD. Notably, his dissertation is concentrated on visual stroke rehabilitation in patients enrolled in his lab’s FDA-approved clinical trial, for which he will defend in 2025.  

“Experimental design is both hard and unique, but I am in the very privileged position to conduct research that can change people’s lives,” he said.  

Alongside his mentor and primary investigator Krystel Huxlin, PhD and research assistant professor Matthew Cavanaugh, PhD, Redmond has coded a novel perimetric program to test cortically blind, occipital lobe stroke patients for residual motion discrimination blind field abilities, which may be connected to rehabilitation potential. 

“I feel blessed to meet people coping with sudden blindness and being able to offer them some hope when others have told them there is none.”

Amidst his studies, research, and clinical service, Redmond commits himself to both professional and community development, including with the URSMD chapter of the Student National Medical Association, the URSMD Neuroscience Diversity Commission, and URSMD Alumni Council. He has previously served as Vice Chair of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Student Council and as the Medical Student Delegate for New York State for the American Medical Association.  

Where Redmond’s passion lies, however, is with youth mentoring and empowerment initiatives based on his own experiences with both professional and peer mentorship.   

“When I facilitate youth groups, I’m extremely conscious of the fact that young people can and do grapple with highly complex topics,” he said.  

For example, Redmond developed educational curriculum for middle and high school students within University Preparatory Charter School’s “U Prep Sports Medicine Academy.”  

“By highlighting health care literacy topics like nutrition, mental health, substance use, and medical pathologies from a sports lens, we hope to encourage more youth to consider careers in the health professions,” he said.  

His mission to create more future physicians is steadfast.  

“I need only think back on my mother’s heart of service, my father’s logic, and all the people in my life who went out of their way to make sure I had support, offering their network and resources to prepare me for the next step, to continue.”

He also acknowledges he can only do so much.  

“Research shows civic engagement is intimately connected to population health, especially for underrepresented communities heavily disenfranchised by gerrymandering,” he said.  

That is why Redmond interned with Vot-ER, a nonprofit dedicated to transforming routine health care visits into opportunities for civic empowerment, including voter registration. As a health policy research intern, Redmond’s co-authored resolution “Voting as a Social Determinant of Health” was passed unanimously at the AMA in 2022.  

“We cannot forget how impactful local civic engagement is, because right now, a whole lot of power is in too few hands,” Redmond said. “And while physicians and health care professionals are the experts, health inequities persist in part due to our behaviors and biases. 

“That is why advocacy is also incredibly important to me when I think about building a better world for who comes next. A large portion of health inequities are iatrogenic, so it makes sense that we as health professionals should all be trying to fix the problems we create.”