Alec Koss, G2
Hometown: Miami, FL
Undergraduate: Duke University; Biophysics, Computational Biology & Bioinformatics
Student Affiliations: MSTP Williams College (leader), PRISM, Education-Centered Medical Home (ECMH) (clinic chief), Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Interest Group (co-chair), Society of Preventive Medicine Interest Group (co-chair), Latin Medical Student Association, Jewish Medical Student Organization
Why did you choose to attend Northwestern MSTP?
I chose Northwestern for myriad reasons. Northwestern is a premier institution with an incredible hospital system, exceptional research capacity and a highly collaborative environment. There are many faculty, both clinical and research, at Northwestern who work in the fields in which I’m interested, providing me with the opportunity to learn from many people in addition to my PhD advisor. The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) translational research hospital, is also an amazing place to explore my interests in muscular and metabolic disorders. Moreover, Chicago is an incredible city with an international population and something for everyone’s interests. Probably most importantly, the MSTP leaders are extremely caring and foster a great environment to support us throughout our training.
Tell us what you’ve most enjoyed about your current phase in the program.
The best part about the first year of my PhD training has been getting lost in an idea. It’s great to feel ownership of a project and conceive questions to explore different aspects of it. I’ve benefited from an amazing lab environment where I’ve learned a lot from other students, postdocs, collaborators and, of course, my PI. It’s also been really nice to stay connected with our clinical training during the PhD phase through the Education-Centered Medical Home (ECMH) and MSTP Grand Rounds programs. I’ve had a great start to my PhD training and am very excited for the rest of this path!