For as long as she can remember, Dhyana Guntur has wanted to become a doctor.

She’s prepared for this goal by serving as a medical assistant, volunteering at a local emergency room and taking part in campus research. Guntur’s research and teaching mentor, Biological Sciences Assistant Professor Kalyan Kondapalli, has been overseeing her research on the role of a protein in the body, NHE9.

“Her most recent work on an innovative approach to treat brain cancer associated with NHE9 is ready for submission to a prestigious journal in the field of cell biology,” Kondapalli said. “I expect her to be the lead author on our next publication resulting from her current work.”

While she’s looked into other career options, Guntur said it was her participation in a Global Brigades trip to Honduras — where she saw the full impact a doctor can have — that made her fully realize she’d found her dream career.

“I’ve pursued other options in the past, but the impact a caring physician leaves on a patient and their family has always brought me back to medicine,” she said. “And as I learned through Global Brigades, being a physician involves not only providing medication, but also educating the patients on disease prevention and overall healthy lifestyle habits.”

Providing education to those around her is nothing new to Guntur. She’s also worked as a teaching assistant in her cellular and molecular biology lab, served as a Supplemental Instruction leader and taught women self defense in mosques around the metro Detroit area.