A journey from Larissa Medical School to Harvard Medical School
May 17, 2021 2023-12-03 15:47A journey from Larissa Medical School to Harvard Medical School
"A journey from Larissa Medical School to Harvard Medical School"
by George Dolkeras, Researcher at Harvard Medical School Center for Fetal and Neonatal Development and Neuroimaging
I graduated from Larissa Medicine in 2017. From 2019 I am a researcher at Harvard University, in Boston, USA, where I will also complete my medical training in the field of pediatric neurology with a specialization in developmental disorders. It is my honor and pleasure to have the opportunity to share an experience, for a largely unexplored and uncharted road, a road with difficulties, emotions, but above all perseverance and love for science and man.
With an interest in the humanities and human beings as a starting point, I entered the Medical School of Larissa, an environment that offered me significant experience both in clinical medicine and in medical research. An environment that offered me the opportunity to find myself and my interests within Medicine, but which also gave me the opportunity to cultivate them even further than its narrow geographical boundaries. As an example I have in mind when faculty members and mentors embraced my desire to explore Medicine abroad. In particular they offered what was needed for us to open a new position with the ERASMUS+ program, a new inter-university collaboration with the UPEC University of Paris, an experience that added to my training in paediatrics, neurology and psychiatry during the fifth year of of my studies. Another example is the exposure I was offered in both laboratory and bibliographic medical research, the opportunity to participate in Greek and international university conferences and many others, the mention of which could only add to how the School of Medicine of the University of Thessaly is a unique environment for students. The training during the last years of my studies also helped me significantly in meeting the required exams, the USMLE, for admission to the medical specialty in the USA.
Of particular importance is the concept of a mentor regarding the course and professional development of emerging physicians with academic interests. A mentor is someone who will inspire you, who will urge you to become better and to overcome your limits, but he is also the one who will stand by you in the great challenges of your professional career. The University of Thessaly School of Medicine is uniquely rich in such people, scientists and doctors who will gladly share their knowledge and passion, and give those who show interest the opportunity to interact and learn. At this point I owe and want to say a big thank you to the man who, independently of the Medical School of the University of Thessaly, gave me the opportunity to try my hand at the Harvard environment, who believed in me and introduced me to the science of biotechnology engineering, studying the human brain and epilepsy. A field of tremendous interest and innovation.
So, I am currently working in the field of clinical neurophysiology and neuroimaging, with a specific focus on the development of biomarkers and new technologies for children suffering from epilepsy and other neurological conditions. My research includes children with drug-resistant epilepsy who choose surgical treatment, as well as children with genetic and developmental neurological syndromes. Having started medicine with a love for people, the brain and science, in the coming years I will work as a medical intern and train in developmental medicine, in the field of pediatrics and pediatric neurology.
If there is something I would like to convey in closing to those who are starting now, it is my love for work and medicine, but also to encourage them to keep trying, to dream.