Morgan “Mo” Gardner
“This Is My Home”
Morgan Gardner, or Mo as she’s known by her friends, is a Harlem native who grew up on the east side of the city. “It’s a really cool opportunity to grow up in the city, but you do grow up very fast,” laughed Gardner, who studied drama as a student in the prestigious La Guardia High School for Performing Arts. While she loved acting, Gardner quickly found the school’s environment somewhat toxic. “We were getting typecast as 15-year-olds and there were a lot of body image issues,” said Gardner. “A lot of the scene work was inappropriate for us.” Realizing that many of her peers were dealing with addiction and mental health issues, Gardner began organizing support groups, which she said introduced her to the concept of mental health. “I tried to make changes,” said Gardner. “That funneled me into the medical field.” Gardner attended Pace University and studied chemistry with a minor in health science in the specific track of global health.
After graduating in 2019, she worked with a physician specializing in infectious diseases, an especially important role during the Covid-19 pandemic. “This was our niche so we realized we could do something,” said Gardner. “We already had a lab running PCR tests, so we converted it to do COVID testing and started prophylactic trials sequencing.” Afterwards, Gardner attended Drexel University and earned a master’s degree in biomedical science. “I was also doing volunteer work in the community and all the components came together and it made sense that medical school would be the next step,” said Gardner. She added that TouroCOM’s location and mission spoke directly to her. “I can’t picture myself doing anything else,” explained Gardner. “This is my home. My biggest goal is to give back to my community in Harlem. There’s no more perfect place for me.” She wants to specialize in emergency medicine. “To me, it feels like the specialty where you can have the most social impact,” she said. “Emergency rooms are where you take care of uninsured patients, undocumented immigrants, and the homeless. It’s a central location and the patient population I would like to serve.”
