Tulane experiences lead to research position abroad, med school for engineering major

Seeking a cultural shift from his Boston upbringing, Matthew Geis decided New Orleans would be a wonderful place to experience something new. He wasn’t certain at first what he wanted to study at Tulane but had undertaken a range of engineering projects with his father, which guided him toward applied sciences.

Early into his time at Tulane, Geis committed to serving his local community by joining Tulane EMS, eventually volunteering with New Orleans EMS as well.

“Medicine was on my radar, but I got a clearer sense when I started riding with TEMS. The fulfillment I experienced in patient care drew me into this field,” he said.

He also credits his professors — Katie Russell, Kim O’Connor and William T. Godbey — for fostering a ground-up scientific viewpoint that he is passionate about exploring. In doing so, he joined O’Connor’s stem cell research team during his junior year of college and wrote an honors thesis in this field.

Four years later, Geis is graduating on May 20 as pre-med with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a math minor. In August, he heads to Münster, Germany, where he will be conducting stem cell research during his gap year at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine. He also intends to apply to medical school during his time abroad.

“I am proud to be graduating and excited about moving to Germany. It will be enriching to be a part of a new scientific community, and I imagine the next few years I will be locked down with med school commitments, so a year to travel will be refreshing,” he said.