After my undergraduate research experiences and postbaccalaureate training at the National Institutes of Health, I committed to a career in academic medicine. Every successful experiment brought me closer to advancing our understanding, whether studying brain receptors for nicotine addiction or intracellular protein trafficking for rare diseases. Recognizing the challenge of translating lab findings to patient care, I began a dual MD-PhD program to bridge clinical interests with basic science research and help patients with diseases that currently lack cures. My PhD research focused on mitochondrial uncoupling proteins (UCPs) in airway epithelial cells and their role in reducing oxidative damage. Specifically, I studied how UCP2 and UCP5 lower reactive oxygen species production and downstream cellular toxicity, highlighting therapeutic potential for respiratory diseases driven by oxidative stress. I also investigate Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD), a rare airway disease with many undiagnosed cases. Recently, I identified a PCD patient with impaired ciliary function despite no known genetic markers.