Medical school was preordained, but focus on climate change was new
This story is part of a series of graduate profiles ahead of Commencement ceremonies. One might think that Julia Malits’ arrival on a medical school campus was nearly preordained, since her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother were all doctors. Her mother, a New York anesthesiologist, is the daughter of an Uzbek psychiatrist who came with her family to the U.S. in 1980. Once here, Malits’ grandmother repeated her residency and certification requirements so she could continue to practice in her new home. Malits’ great-grandmother also practiced psychiatry in Uzbekistan, though after arriving with her daughter, she was old enough that she opted not to practice in the U.S. “After going through and studying for the boards, I have a new appreciation for what that entailed,” Malits said. Malits said their example was hard to miss, and fostered in her an interest in healthcare from an early age, one that would begin with a focus on individual patients...