Major: Kinesiology - Sports Medicine concentration
Research Advisors: Laura Kibiri
Brandon Chow (Will Rice ’20) is majoring in Kinesiology with a concentration in Sports Medicine and minoring in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. His interests in human athletic performance and healthcare stem from his own participation in sport and experience with injury.
In the summer of 2018, Brandon spent 2 weeks in Peru as a participant in the humanitarian organization Volunteers Around the World. In concert with student medical volunteers from the Medical Brigade, Brandon improved access to healthcare in rural communities. To get out of Cusco and into remote areas where access to healthcare was lacking, Brandon drove up to 4 hours each day. Brandon and his peers rotated through different tasks, such as taking vitals, filling prescriptions, and shadowing doctors. Through this trip, Brandon got to see medicine from a global perspective, identifying more pronounced health disparities between urban and rural populations than in the US. As Brandon plans for a career in medicine, he hopes to further explore health disparity issues and address social determinants of health in America.
In the Kinesiology department, Brandon is a teacher’s assistant for the Advanced Anatomy lab taught by Dr. Schell at the Baylor College of Medicine. Along with Dr. Schell, Brandon helps students identify and learn structures on cadavers and prosections. He also tutors student-athletes throughout the semester, particularly in biology and kinesiology courses. He finds it rewarding to help students learn difficult concepts from classes he has previously taken.
Currently, Brandon is the data coordinator for the Running W.I.S.E research study led by Dr. Kabiri. The purpose of the study is to see if the pairing of college students with elementary school youth can increase cardiorespiratory fitness and improve psychological aspects of fitness. This research experience has given him the chance to learn about the collection and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data in a research study. Additionally, Brandon was given the opportunity to be a mentor in the study and run with a 5th grade student twice a week for seven weeks. Through this experience, he was able to connect with and effectively motivate his mentee to exercise. Brandon plans to write a manuscript based off the research study findings and potentially publish a journal article by the end of the year.
Outside of academics, Brandon remains active in multiple student organizations on campus. For all 3 years at Rice, he has been a member of Cloud 9, the Rice Men’s Ultimate Frisbee team. He is also the founder of the Rice Table Tennis club, leading the team to its first Texas regional appearance in 2018. In addition to his involvement at Rice, he is a volunteer at Memorial Hermann hospital in the TMC and conducts genetics research in the Lozano Lab at MD Anderson. In his free time, he enjoys exploring the Houston food scenes and spending time with his friends.
Brandon is incredibly grateful for the many opportunities he received at Rice to learn and grow as an individual. He believes that the support from his professors and peers have undoubtedly prepared him for his future endeavors. After graduating from Rice, Brandon plans to take a gap year before applying to medical school and pursuing a career as a physician. He is particularly interested in Orthopedic surgery.