Duane Mitchell,
MD, PhD
Mitchell is a UF professor of neurosurgery,
director of the Preston A. Wells Jr. Center for
Brain Tumor Therapy and a world leader in
advancing the use of immunotherapy to
treat malignant brain tumors.
I was told by an admissions
officer — in front of my
classmates — that I wouldn’t
get into the program I was
working toward. Before this,
I had direct models of inspiration
and success in my parents, but
after, I realized that people
aren’t always going to be
supportive of me and my
passions. It’s been a mix
of profoundly positive and
profoundly negative experiences
that have shaped my life
and career.
Stephanie
R yan, MD ’02
Ryan, an assistant professor in the UF
department of pediatrics, didn’t adhere to all
of the advice she was given when applying
to the UF College of Medicine. Today,
she uses her own experiences to create a
curriculum that helps break the stereotypes
associated with LGBTQ patients.
As a gay Hispanic female
medical student at UF, I
was advised not to let my
background and identity
be known. But I didn’t take
that advice. Instead I have
found that my personal
experiences and heritage do
more to help create therapeutic
relationships with patients.
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