A Day in the Life

Melody Young

D.O./Ph.D. (4th Year)

My name is Melody Young, and I’m currently a 4th year student in the DO/PhD program. I grew up on Long Island in the Stony Brook area. I graduated from SUNY College at Old Westbury with a BS in Biology with a Psychology minor.

I knew I wanted to be a doctor since I was about 5, so I applied for the BS/DO program through NYITCOM as a high school senior and well, here I am many years later!

Being a PhD student is extremely rewarding and fun. I work in a locomotion lab where we utilize the fundamentals of engineering and physics to understand movement. My dissertation explores the biomechanics of climbing in across a broad taxonomic range including humans rock climbing. I love being able to travel the world to work with exotic animals such as sloths and lemurs, as well as presenting my work at international conferences.

I’ve always gravitated towards this idea of ‘creating knowledge’, so when the opportunity to be trained to think critically and creatively about problems came, I knew I had to take it. Ultimately, I would love to either end up iacademia or industry, utilizing my background in medicine and experimental design to create cutting edge technology for healthcare use.

NYITCOM holds a special place in my heart because of the people I’ve had the honor to meet and interact with. Notably is the Anatomy Department on campus who are made up of just wonderfully kind and supportive faculty. I feel lucky to have made lifelong colleagues here.

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