Dublin High School Junior Sunny Bai Chosen for 2014 Congress of Future Medical Leaders in Washington, DC

Members of the Fallon Middle School and the Dublin Ranch community will never forget a Fall day in 2008 when a Fallon student was struck by a car and seriously injured in a crosswalk while on the way to school. Just over five years later, that same student, Sunny Bai, a junior at Dublin High School of Dublin, California has been nominated to attend the Congress of Future Medical Leaders in Washington, DC on February 14-16, 2014. The Congress is an honors-only program for high school students who want to become physicians or go into medical research fields. The purpose of this event is to honor, inspire, motivate and direct the top students in the country who aspire to be physicians or medical scientists, to stay true to their dream and, after the event, to provide a path, plan and resources to help them reach their goal.

Sunny Bai: “In November 2008, I was struck by a car while walking to school, just one block from my house. The driver was an elderly man who was distracted by his seat neighbor and unexpectedly crashed into me, despite the fact that there was also a crossing guard. The impact of the collision was great enough to throw me twenty feet from where I was, knocking me unconscious. The paramedics arrived and I was taken by a helicopter to the Oakland Children’s Hospital. Despite having internal bleeding, a broken rib, cuts and scars all over my body, I was fortunate to have not only survived the incident, but to have thrived.

“Six years later, I am an 11th grade honor roll student at Dublin High School. My cumulative weighted GPA is 4.4. I am a percussionist and section leader in the Irish Guard Marching Band and I actively volunteer with the California Scholarship Federation at my school. As a result of this experience, I am determined to pursue a career in pediatric medicine. I am inspired by the health care team who saved me at the Oakland Children’s Hospital. I hope that one day I too could take care of others in the same way I was thoughtfully taken care of.

“In July 2013, I studied Cancer Research with Stanford Medical Faculty during a 5-day intensive lectures series. The cancer research cohort consisted of high school students from all over the globe. We studied diverse topics in cancer research including its history, properties and special characteristics, its effects on society, and potential cures, as well as Stanford University’s unique contributions to the field. Soon after, I studied with Dr. PJ Utz, Dr. Bill Robinson, and Dr. David Miklos, and grew in my understanding of Medicine and the Health Sciences at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco. As part of my culminating project, I collaborated with 5 students in locating the origin of a pathogen and developing a unique treatment for recovery as part of a fictionalized outbreak research project. I presented our findings before 350 of my colleagues.

“In 2012, I contributed to the data gathering research of Barcode of Life, an organization that identifies species with DNA barcoding.  My research focused on identifying unique chemical and physical characteristics of eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms.  I received honorable mention.”

Sunny Bai was nominated by Dr. Connie Mariano, the Medical Director of the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists to represent California based on his academic achievement, leadership potential and determination to serve humanity in the field of medicine. During the three-day Congress, Sunny Bai will join students from across the country and hear Nobel Laureates and National Medal of Science Winners talk about leading medical research; be given advice from Ivy League and top medical school deans on what is to be expected in medical school; witness stories told by patients who are living medical miracles; be inspired by fellow teen medical science prodigies; and learn about cutting-edge advances and the future in medicine and medical technology.

“This is a crucial time in America when we need more doctors and medical scientists who are even better prepared for a future that is changing exponentially,” said Richard Rossi, Executive Director, National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists. “Focused, bright and determined students like Sunny Bai are our future and he deserves all the mentoring and guidance we can give him.”

The Academy offers free services and programs to students who want to be physicians or go into medical science. Some of the services and programs the Academy plans to launch in 2013 and 2014 are online social networks through which future doctors and medical scientists can communicate; opportunities for students to be guided and mentored by physicians and medical students; and communications for parents and students on college acceptance and finances, skills acquisition, internships, career guidance and much more.

The National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists was founded on the belief that we must identify prospective medical talent at the earliest possible age and help these students acquire the necessary experience and skills to take them to the doorstep of this vital career. Based in Washington, D.C., the Academy was chartered as a nonpartisan, taxpaying institution to help address this crisis by working to identify, encourage and mentor students who wish to devote their lives to the service of humanity as physicians, medical scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians.

For more information visit www.FutureDocs.com or call 202-599-8442, x701.

In addition to his activities at Dublin High School, Sunny is an archivist at the Dublin Heritage Park and Museum (DHPM) and is contributing to a digital archiving initiative called PassPerfect at the Kolb House and museum.  DHPM includes a preserved School House, Church House, and Cemetery.  As an archivist, Sunny is responsible for photographing, measuring, and describing artifacts from the 1900s.