Eon Rios ’97 Medical Training and Research
Accomplishments
Eon is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Stanford University and an Attending Physician at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. He spends the majority of his time treating underserved patient populations at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC), the safety net hospital for the South Bay. At SCVMC, he trains Stanford dermatology resident physicians and also conducts clinical research related to complex medical dermatology. This research includes studying the significance of the human microbiome as it relates to systemic and cutaneous diseases, and outcomes from severe drug reaction. He also investigates gaps and disparities in patient care.
What was your pathway to your current position?
Once I graduated from Sonora High School, I attended UC Davis as an undergraduate. Initially I thought I would pursue a degree in mathematics or engineering, but after a few great basic research experiences at UC Davis and Johns Hopkins Medical School, I realized my interest was in the biosciences. I graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior with a minor in Psychology.
I was fortunate enough to be accepted to Stanford’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) to pursue an MD/PhD Program. After completing my first two years of preclinical medical degree training, I started my PhD in Immunology, studying the roles of receptor trafficking in regulating immune activation. After completing my PhD, I finished the final two clinical years of my MD. I enjoyed all aspects of my clinical training, but chose dermatology as the subject for my clinical residency because it is so visual and fascinating. It offers amazing research opportunities as well as a robust clinical spectrum, including medical and surgical aspects. I again was lucky enough to be accepted to Stanford for this next step. Prior to intensive dermatology training, I completed one year of working in internal medicine at SCVMC and fell in love with the patient population and mission.
I participated in the research track for my Dermatology training, completing residency in three years and then spent another three years pursuing postdoctoral research in epithelial biology geared at understanding how small molecules control skin development. During this time I began my clinical and teaching practice at SCVMC and eventually arrived at my current position.
What memories do you have of Sonora High?
I have so many wonderful memories from Sonora High. Most important were a number of amazing teachers like Frank Sanfilippo, Anne Cavagnaro, Sue Mundy, and Pat Sieben. They helped lay the academic foundation for my 20 (5+8+7) post-high school years of schooling.
I loved sports. Tewolde Berhane and Russ Moreton, the high school soccer coaches, helped prepare me to succeed as a walkon on the UC Davis Men’s Soccer team my freshmen year. With hard work, we made it as far as the NCAA national tournament quarterfinals in my third year at UC Davis.
What future goals do you have?
I am pretty happy in my current roles practicing clinical medicine, teaching, and doing research, but if there is one thing I have learned, it is that everyone should always be open to new adventures and career paths. So, I guess, who knows what lies ahead?
What advice would you give to current and future Sonora High students?
Work hard. Take the time and effort to immerse yourself in the things you enjoy. Most importantly, make your time in school count; it is short and real life will come very quickly. Don’t worry if you don’t know what you want to do after Sonora High; your path can be circuitous, and that can be even more exciting.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Spending time with my family is my number one priority. I met my wonderful wife, Ashley, at UC Davis through sports. We have two boys, Elliot, 15, and Bailey,12, who always keep me on my toes.
I still love soccer and enjoy coaching club soccer for my kids. I miss the forests around Sonora so any chance I get, I like to go mountain biking along the coastal range or up to Tahoe for snowboarding.
