To the editor:

One spring break, I eagerly shadowed a doctor at Avera in Marshall. A patient came in, and the doctor began asking the typical questions: “Do you have any allergies?”, “What medicines are you taking?” Usually when we answer, the doctor comments and then continues. But this instance was different. When the doctor asked, “Do you use drugs?”, the patient softly responded, “Yes, meth, but I just entered rehab.” At this moment, the doctor looked up from his computer and told the patient that he was proud of him.

Moments like this motivated me to pursue a career as a scientist so I could research new treatments for drug addiction.

I was born and raised in Marshall. In high school, I joined a club focused on teaching my peers about the harmful potential of drugs. This experience pushed me to go to the UMN (University of Minnesota) to learn more about how the brain is changed by drugs. At UMN, my learning was done not just in the classroom but in a National Institute of Health (NIH)-funded research lab.

Now, I’m pursuing a dual career as a doctor and scientist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, but I haven’t forgotten about that patient I saw in clinic. While it’s heartwarming to hear someone express pride in you, I knew that it would be challenging for the patient to stay sober from meth, as there are currently no approved treatments.

The research happening in labs at the Mayo Clinic, UMN, and my medical school are working to find cures for not only addiction, but also cancer, heart disease, and dementia. Diseases that don’t care about zip code. Cuts to the NIH budget and indirect costs (the administrative funding for research) would be devastating to health.

I included this patient’s story in my medical school application because I, like many scientists, want to make these stories easier to tell. This is why I urge you to contact our Congresswomen to continue supporting scientific research.

Chino Nwakama

Marshall and NYC

— Chino Nwakama is a Marshall High School graduate class of 2019 and University of Minnesota (MD-PhD student) class of 2023