Savage.MD Blog

This past week, my best friend Mario came to visit us in Albuquerque. He brought along his infant daughter, Isabel, who had just turned six months old the weekend before. Isabel was also the name of Mario’s grandmother. And for a brief but important season of my life, she was someone very special to me. A Summer in Houston In the summer of 2006, Mario’s grandmother had recently undergone hip replacement surgery and needed someone to live with her for the summer to help with daily tasks while she recovered. Around the same time, I had just moved to Houston to participate in a summer research program at UT McGovern Medical School — the same school where, years later, I would enroll as an MD–PhD student. The timing worked perfectly. I moved in with Grandma Isabel for the summer. That summer, I had a lot of fun getting to know her. She was a Cuban immigrant to the United States, and that experience shaped her worldview in countless ways. She had a warmth and perspective that made spending ...

Today was supposed to be an academic day—a chance to recharge, catch up on work, and make progress on scholarly projects. Instead, it turned into a whirlwind of commitments, unexpected challenges, and a few bright spots that reminded me why I do what I do. The morning started with a short meeting for the health, safety, and nutrition subcommittee of our daughter’s daycare board. From there, I jumped into a 45-minute interview with a journalist writing a story for the American Medical Association. By 10 a.m., I was catching up on patient messages before heading to the university campus to serve as a judge for an undergraduate poster session. While I was engaged with the students, messages piled up about a patient at our treatment center whose orders needed urgent attention. As soon as I left the session, I put out fires and made it back to my office just after noon. I thought I’d have time to regroup before my 2 p.m. meeting—but life had other plans. A colleague, a head and neck surgeon...

This morning, I packed my bags for Chicago to attend the fall meeting of the AMA’s Council on Medical Education (CME). This will be my first council meeting in two years—a return to a group that has played an important role in my professional journey.   My candidate slide from November 2024 in Orlando, FL I first served on the CME as a medical student during my first year of my PhD program (2013–2014). In the summer of 2020, I was re-elected to a three-year term representing the Resident and Fellow Section, serving until the summer of 2023. After a two-year hiatus, I decided to run again—this time for a traditional four-year seat. My campaign would not have been possible without the help of several friends, especially Dr. Raymond Tsai, a colleague I’ve known for about 13 years through our shared involvement in the AMA. When I announced my candidacy in November 2024, Raymond volunteered to be my campaign manager. From that moment until the AMA’s summer meeting in June 2025, he met w...

This week, I’ve had the privilege of attending a research conference in beautiful Flagstaff, Arizona—an event co-sponsored by Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona, and the University of New Mexico. The goal of this gathering is clear and inspiring: to increase exposure, interest, and opportunity in the fields of science and medicine, particularly for students from underrepresented backgrounds. It has been a joy to speak with several of these students—each bringing fresh energy and curiosity as they consider careers in research, medicine, or both. Yesterday, I participated in a small group discussion, and someone asked me how I first got started in science. That question sparked a memory I hadn’t reflected on in quite some time: my very first research experience, exactly 20 years ago. That summer, I was a rising junior at Austin College, a small liberal arts school in Sherman, Texas. I spent 10 weeks in a biochemistry lab, working closely with one other student and a...

This morning I saw the last patients of my fellowship. It's been a fun three years! The Scripps hem/onc fellowship program was the perfect place to train to be an oncologist, and it helped set me up for a really exciting university position. I will start as a melanoma and sarcoma specialist at the University of New Mexico in August. The people in the picture below (and the two classes that preceded them) were great colleagues and friends during my journey, and I will remember all of them fondly.  This is also the end of my journey as a Chief Fellow. I really enjoyed giving back to the program this year and helping to make it a better place for all of us. Our program director announced a few months ago that she is also leaving to take a new opportunity at the University of Minnesota. We are all very happy for her, but she will be missed. She did an exceptional job leading this program and advocating for the needs of trainees.  It seems like just weeks ago that I was writing my ...

One month ago, we had the annual Scripps hematology oncology updates conference in La Jolla. It was a great opportunity to learn about advancements in our field and to reconnect with friends. We had several current and former hem/onc fellows at the conference. On Saturday of the conference, we all had dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant. The host of the conference was Dr. Kosty. He is one of our hem/onc faculty members and will be retiring this Friday, March 1 after 35 years of service as an oncologist. I was particularly touched by his speech the opening day of the conference. He explained that when he first started treating patients with lung cancer in the 80s, the outcomes were often very poor. However, now in the era of immunotherapy and targeted therapy, it is very reasonable for a person with stage IV lung cancer to live a long time. You could tell from his reflections he's proud of his contribution to this field, and had enjoyed seeing incredible advancements in treatment ...

I have now completed the first month of 2024 in my hem/onc fellowship. This is also the start of my final six months in my program. It has flown by quickly and I will miss it! It's been an honor getting to serve in a leadership capacity this year to make the program better. I have a lot of exciting (and stressful) milestones coming up in the 12 months ahead of me.  Our new chief fellow will be selected soon. I will work with her to coordinate the handoff of duties for 2024-2025. I will return to Cleveland in March 2024 for an immunotherapy toxicity conference. It'll be my first time back to the Cleveland Clinic since spring 2020. I will become a father. We will welcome our baby girl into the world April 2024.  I will graduate in June 2024. This marks 15 years of my training in medicine.  We will move across the country to Albuquerque in July. I will start my new position as an Assistant Professor in melanoma/sarcoma care at the University of New Mexico's Comprehensive Can...