In a medical school chock-full of prolific researchers, Dr. Magnus Chun, third-year resident in internal medicine, clearly stands out. According to Dr. Deborah Kuhls, professor and acute care surgery chief for the department of surgery and associate dean for research, Chun is currently the highest producing resident. In addition to racking up 26 peer-reviewed articles, and 17 poster and 12 podium presentations, he was the state poster winner in the clinical research category for the American College of Physicians (ACP), and represented Nevada at the 2025 ACP national poster competition. If that’s not enough, he also serves on the editorial boards for the International Journal of Clinical and Medical Case Studies, as well as the Open Access Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology.
That’s why it’s a little surprising to learn that his undergraduate degree was in engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, and he worked one year in the oil and gas industry. There was a lot of opportunity, he says, but something was lacking.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of interactions with people,” says Chun, “and I didn’t feel like I made a huge impact in the work that I did. In the back of my mind during college, the idea of medicine had always been there. I took a lot of medical-related courses for the chemical engineering degree and fell in love with medicine.”
He then went to medical school at Tulane University and was happy to match at his first choice for residency, the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV.
Although his career track definitely changed, the focus on research has always been there. “I actually started doing research all the way back in college, specifically in bench research, so I’ve been lucky to gain a lot of experience in the research field. And that’s translated to the projects I’m doing now and then trying to also help some of the medical students or the residents get on board with projects.”
Now, as a resident in internal medicine, he definitely has a preference for his research. “My main focus is in gastroenterology,” says Chun. “I’m interested in all topics of gastroenterology, all of the GI [gastrointestinal] organs.”
Three big research projects for Chun recently included inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, and autoimmune hepatitis. The latter project is a partnership with Stanford Health Care Hospital. All projects seek to advance patient care and achieve better health outcomes.
With so many research publications and presentations under his white coat, you’d think it would be hard for Chun to pick a favorite. Such is not the case. “It actually would be the ACP national conference [at which he presented last year]. And the reason why is, since medical school, I’ve actually submitted posters to this national conference and I’ve never actually been able to win until my second year here in residency.”
But, there’s a deeper reason for this presentation to be his favorite. “I’ve gotten comments and feedback in terms of posters, in terms of research, how I conduct it,” says Chun, “and I’ve been able to improve every time. I’ve never actually been able to qualify for the national competition as the state winner until this particular conference, and getting in was probably the high point just because it was an accumulation of the failures that I’ve had, and learning from those failures and then incorporating them, and being able to finally see the success that I want to.”
Although he’s a standout in his research activities, he admits the challenges of being a resident are ever-present. Maintaining a work-life balance, for one, is something that he tries to preserve with swimming, strength training, and other physical activities.
A bigger challenge for him, though, is seeing patients not doing well and even passing away. “And every night you’re thinking about those patients and feeling that you’ve tried to do everything you can, but there’s nothing you can do, especially critical patients in the ICU. And I think it takes a lot of courage to admit that you’ve tried your best, and you have to live with the feeling that, yes, you’ve done your best, but at one point, there’s only so much you can do.”
On the positive side, Chun says the help and support from the office of research has been key and, specifically, that of Kavita Batra, Ph.D., assistant professor, medical research biostatistician, and executive director of research and scholarly activity for the office of research. “I wouldn’t be where I am without the department here,” says Chun. “They’ve been really supportive. They’ve helped me with data analysis a lot.”
Chun also notes the leadership and guidance of Dr. Aditi Singh, professor and residency program director for the department of internal medicine, as essential to his success in his residency. “She was a big part of why I chose to come here,” says Chun. “She is very supportive of, not just the research side of things, but internal medicine in general and the well-being of residents and creating programs to facilitate well-being and making sure all the residents are doing the best that they can.”
Although his plans are to seek a fellowship in gastrointestinal medicine, he acknowledges that, with the match process, he may not be able to stay in Las Vegas. “I’ll definitely be happy to stay here for fellowship, but the match process is one of those processes that you don’t really have too much of a say in. We’ll have to see where I end up, but there’s been a great support system here in place. It would be amazing to come back here and continue my fellowship.”
