Major: Kinesiology - Sports Medicine concentration
Major: Biochemistry
Richard Bui is a junior at Jones College majoring in Kinesiology with a concentration in Sports Medicine as well as Biochemistry. He is interested in biomechanics of physical aging and physiological effects of medicine with an integration of how effective healthcare policy affects population well-being.
During Richard’s freshman year, he joined the Braam Lab, a plant biology lab, working under the mentorship of Dr. Wassim Chehab. He has worked on analyzing a peroxisome disease in the PEX14-1 genome and identified a gene suppressing FIE/MEDEA mutations. He wants to find out how the PCR2 complex is related to independent embryo development, which has plant genetic modification potential to develop embryos sans-fertilization.
Richard was exposed to the field of health policy as an undergraduate intern for the science and technology program at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Working with Dr. Kirstin Matthews, he has analyzed the previous Texas legislative session’s contentious topic of vaccines and non-medical exemptions. He has been working on developing transcripts of legislative hearings and analyzing the ideas presented by both pro- and anti-vaccine individuals.
During sophomore year, Richard presented a research poster at the Texas Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine annual conference under the mentorship of Zacharias Papadakis on femoral neck stress fractures with a focus on early identification and treatment options.
Outside of academics, Richard remains active in multiple student organizations around campus. Richard serves as the treasurer for the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) which organizes networking and internship opportunities for STEM students seeking educational opportunities. He also serves as the treasurer for Rice Alzheimer’s Buddies, which connects volunteers with Alzheimer’s patients in the Houston area, and the Rice University BioSciences Society, which engages students with an interest in biological sciences and biotechnology.
After graduation, Richard plans to attend medical school with the focus of becoming an anesthesiologist with a subspecialty in cardiothoracic or orthopedic anesthesia.