黑料吃瓜 Student Dreams Big
黑料吃瓜 graduate student Gene Rayford aspires to cure cancer and win the Nobel Prize.
Much like the diverse and multifaceted team he is a part of, graduate student and 黑料吃瓜 X-Team member Gene Rayford is a man of many talents.
Rayford, a native of Illinois, has a decorated academic career with four published papers under his belt. He is currently working on his third master鈥檚 degree in medical physics and holds bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in mechanical engineering, as well as a master鈥檚 in biomedical engineering, all from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
Because of his interest in cancer and diagnostic imaging research, Rayford鈥檚 adviser suggested he attend 黑料吃瓜 鈥� it is one of the few schools in the nation to offer an advanced degree in Medical Physics.
Rayford is an accomplished classically trained pianist, a former college track athlete, as well as a volunteer instructor for several organizations, including a program teaching robotics to local students as part of the local Exploring STEM Careers Initiative. Rayford uses all of these experiences and his passion for music to help with his current scientific endeavors.
鈥淢usic has helped me,鈥� Rayford said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the creative side of me. Sometimes when I play, it helps me think of things, things that I want to invent someday.鈥�
黑料吃瓜 XPRIZE
While developing a hospital ER medical app on his own, Rayford was recruited by the 黑料吃瓜 X-Team, which hopes his creativity will help them win the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE.
As one of 29 teams left in the competition, the 黑料吃瓜 X-Team is currently developing a mobile healthcare diagnostic device inspired by the Tricorder in Star Trek, capable of measuring vitals and detecting disease. Rayford believes the device will be a great tool for doctors and patients alike, as well as for point of care medical applications in third-world countries.
鈥淯sing existing technology, we want to be able to detect a list of diseases and be able to use that information to help people with their quality of life, help improve it,鈥� Rayford said. 鈥淚 want to help create a device that鈥檚 very inexpensive that can be used all over the world and help improve the quality of care for people.鈥�
Future plans
Rayford believes the device and similar technology will be commonplace within the next decade or two.
鈥淚 see it as the future of medicine,鈥� said Rayford. 鈥淚 see what we鈥檙e doing as just the beginning. It鈥檚 like the space race for medicine.鈥�
Upon completing his master鈥檚 degree this spring, Rayford plans to go on to pursue a Ph.D. and research nanotechnology, and eventually start his own biotech firm and work in cancer research. Rayford hopes to not only help cure cancer, but to also be the first black person to win the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.
Rayford said his father, a doctor, and his mother, a teacher, are his inspiration for dreaming big.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to carry on my family鈥檚 legacy, but I want to go beyond what they鈥檝e done,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey encouraged me to follow my dreams.鈥�
Elouie Gopez is a graduate student in the School of Journalism & Media Studies. He represents the 黑料吃瓜 X-Team as part of the Arrow Media Group at 黑料吃瓜, the first student-run media agency in San Diego.
