Profiles of 2001 Graduating Students

Doctor-to-be Andrew Yee learns empathy, counseling

Human biology and health-and-society major Andrew Yee '01 plans on a medical career. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography

By Jeff Evans '01

Pre-medical students know from the first that doctors need to be skilled and proficient in their practice. But Cornell senior Andrew Yee, a human biology and health-and-society major, has taken his preparation for becoming a doctor a few steps farther. Yee has combined his interest in biomedical research with the empathy and counseling often required of a doctor -- topics on which biomedical research and medical knowledge are fairly silent.

Yee has been active in Cornell's Empathy, Assistance and Referral Service -- a student-run, professionally supervised counseling and referral service -- for the past two years as a counselor and trainer, as well as its treasurer. From this, he said, he has learned how to interact with people in highly emotional circumstances, essential knowledge for a future doctor who inevitably will be required to counsel patients and family members.

Cornell originally attracted Yee's attention because it offers a major that focuses on human biology, and because it is a place where undergraduates are encouraged to do research.

"It seemed that Cornell really encouraged students to be involved in research as an undergraduate, and not that many schools had such a strong undergraduate research program," said the senior from Ames, Iowa.

In addition to being a teaching assistant for two classes and managing difficult courses during his four years at Cornell, Yee has been able to investigate eating disorders, pregnancy-induced hypertension, gene therapy for cardiovascular disease and the effectiveness of different prostate cancer detection methods. He is working on and revising papers for publication based on his research.

As a member of the first class of Cornell Presidential Research Scholars, and the current president of the Cornell Undergraduate Research Board (CURB), Yee has seen the benefits that many students get from research and has wanted to help others become involved. With CURB, he was able, he said, to "get the word out about undergraduate research and help students find advisers and projects."

Last summer, Yee interned at the Evanston Hospital of Northwestern University under cardiothoracic surgeon Todd Rosengart, M.D.

"I got a feel for what a doctor, who incorporates research into his practice, does," said Yee about his internship.

On the other hand, although he wants to do research, being a practicing doctor will, he said, be his main priority. He plans on applying to medical school after exploring gene therapy research for another year.