As a Ph.D. student at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Zhikui “Zeke” Wei discovered his interest in a career in academic medicine, thus launching his journey into medical school and now residency. While much of residency has been focused on the clinical side of caring for patients, he has also taken advantage of opportunities to participate in research, particularly in the sleep medicine sub-specialty. In his time off, he enjoys exploring nature in and around Nashville, as well as cooking “comfort food” recipes from his home region of China.
First, tell us a little about your background and how you became interested in medicine and ultimately neurology?
I grew up in China, and came here to the U.S. to pursue an advanced degree. Initially I was interested in becoming a scientist, but while working on my Ph.D. (in physiology at Johns Hopkins University), I saw that there are people who do both medicine and science—physician-scientists. So I became interested in medicine too because I wanted to pursue an academic medicine career. My interest in neurology came while in medical school; I really liked neuroscience and neuroanatomy, so that led me to pursue neurology for residency.
What have been some of the highlights of your time at Vanderbilt so far?
One thing I have really enjoyed is that here at Vanderbilt we have a very broad exposure to patients with different neurological disorders. One memorable experience was when I once made the diagnosis for a patient with a challenging clinical presentation. The patient had experienced three years of progressive worsening of gait, frequent falls, and spastic speech. More recently, the patient had started to have trouble with swallowing. The patient had seen a number of providers and had a lot of work-up done without a clear etiology. After seeing this patient in the clinic, I thought that the patient likely had a motor neuron disease, which was confirmed by subsequent testing. It is rewarding to make a correct diagnosis, and ultimately help patients get the care they need.
What have been some of the more challenging aspects of residency?
I think being on call as a junior resident was a challenge, because the learning curve then was relatively steep and sometimes we were quite busy. Not only do you have to do things efficiently, but also it is important to make sure the patients are well cared for. It was a challenge, but also a reward in itself because it really made me stronger and more confident as a physician.
Do you have plans for your career post-residency?
I’m very interested in sleep medicine, and will pursue Sleep Medicine Fellowship training after residency. [Sleep medicine is] an area of great opportunity for physicians to make a big difference. There’s a huge demand for clinicians in this area of medicine now because the population in the U.S. is getting older, and there are many patients with sleep disorders who are left under-treated. On the research side, there are lots of questions to be answered, and sleep disorders are closely related to many other conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, neurological conditions, and endocrine problems. So I think sleep medicine is a good area for me, since I’m interested in both clinical practice and research.
Have you been able to participate in any research during your time in residency?
One of the projects I did with Dr. Upender was researching a group of proteins called adipokines and their roles in sleep. It was mainly a literature review project, but we also were trying to understand the literature better by using network analysis. We did this by constructing a network of adipokines, with the help of a collaborator, and putting different proteins in the network to understand their functions—how they interact with each other and how they contribute to sleep physiology and sleep disorders. The research is still ongoing, but we’ve already seen some interesting results. For example, we discovered that some proteins are more important in how they can regulate sleep physiology. Some of the proteins can link sleep disorders to the metabolic dysfunctions associated with poor sleep.
How do you like to spend your time off? What kind of hobbies and other interests do you like to explore?
I really like to explore local parks. Nashville has a rich resource in parks, trails, and greenways. So I enjoy exploring nature, particularly how it changes throughout the seasons. My favorite ones are Radnor Lake and Percy Warner; they’re fairly close to the city, but when you’re in the park it’s like you’re in a different world. The good thing about Nashville is that you have easy access to those natural places.
The other thing I enjoy is cooking. I enjoy learning new recipes, especially food I grew up with. I grew up in Northwest China, so sometimes it’s hard to find things here that I grew up with. So I look up recipes online or ask family and friends, and try to make them here for myself. I can also share that with my friends here, or if I’m missing home, it becomes a comfort for myself.
What kind of media or entertainment are you interested in?
There’s a small theater in Belmont University which is very close to where I live, and I definitely enjoy that. They recently did a theater version of Little Women which was really great.
Where do you seek and find inspiration?
Being in medicine, you’re always inspired by your patients and your colleagues. I see a lot of resilience in my patients—many of them have a chronic neurological disease, but still live a full life and fulfill their potential and their goals in life. That has encouraged me to stick to my own goals in life. Being at a place like Vanderbilt, there are so many excellent model physicians that exemplify what a physician should be. They’re experts in their fields, but also have great patient skills. Every day going to work I get inspired by someone really doing a good job taking care of their patients.
