Kinkaid was honored to have alumnus and Papadopoulos Fellow Dr. Jatin Vyas, ‘85 speak to the Upper School at an assembly on April 26.

Dr. Jatin Vyas is an immunologist and infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He spoke about his life’s journey from Kinkaid to academic medicine.

“My path from graduating from Kinkaid to graduating from UT Plan II Honors to Baylor College of Medicine to Mass General has been anything but linear,” he said. 

Dr. Vyas has had many mentors throughout his life and credits them for his success. 

 “Mentors make all the difference in your life and in your journey,” he said. “You don’t just have one mentor. You’ll encounter many who will help you unlock your potential.” 

In turn, Dr. Vyas mentors dozens of medical residents. He said the medical profession is one of the most difficult ones because of the resilience it requires.

“When I’m working with medical residents, I always look for intellectual curiosity, empathy and kindness,” he said. “Kindness is especially important because it is something you can’t learn; you’re born with it and should use it for the betterment of the world.”

Dr. Vyas and his team were frontline workers during COVID-19.

“In March 2020, all of my focus — our focus at Mass General — turned to COVID,” he said, referring to Massachusetts General Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. “That’s because it’s our obligation in academic medicine, when there’s a global health crisis, to work for the betterment of society.”

He shared data his team collected with the Upper School. He began by noting trends in available intensive care unit beds at Mass General and then explained how hot spots arose across the Greater Boston area. 

Students  enjoyed the assembly. 

“The invigorating educational experience was one I’ll not forget,” sophomore Kaveen Shah said. “Especially as a South Asian student, it was inspiring and empowering to hear from Dr. Vyas.”