Name:Taha Al Hassan Hometown:Las Vegas, NV Year in medical school:M3 Graduation class year:2025
What inspired you to become a doctor?
During my final year of dental school, I experienced the field of oral and maxillofacial prosthetics (OMFP), where patients with significant head and neck cancers were rehabilitated surgically and then prosthetically. The OMFP and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) teams worked together to give cancer patients a second chance at leading an everyday life by treating and removing cancer and replacing affected structures like their ears, noses, and even their eyes. It was incredible to witness the strength of medicine and dentistry used in tandem to enhance a patient’s quality of life. From this moment on, I was inspired to combine the disciplines of medicine and dentistry to provide complete and comprehensive care for all my future patients.
Why did you choose the UTRGV School of Medicine?
My family moved to the Valley in 2016, and after graduating from dental school in 2020, I, too, moved to the Valley and began practicing in Edinburg as a licensed dentist. I realized our community could benefit from interdisciplinary care as most of my patients were presented with undiagnosed, co-morbid conditions and barriers to access to healthcare. This meant that coming to the dentist resulted in sacrificing going to other physicians due to time, transportation, or finances.
Practicing in the Valley not only strengthened my desire to pursue medicine further but also, through our community’s kindness and gratitude for healthcare, I decided there would be no better place to pursue my dreams than here.
The UTRGV School of Medicine is a practicing academic medical institution. What aspect of Academic Medicine impacts you the most? (Educational, clinical, research, etc.)
With the numerous opportunities available at the UTRGV School of Medicine, I have had genuinely insightful moments through clinical medicine, research, and community outreach. I am very thankful that I have been able to observe several clinical settings before my clerkship years and take an active role in research. Also, a special shoutout to our Area Health Education Center (AHEC) program, which gave me an avenue to integrate oral cancer screenings, oral health education, and oral hygiene/prevention to populations that needed it.
What specialties of medicine or research interest you the most? Why?
My interest in specific medical specialties comes from the potential crossover with dentistry. I am currently interested in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Family Medicine, Sleep Medicine, and Public Health Medicine and Epidemiology.
What is one interesting fact others might not know about you?
I always believed the key to longevity in a demanding career is having a hobby that can ground you, and for me, that is playing the violin. I am coming up with 19 years of experience now and do my best to fit in some time to play every day.
