Scholar Stories: Jawad Building Framework for Life as a Pediatrician
9/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Every Wednesday during the 2016-17 academic year, MGoBlue.com will highlight a different student-athlete and their academic path. These are our Scholar Stories:
Ali Jawad came to the University of Michigan on one path and will soon leave on another.
A member of the men's soccer team, Jawad has always had a knack for scoring goals. He found the back of the net 80 times in just three seasons during high school. In the not too distant past, Jawad dreamt of a future where playing soccer would be his livelihood.
But soccer, a cruel game as it can be at sometimes, slows down for no man. After his freshman season, Jawad decided to shift his focus, putting his studies ahead of the sport he loves.
Now, that's not to say soccer wasn't and isn't important. It was simply the right move for his future.
"I always relied on athletics," Jawad said last Thursday inside the Ross Academic Center. "At a certain point, you realize you only get a certain amount of time to play. I love soccer more than anything; it's been a focal point in my life since I was five years old. You can enjoy it, but you have to do something when you're done. Never thought I'd make the flip."
If Jawad has his way, he'll be in Ann Arbor for many years to come. He's slated to graduate next spring with a degree in biopsychology, cognition and neuroscience, though he is eligible for a fifth year after missing all of last season due to injury. He's currently applying for graduate programs.
After that comes the MCAT and medical school. He wants to be a pediatrician.
To help grow his résumé, Jawad spent his summer working with Asim A. Beg, Ph.D., at the Department of Pharmacology at the U-M Medical School. The lab (Beg Lab) attempts to answer questions about factors that cause epilepsy in humans. To research this, Beg Lab mutated the RNA of frogs and measured currents of different drugs.
Beg Lab recently submitted a pharmacology manuscript of which Jawad is a co-author, a rare feat for an undergraduate, let alone an undergraduate student-athlete. Their findings are currently under review.
"I didn't expect to get on a paper right away," Jawad said. "I didn't have a research background, but I know it's an important thing to have done before medical school."
"There are certain receptors in the brain that we believe are factors in epilepsy. How can we calm the brain down? It's a lot of trial and error."
But that's not all he's doing. Jawad is also minoring in Islamic studies, a relatively new concentration through the Department of Near Eastern Studies. He already took classes to fulfill requirements for his undergraduate degree (think biology and chemistry), but he wanted to pick some electives that meshed with his personal interests.
In a lot of ways, he fell into it by chance.
"You are going to encounter people all over the world who, religious or not, will have different views," he said. "That's something I can apply when I go home. It's a way to understand everything and have a holistic view, not just focusing on Islam."
Home is Dearborn, a nearby western suburb of Detroit with a strong percentage of Arab Americans and Muslims. The entire Jawad family, which includes over 30 cousins on his father's side alone, lives within a two-block radius of his home. They're always talking to each other.
He speaks to his parents, his brother and two sisters every night. If he doesn't call his mother by 10 p.m., she'll call him.
"You're always going to have family," he said. "That was instilled in us growing up."
The Jawads could soon have three doctors in the family. Ali's older sister, Nadine, is pre-med here at Michigan and is enrolled in the Ford School of Public Policy, while his younger sister, Zahraa, is pre-dental at Michigan State.
Jawad will continue to practice nearly every day. Someday soon, instead of perfecting free kicks or headers, he'll be treating injuries and diagnosing illnesses. Still, that thirst for the game won't ever truly go away.
"I'm going to keep soccer in my life," he said."Hopefully, my kids will like it and it'll be their favorite sport."
"Otherwise, I'm going to make them make it their favorite sport."
