Some dreams just take a little longer to realize. As a child in Mississippi, Jan Lewis Brandes already knew she wanted to be a physician. What she didn't foresee was the circuitous route to that destination.

 

"When I applied to medical school to my state school," she recalled, "two of my interviewers asked me what I would do if I got pregnant during medical school!" Flabbergasted, she wasn't prepared for their question and ultimately wasn't accepted. "That launched me into a very different decade. I took a position as the director of public relations and development in the largest medical center in Mississippi where I met a very important mentor, Martha Frances Allen. She taught me skills and approaches that I use every day."

 

Edging closer to her first love, she earned a master's in microbiology from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville and continued her research at the Free University in Berlin, Germany as a Fulbright Scholar.

 

"I knew, however, that medicine was still tugging at my heart, and so I reapplied to medical school as I was nearing 30. And this time, no one asked me what would happen if I got pregnant." Instead, she continued, "They asked me about my interests and my research." Accepted by multiple schools, Brandes chose Vanderbilt, which she called one of the best moves of her life.

 

Drawn to neurology through her beloved neuroanatomy professor, Jeanette Norden, PhD, Brandes finds her specialty fascinating to this day and is exhilarated by her research and clinical work in headache medicine.

 

"My time in headache has paralleled some remarkable advances in the treatment of migraine," she noted. "I have had the privilege of being involved as a clinical trial investigator in most of the major studies in migraine and other headache types over the past 15 years. We were the lead study site for the last two new medications which received FDA approval, one for migraine prevention — Topamax — and one for acute migraine treatment —Treximet." Despite this, she continued, there is a "paucity of perfect medications" to treat headache so the search continues.

 

Brandes also finds her work in headache education fulfilling. As a past president of the American Council for Headache Education, she has had the opportunity to travel extensively meeting with both physicians and patient groups. She also loves her work with medical students and residents.

 

Brandes recently realized the impact of a lecture when she received a call from a young pediatrician who sat through her class several years ago. The doctor called to share her suspicions that an eight-year-old patient was suffering from migraines and to discuss treatment plans. "I was thrilled because she was recognizing, treating and caring for this young patient because she understood migraine. Often, I see adults who didn't meet pediatricians like her when they were children, and they have suffered for years … so if I've played any role in helping other physicians care for migraineurs, that is my great reward."

 

Outside her practice, Brandes' other great reward is enjoying her two sons — George, 25, and Avery, 23. Ironically, both were born while she was in medical school, but Brandes said Vanderbilt couldn't have been more supportive.

 

She counsels those thinking about career choices to find something they love, be open to opportunities and to never give up on dreams. "I was really crushed when I wasn't accepted to medical school at 19, but I had a decade of research and travel experience behind me when I did enter medical school at 29. Frankly, I attended a better medical school and had a much clearer idea of who I was and what I wanted to do."