Tiana Espe ’24

When searching for the right college, finding a school that aligns with your ultimate career goals is key. For Tiana Espe ’24, a high school college fair provided the exact direction needed to launch a future in medicine.

“I knew I wanted to become a physician, and when speaking with the UMN Rochester admissions counselor, they were adamant that this was a place that would prepare me for medical school,” Espe shared. 

Backed by significant scholarship support, her choice to enroll became an easy decision.

During her time on campus, her Capstone provided a gateway to hands-on learning. Her experiences included research at Mayo Clinic, coursework in biochemistry and immunology, leadership roles in the Rochester Student Association (RSA) and Research Club, job shadowing in clinical settings and volunteering at a local dental clinic. It was during this time that she discovered the path of an MD-PhD. Every experience reaffirmed her beliefs that this was the right career path for her.  These experiences also gave the critical skills and portfolio needed to successfully apply to MD-PhD programs. 

"I had numerous instructors who have been great mentors along my path to becoming a physician-scientist, including Dr. Shannon Anderson, Dr. Deepali Butani, Dr. Rachel Olson, Dr. Jeffrey Ratliff-Crain and Dr. Cassidy Terrell," she shared. "They were vital to my understanding of chemistry, biology, and biochemistry, which in turn helped me better understand my research and motivated me to pursue it as a career." 

Today, she works in a cancer metabolism research lab at Mayo Clinic. Having been accepted into an MD-PhD program, she began her advanced medical and doctoral studies this summer.