Biomedical engineering student named CPM Pre-med of the Month

Wayne State University biomedical engineering student Adam Menkara was named the September 2020 Pre-med of the Month by the members and leadership of the WSU Campuswide Pre-medical Mentoring (CPM) Program. The following profile was shared by the organization on its website:

Adam's path in medicine has not been easy. He mentions a journey of hardship, difficulty and struggle however he is glad to share a piece of his story in order to inspire other students similar to him, allowing everyone to collectively work toward the goal of providing people with service and help.

Adam is currently a second year student studying Biomedical Engineering. He is involved in a multitude of different organizations and extracurriculars. One of the first organizations Adam got involved with was becoming an active general member of Warrior Racing. Warrior Racing is an engineering student organization dedicated to designing and manufacturing a formula style race car and competing internationally against other academic institutions. Currently, Adam is the brakes subsystem Captain on the team and hopes to expand his leadership role in the future. For Adam's first year Biomedical Engineering design project, Adam along with his group members created an accurate 3D printed hydrocephalus model along with computer simulations that brought their poster presentation third overall in the Engineering Spotlight on Design competition. Aside from this impressive accomplishment, Adam has been participating in undergraduate research in the Biomedical Engineering department for about a year. He has also recently begun research in the chemical engineering department.

When Adam was 16 he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Without the diligent aid of his physicians, he would not be able to function in the way he does today. Adam believes his circumstance is often not a reality for many patients due to the lack of access to quality primary care. As a result, Adam was inspired and hopes to be able to provide this care to people in the future.

Finally, Adam hope's to become a gastroenterologist. However, he also hopes to keep an open mind once entering medical school to find the most appropriate specialty for his interests and strengths.

What hobby would you get into if time and money were not an issue?

I would spend more time on things like Warrior Racing and vehicle modification and engineering.

Is there a job, other than becoming a physician, that you think you would be really good at?

Biomedical Device Engineer.

Where is the most interesting place you have ever been?

Toronto, the city is larger than any other I have been to.

What do you wish you knew more about?

Everything! There is always so much more to learn about any subject and my interests continue to peak as I reveal more and more about a subject.

What fictional place would you most like to go to?

Hobbiton.