My name is Brody Rhodes. I am currently a second-year medical student at the UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Heersink School of Medicine. The summer prior to beginning medical school I participated in a program here called PROMOTE, which paired pre-matriculating medical and graduate students to work together on kidney research under faculty mentorship. During my time in this program, I discovered my interest in surgical renal disease and my passion for working with an interdisciplinary team to search for answers to the unknown. By the conclusion of this program, I had a strong interest in the field of urology.

As medical school began, I learned more about the field of urology while shadowing some of our incredible residents and faculty. My PROMOTE mentor, Dr David Pollock, connected me with Dr Joseph Crivelli, an endourologist, and we began to meet to discuss ways I could become involved in urologic research. I became particularly interested in an ongoing project led by Dr Crivelli and Dr John Knight, principal investigator of UAB’s Kidney Stone Research Laboratory, evaluating factors impacting the nonenzymatic breakdown of ascorbic acid to urinary oxalate and the increased risk of calcium oxalate kidney stone formation.

As I met with Dr Crivelli and Dr Knight in preparation to join this project, I came across the AUA/Urology Care Foundation™ (UCF) Summer Medical Student Fellowship. As mentored research programs have significantly contributed to my path to medical school and sparked my interest in urology, I saw this as an opportunity to further my education and exposure in the field.

The AUA/UCF Summer Medical Student Fellowship application alone contributed to my development as a hopeful future surgeon-scientist by challenging me to develop a full understanding of the biochemistry, methodology, and administrative details involved in our project, Evaluating the Impact of Obesity on Endogenous Oxalate Production From Ascorbic Acid in a Mouse Model. As I submitted my application, I remember thinking to myself that a rural-raised kid from Alabama who had to take the MCAT 3 times and did not even get into medical school on the first try probably had a pretty low chance at something as prestigious as this. Nonetheless, I was proud of the effort I had put in and extremely grateful for the mentorship I had already received from Dr Crivelli and Dr Knight.

I was actually about to be on my way to meet with Dr Crivelli when I received my notice of award from the AUA. I was sitting at my laptop making sure I had various files ready to quickly click between. As I got up to go to the meeting, I checked my email and saw I had an email from the AUA with the honor of being offered a 2023 UCF Summer Medical Student Fellowship. I was ecstatic!

This award has allowed me to further my devotion to our project as we seek to better understand factors involved in the pathogenesis of calcium oxalate kidney stone formation and hopefully elucidate novel noninvasive treatment options and/or improved dietary recommendations for patients. In addition to furthering my scientific involvement, this award has helped me realize that I am fully committed to pursuing a career as a urologic surgeon and researcher. The experiences I have had in both research and patient care have convinced me that urology is the greatest field in medicine. Educating and treating patients with sensitive issues, scary cancer diagnoses, painful kidney stones, and much more while also searching for better treatment options of tomorrow is how I hope to spend my career.

I am extremely thankful to the AUA, the UCF, and the reviewers for selecting me as a UCF Summer Medical Student Fellow. This award has allowed me to grow my initial interest in urology into a passion for the field through research experience and exposure. It has shown me that if I continue to work hard, I can improve the lives of my patients as well as the patients of the future.