Undegraduate: BA in ethnomusicology, Jazz Studies concentration. Before UCSF: Toured with rock group Pseudopod and singer Jem. Inspiration: UCSF Psychiatrist Denny Zeitlin, an accomplished jazz pianist and composer

Ross Grant

Ross comes from a family of doctors, and both his father and grandfather graduated from the UCSF School of Medicine. But from his mother, a singer, Ross also inherited a love of music and the talent to pursue it.

Having grown up playing electric guitar, he was recruited by UCLA, where his mentor, legendary jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell, is the Director of the Jazz Studies Program. "Actually, I was more interested in rock. But you can't study that."

While in college, Ross played with the band Pseudopod and toured with them in California. After he graduated with a degree in ethno-musicology, his band signed a record deal and began touring all over the country. "We did the whole fake rock star thing."

He liked traveling and meeting other people and admits that "playing in front of thousands of people is definitely a cool rush," yet Ross knew he wouldn't want to do this forever. "The lifestyle was stimulating and rewarding at times, but tedious and mind-numbing at others."

When the band broke up, he worked as a session musician and as a sideman for the singer Jem. He toured with her in Europe and appeared on TV shows such as Late Night with Conan O'Brien. But he also started to worry about his future. "If you stay in that world, the older you get, the harder it becomes." He knew it was time to switch tracks.

When Ross applied for medical school, his background led some interviewers to doubt his dedication. "Do you really want to do this?" was a question he heard commonly. He found the people at UCSF to be the most open-minded. In fact, one of them had been a singer herself. "That was refreshing."

Inspiration and encouragement also came from UCSF Psychiatrist Denny Zeitlin, an accomplished jazz pianist and composer. When they met at a concert, Zeitlin told Ross "to ignore those people who say you won't have time for music during your training." Zeitlin said that he practiced all the way through residency.

For Ross, it was always clear that he would never want to quit music altogether. "I hope to keep intertwining both medicine and music throughout my whole life."