BROOKSVILLE, FL — Alyssa Nixon, an upcoming Senior at Hernando High School of Brooksville has been chosen to be a Delegate to the Congress of Future Medical Leaders in Lowell, MA on June 25–27, 2018. She was nominated by Dr. Mario Capecchi, a molecular geneticist who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for creating a method to breed mice in which a certain gene is turned off- they are coined “knockoff mice.” Capecchi, born in Verona, Italy also serves as Science Director of the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists. The nomination is based on Nixon’s “academic achievement, leadership potential and determination to serve humanity in the field of medicine.”
The Congress is designed for high schoolers who wish to become physicians or conduct medical research and is an honors-only program. The National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists explains, “The purpose of this event is to honor, inspire, motivate and direct the top students in the country who aspire to be physicians or medical scientists, to stay true to their dream and, after the event, to provide a path, plan and resources to help them reach their goal.”
Nixon explains where her interest in medicine originated and her intended field, “I can’t remember a time when I was not interested in the medical field. However, I knew with certainty which medical field I wanted to pursue when my nephew was born prematurely and kept in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).”
Alyssa Nixon along with other delegates from across the country will listen to Nobel
Laureates and National Medal of Science Winners discuss leading medical research. There will Ivy League and top medical school deans on hand to advise on expectations for medical school. Patients considered “living medical miracles” will tell their stories as well as teen medical science prodigies. Delegates will also learn about cutting-edge advances and the future in medicine and medical technology.
“This is a crucial time in America when we need more doctors and medical scientists who are even better prepared for a future that is changing exponentially,” said Richard Rossi, Executive Director, National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists. “Focused, bright and determined students like Alyssa Nixon are our future and she deserves all the mentoring and guidance we can give her.”
Nixon is a well rounded student. She is a talented artist and treasurer of the Hernando High Art Club. She has been working with her peers on the mural for the Brooksville Women’s Club. Nixon recently discovered boxing through a club offered at HHS, and she remarks, “I am having a lot of fun learning the sport!”
She says her mentors are her mother and father. “My father is a registered nurse who works in the Intensive Care Unit. He has taken me to the hospital with him whenever he has had the opportunity. Through that, I have been able to meet many other nurses in different fields and been able to see and experience the medical field from different perspectives. Along with his inspiration, my mother, who is currently going through school for nursing, has helped me tremendously when it came to the academic path I needed to take for the nursing field.”
