UNC Asheville Alum and Medical Pioneer Sam Shepard

An epic journey from UNC Asheville to the prestigious Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program

By UNC Asheville

November 24^th, 2025

When Sam Shepard arrived at UNC Asheville, training simultaneously as a physician and scientist in the Harvard/Massachusetts Institute of Technology MD-PhD program was not on their radar. But a single introductory chemistry class and the faculty who championed their curiosity would set the trajectory toward one of the most rigorous dual-degree pathways in the world. Today, the North Carolina native is immersed in an eight-year journey at Harvard Medical School and MIT, driven by a passion for scientific discovery and a commitment to improving lives.

From the start, Shepard approached college with an open mind, initially declaring a major in Psychology before discovering an unexpected spark in Chemistry. That turning point came during Shepard’s very first class at UNC Asheville with John Brock, PhD., Professor of Analytical Chemistry and Toxicology. The energy of the lecture, the clarity of the science, and Brock’s passion for teaching reshaped Shepard’s trajectory in a single class. “When I left that lecture, [I thought], I know what I'm doing with my life,” Shepard recalls. “I was just enthralled.”

Sam Shepard '23 performing research in the Steed Lab as a student at UNC Asheville.

At UNC Asheville, Shepard was consistently supported and encouraged by faculty. “The Chemistry Department just really cares and is doing everything it can at every moment to be better and do better and give the students what they need and more. It showed in every step of my undergraduate training, inside and outside the classroom,” Shepard says.

Regular and elevated lab time, plus opportunities for community engagement with the department, helped prepare Shepard for the Harvard/MIT program.

“It’s not just a classroom education, it’s a rigorous scientific education in how to be a scientist and how to do good lab work. And that is open to anyone. The investment in every single one of those students and the attempt to show them what they can do with science really makes the difference.”

Shepard, in 2023, presenting an Undergraduate Research poster with colleague Casey Kellogg '23

Shepard credits Chair and Professor of Analytical and Computational Chemistry Sally Wasileski as a formative mentor who helped guide their decision to pursue the Harvard/MIT MD–PhD program.

“Something that has been really important in my journey is both reaching out and asking questions and talking to people who know more than me and are so generous with their time to help me figure things out, connect me with folks, and guide me to the next step.”

After graduating in 2023, Shepard spent over four months hiking the Appalachian Trail before moving to Bethesda, Maryland, to serve as a Post-baccalaureate IRTA Fellow (NIH/VRC) at the National Institutes of Health. Working with Dr. Robert Seder, a contributor to the COVID vaccine, they formed a strong interest in immunology and infectious diseases. Shepard also spent a month at the Kenyan Medical Research Institute in Africa as a visiting scientist with the KEMRI-Wellcome Research Programme.

UNC Asheville Alum and Medical Pioneer Sam Shepard

Now in their first year of the Harvard/MIT MD-PhD program, Shepard is working on their medical degree in class and clinical settings. The goal: to become both a physician and a scientist with clinical experiences informing research and vice versa. “It’s a bench-to-bedside mentality,” Shepard explains.

This spirit of giving back is rooted in Shepard’s values and experiences at UNC Asheville.

“My successes are not my own, and they're not due to something in particular that I did beautifully. I really attribute my success to the amazing people that I learned from at UNC Asheville, who encouraged, supported, and taught me. Because of them, I have been given opportunities that I could never have fathomed.”