Bright Future for Harvard Med School Grad
Jul 10, 2019 12:00AM ● By By Seti Long
Fresh out of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Curiel celebrates his graduation and accomplishments with his family. Pictured left to right: Dr. Daniel Curiel, his mother Maclovia Curiel and father, Ignacio Curiel. Photo provided by Maclovia Curiel.
GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - Our tight-knit community loves to hear success stories of those who have come from our flock and have moved on to do great things out in the world. Daniel Curiel is doing just that, blazing a course towards a brilliant career in Pediatric Reconstructive Surgery.
Daniel grew up in Gridley surrounded by his loving family. His mother, Maclovia Curiel, shared that ever since a young age, Daniel had wanted to become a doctor. He would find willing subjects to practice on, such as his father, Ignacio Curiel, administering simple allergy shots.
His love for the medical field grew, and upon receiving his GED, Daniel took the first steps towards achieving his dream of practicing medicine by studying at Butte College.
He then transferred to UC Davis on scholarship, where he studied biochemistry and molecular biology. It was at Davis that he was awarded special honors. He received a medal from the College of Biological Sciences in recognition of his flawless 4.0 GPA and scientific research on protein signaling in breast and brain cancers. The prestigious award is only given to one of the several hundred students who graduate from the College of Biological Sciences each year.
Upon his graduation in 2014 from UC Davis, he went on to attend Harvard Medical School in Boston where he researched clinical outcomes relating to reconstructive surgery – his future field. On May 30th of this year, Curiel graduated with his MD degree from Harvard Med. His loving family and fiancé were in attendance and Dr. Curiel said, “It was a wonderful day to share with my family!”
Dr. Curiel has already started his residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. It is there that he will train in plastic and reconstructive surgery. “I hope to be a pediatric reconstructive surgeon one day,” he said. His residency at the Mayo Clinic will keep him busy for up to 6 years.
As he continues his path towards realizing his dream in far-away Minnesota, his proud family cheers him on from home. On behalf of the entire family, his mother Maclovia expressed her thanks to the Lord: “We are very grateful to God for the many opportunities and blessings that he has bestowed on our son! The Lord has always been there for our family. We all couldn’t have done it without His help.”
