Systems vs. Individuals

Since graduating from Brown in 2018, Timmy Jeng’s trajectory has been defined by an interest in public health and education. His "non-traditional" path to medicine began in Madrid, Spain, where he served as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. This focus on education transitioned into a technical role at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where Jeng worked on feasibility studies for equipment designed to help astronauts maintain muscle and bone mass during spaceflight.

The 2020 pandemic marked a shift in Jeng’s focus toward health equity. After witnessing disparities firsthand while volunteering at COVID-19 testing sites, he took on a leadership role managing equitable COVID-19 vaccine deployment in Santa Rosa, California. These experiences in international education, innovative technology, and frontline public health ultimately motivated Jeng to pursue an MD to combine system-level insights with individual patient impact.

Leveraging Connections at the Center for Global Health Equity

In his first few years of medical school, Jeng became interested in medical education, and was presenting a lecture to medical students when he met Dr. Anne Herrmann-Werner, a faculty member from the University of Tübingen, located in Germany and part of Cyber Valley. Dr. Herrmann-Werner was visiting Brown through a long-standing clinical and research exchange managed by the Center for Global Health Equity. Timmy’s conversation with Dr. Herrmann-Werner was eye opening, as he realized the university was a leading institute for artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine and is home to the Tübingen Institute for Medical Education (TIME).

A research collaboration with TIME offered Jeng a unique opportunity to merge his interest in ultrasound with his commitment to education. Given his interest in the application of AI in ultrasound education, Dr. Herrmann-Werner encouraged Jeng to pursue a research exchange. With the help of the Center for Global Health Equity’s existing collaboration with the University of Tübingen, Jeng proposed and completed a one-month research exchange at TIME in 2025.

The Research Question

Following his initial exchange, Jeng maintained his partnership with TIME and successfully applied for a Fulbright Study/Research Award. In September 2026, he will return to the University of Tübingen for one year to investigate a specific question: “Can AI-guided ultrasound help improve long-term retention of fundamental ultrasound skills in pre-clinical medical students?”

Upon completing his Fulbright, Jeng hopes to disseminate his findings in a peer-reviewed journal and create AI-guided ultrasound modules catered to the unique Level 1 high acuity trauma needs of Rhode Island’s healthcare system.

The Center for Global Health Equity congratulates Timmy on this impressive recognition, and thanks our colleagues at the University of Tübingen for their collaboration with Brown University since 1989. 

Learn more about CGHE’s International Medical Exchanges