Being born in a poor country, training as a pediatrician, teaching medical students and working in impoverished areas have all contributed to the background of Upstate Medical University‘s new president. Danielle Laraque-Arena, MD, tells of her birth in Haiti, her upbringing from age 7 in New York City and her passion for the rigors of medical research as well as the need for doctors to get real-life experience and for medical care to reach the underprivileged. She also takes a look at the future of medical education and health care.