Jonathan Bryan holds up the Badger ‘W’ as a first-year medical student (Photo from J. Bryan)
By Kendall Buehl, GHI Staffer…After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Winter 2023, with his Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology, Molecular and Cell Biology, and Psychology, Jonathan Bryan decided to apply for the Henry Anderson III Graduate Award from the Global Health Institute, which supports UW–Madison graduate or health professional students interested in pursuing research in the areas of environmental and occupational public health—that is the study of the role of environmental or occupational factors as determinants of health.
Before we dive into the details, let’s rewind to learn how Bryan discovered the Henry Anderson Award in the first place.
As a triple-major undergraduate student in the College of Letters & Science at UW–Madison, Bryan was a Dean’s Ambassador. In this role, he and other students assisted the College in fostering community, strengthening alumni relations, and celebrating achievements. There, he was also able to discuss his interests with Eric M. Wilcots, dean of the College of Letters & Science and the Mary C. Jacoby Professor of Astronomy in the Department of Astronomy at UW–Madison.
Once Bryan mentioned he wanted to work across and between multiple disciplines in the global health realm, Dean Wilcots connected him to GHI Director Jorge Osorio. It wasn’t long, then, before Bryan was able to start working in Dr. Osorio’s lab in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences in the School of Veterinary Medicine.
“Since then, Dr. Osorio’s been a fantastic mentor for me,” Bryan shares with a grin. “He’s been so supportive.”
Then, he learned about a project being done by Simón Villegas Velásquez at GHI One Health Center-Colombia (GHI-OHC-CO) that was looking into the social determinants of air quality and climate change, which evolved into Bryan’s work, “A One Health approach to Characterize Air Pollution, Aerobiome, and Acute Respiratory Illness in Medellín, Colombia.”
With Osorio’s encouragement, Bryan submitted his project proposal. After being awarded the 2024 Henry Anderson III Graduate Award, he quickly began preparing for the exciting journey.
During the Summer of 2024, he stayed in Medellín, Colombia, for two weeks in order to work on his project at GHI-OHC-CO with Velásquez and other members of the OHC team.
There, Bryan not only worked in the One Health Center’s biostatistics area and computer lab, but he also traveled to Leticia, a city in the Amazonian region of Colombia, to learn about their data collection process and how it connected to the One Health model in expanding to different environmental regions of the country.
“I definitely learned a lot because I had done medical informatics and biostatistics before but this was a more comprehensive program,” Bryan notes.
In doing this work, Bryan was able to witness the One Health framework in action, wherein humans, animals, and the planet are constantly impacting one another. He recognizes, now more than ever, that environmental factors play an important role in respiratory health.
Additionally, Bryan saw firsthand the importance of global health networks in enacting meaningful change, whether that be across Colombia or the world. Since GHI One Health Center-Colombia works across disciplines and borders to innovate, he is rich with cooperative experience and embodies the Wisconsin Idea.
“It’s awesome to hear how much collaboration can support at-home solutions,” Bryan shares.
Now, Bryan reflects on his time in Colombia as an amazing opportunity for multicultural, multi-language, and multi-science learning. Even though he is currently working on surgical research instead of data analysis, he is grateful to have enhanced his skills in that area, and plans to utilize the lessons he learned in Colombia for years to come.
Plus, the experience provided the opportunity to make some new friends.
“It was an amazing and heartwarming experience,” Bryan says through his smile.
Now, as a first year medical student, Bryan is excited to develop his skills in medicine and global health. Though he is keeping his options open, he intends to do “something with the brain,” and noted his top choice of wanting to work in neurosurgery.
“There were tough days, a lot of them, but it’s amazing how much I’ve grown since my first semester as a medical student,” Bryan remarks excitedly.
Along his medical school journey, he knows his inspiration will guide him.
Ever since he was young, he has loved science and knew he would pursue it for life. With his firefighter-paramedic father as a role model, Bryan took his passion for science and selflessness into an academic path towards medicine.
Something that drew him towards health pursuits specifically, is a physician’s ability to incorporate the patient and their family into the healthcare plan. He admires how this patient-provider trust is what drives physicians to keep going, and he knows he will have the chance to learn new things for the rest of his life.
“I just loved the ability to interact with people, one-on-one, and say, ‘we’ve got this health problem,’ and know that we can all solve it together,” Bryan says.
As a lifelong learner, Bryan is also pursuing a Graduate/Professional Certificate in Global Health. In fact, he has another global health opportunity lined up for Summer 2025, in Guatemala. The Guatemala Service Learning experience, a program through UW–Madison, allows students and faculty to provide care in temporary clinics over 2-week periods.
While Bryan looks toward his exciting future, he expresses his gratitude for the Henry Anderson III Graduate Award and the ways in which it has enhanced his global health experience. We look forward to seeing where his global health path takes him.
If you’re interested in learning more about Jonathan Bryan, or would like to connect, reach out to him at jebryan2@wisc.edu.
Application Deadline for 2025 Henry Anderson III Graduate Award is open now through March 2, 2025 at 11:59pm.