Oscar Serrano, who was an undergraduate researcher while at the UA, went on to earn his medical degree from Stanford University and is now featured in the ABC News series, "Hopkins." (Photo credit: Oscar Serrano).
A familiar face to some at The University of Arizona is on the ABC News series named “Hopkins,” an inside look at what it’s like to work and train at Baltimore’s John Hopkins Hospital and Health System.
It’s Oscar Serrano, a Johns Hopkins resident who earned his first degree from the UA in 2000, and another in 2001 with nearly a 4.0 grade point average.
Formerly a UA Honors College student, Serrano has just entered the third year of his surgical residency at Johns Hopkins and is one of two dozen residents who film crews followed for several months. The show, which is in its second season and airs on Thursdays, had its season premiere on June 26.
The show is a real look into the high-speed and often complex lives – public and private – of those who work at Johns Hopkins, which is considered one of the best hospitals in the nation.
Serrano got a little bit of air time during the six-part series premiere and expects that he will be one of the featured residents in an upcoming show.
“It was very nerve wrecking for me at first. It’s intimidating to have everything recorded – the way you act, what you say, how you move,” said Serrano, adding that at the time of filming, he was a resident in training.
“I was the freshest, the greenest person,” Serrano said, adding that filmmakers shot about 200 hours of his daily life over a two-month period.
Interestingly enough, prior to getting his residency assignment, Serrano bought the first season of “Hopkins” on DVD and watched it with pride.
“I was very lucky to get in,” said Serrano, who earned his degree in biochemistry from the UA before earning another in molecular and cellular biology the following year. He went on to earn his medical degree from Stanford University in 2006. His rotations at Hopkins have been in pediatric, cardiac and plastic surgery.
When he arrived at the UA in 1997, he immediately began working as an undergraduate researcher. He also studied in Germany and Italy on separate occasions.
While at the UA, Serrano was involved in the Undergraduate Biology Research Project and the Biomedical Research Abroad: Vistas Open! program.
“UBRP was probably one of the best programs at the UA, if not the best for getting hands-on training,” Serrano said. “Having been to various universities, I realize it’s one of a kind. It’s fantastic experience for undergraduates.”
Both the UBRP and BRAVO! programs involved him in research at various laboratories at the UA, including projects studying the kidney and brain functions and also work in the area of viral research, microbiology and physiology.
“He was a wonderful student,” said Carol Bender, URBP’s director, who caught a glimpse of Serrano during the season premiere last month.
“He was always very motivated and nothing ever stopped Oscar,” Bender said, adding that she has heard from him periodically over the years. “He’s a very bright, personable, motivated and tenacious person.”
While at the UA, Serrano worked with William H. Dantzler, professor emeritus in the physiology department in the UA’s College of Medicine.
“He always took advantage of every opportunity given to him and he’s been very successful,” Dantzler said.
Dantzler mentioned that a friend once told him not to get caught with a fork if it was raining pea soup. “Oscar never got caught with a fork.”
Serrano said he will remain at Johns Hopkins to complete his rotations, but does have ambitions to return to Arizona or California, Washington or Oregon.
Ideally, he wants to be a faculty member in a surgery department focusing on pancreatic cancer.
Dantzler said he can imagine Serrano getting exactly what he wants.
"Oscar was a great student and took any opportunity that came his way," he said. "He's been very successful, he's full of energy, he's very straight forward and is a very thorough worker."
Carol Bender
Undergraduate Biology Research Project
520-621-9348