The science of sound: A student's vision for music, medicine, and the future of health care
Working as an emergency medical technician (EMT), Euan Zhang’s heart sank when he saw the patient with Alzheimer’s disease, whom he was transferring to a new facility, grow uncontrollably distressed. Remembering something he had read about music’s calming power, he played a piece of classical music on the ambulance’s radio for her.
Within moments, the patient's agitation melted away—a small but extraordinary transformation that left him wondering: What if music could do more than lift spirits? What if it could change the brain itself?
That moment set Euan, now an MD/PhD student at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, on a path to unite his love of music with his passion for medicine. His experiences as an EMT deepened his commitment to health care and sparked his curiosity about music’s healing potential.
Music has been part of his life for as long as he can remember. He plays saxophone, clarinet, flute, trumpet, and guitar. He performed in a high school jazz band and even started his own jazz group before moving on to music production.
A 2022 Northeastern University graduate in music technology, he now volunteers as a producer and mastering engineer for a nonprofit that helps seriously ill children write and record their own music. He has been struck by the resilience of children creating music in the face of intense health challenges.
“They are overwhelmingly positive. If we can bring that same positivity into adult health care through music, I believe it could have a huge
impact on patients,” he says.
Looking ahead, Euan envisions a career at the intersection of neurology, elder care, and music-based interventions.
“There’s a reason music has been around as long as humanity,” he says. “It connects to us emotionally, but it also changes us at the molecular level. If we can figure out how that works, we can make something enjoyable into something truly beneficial for health.”
Euan Zhang, an MD/PhD student at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, is exploring how music can move beyond comfort to become a powerful tool for healing the brain.
He follows research suggesting music’s effects may extend beyond temporary relief, perhaps even altering the course of Alzheimer’s disease. That possibility drives his goal of becoming a physician-scientist — a vision reinforced by his work in the lab of Louise D. McCullough, MD, PhD, whose blend of clinical care and research showed him the power of combining both worlds.
“As a physician-scientist, you can find problems in the clinic, take them to the lab to solve, and then quickly bring those solutions back to patients,” he says. “If the roles are separated, it can delay treatments.”
Now, as a first-year MD/PhD student, Euan is beginning the long road toward that goal. The MD/PhD program at UTHealth Houston, offered in partnership with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, provides dual training that equips students to move discoveries from the lab to the bedside. Euan was drawn to its collaborative environment and location in the Texas Medical Center, where unparalleled resources and facilities give students the opportunity to deepen their expertise and, ultimately, shape their contributions as future physician-scientists.
Euan received a fellowship from The Cullen Trust for Higher Education Physician/Scientist Fellowship Program, which helps him and others dedicate themselves fully to discovery. By investing in scholarships and fellowships, donors not only change the course of a student’s education—they also help shape the future of health care.
“I hope one day to give back, just as others have supported me,” he says.