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Jagger Godarzi

Jagger and Nicholas are the co-founders of , an online resource for medical students interested in pursuing a career in the field of plastic surgery.

Tell us about yourselves before you came to Drexel.

Jagger Godarzi: I started at a community college in California without a clear idea of what I wanted to do after high school. I tried everything from computer science to English, but biology was the first subject that really sparked my curiosity. Mentors at that level helped me see what a career in science could look like and how many doors it could open, so I stuck with it, and the further I went, the more I enjoyed it. In 2019 I transferred to UCLA, where I majored in molecular, cell and developmental biology and built skills in computational biology and molecular processes. I then completed a master’s degree through the Drexel Pathway to Medical School program, which gave me the foundation I needed for medical school and a clearer sense of what I wanted out of this path. I started at Drexel in 2024 and am now an M3.

Nicholas Ranellone: I grew up in Eastchester, New York, and majored in neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh. After graduating I took two gap years, both of which I lived in Pittsburgh for. For my first gap year, I worked as a patient care technician on a trauma unit at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). My second gap year I worked as a robotic coordinator in UPMC’s Center for Advanced Robotic Training, where I worked extensively with the da Vinci surgical system. This job shaped most of what came after it and my clinical interests. I spent my days around surgeons and device reps, and I got to see how technology changes what a surgeon can do in the operating room.

Nicholas Ranellone

What initially sparked your interest in medicine generally, and plastic surgery specifically?

JG: I became interested in medicine around my sophomore year of college through volunteering and community outreach. The moment I knew I wanted to be a physician came while I was spending time at the Los Angeles County/USC Burn Unit. I watched surgeons do reconstructive work that gave patients with devastating, life-altering burns back their dignity and confidence. I was in awe of how deeply they understood each case and how they could weigh several possible outcomes for a patient at once. That awe, combined with my own desire to give back, made medicine feel like a natural fit, and plastic surgery in particular.

NR: My interest in medicine started when I was young. Coming from a family of first responders, I always knew that I wanted to work in healthcare. That initial interest led me to explore various fields in healthcare and eventually realized that medicine was what I wanted to do. I specifically became interested in plastic surgery because of the breadth of the field and the great impact you can have on patients’ lives by restoring form and function. Working at the UPMC robotic training center, I was also able to see how plastic surgery was at the forefront of technological advances, and I wanted to be a part of that.

Has there been a moment at the College of Medicine when you started to see a future for yourself that hadn't seemed possible before?

JG: Opening my Step 1 result and seeing that I had passed — I felt accomplished, but more than that, I felt real hope about a future that until then had sometimes been hard to picture. It was the first concrete proof that two years of work were paying off and that I was on the right track. It also made me proud to be a medical student, building knowledge I’ll soon use to understand what’s affecting my patients and how to best care for them.

NR: Teaching gross anatomy was the first time I could picture my future as a surgeon. Standing at the table with first-year students, walking them through a dissection, I felt at home in a way I hadn’t expected. I realized I wanted a career that combined hands-on technical work with teaching.

What is PlasticsPulse? What was the motivation for creating it, and what did that process entail? 

JG and NR: is a free resource for students who want to pursue plastic surgery, especially those at schools without a home program [a residency program affiliated with the institution where the student is earning their MD]. It pulls together match data, research opportunities and application timelines that are otherwise scattered or hard to find.

The motivation came from our own experiences. Both of us realized how difficult it was to find information and opportunities in plastic surgery. We often missed deadlines by just a few days because we didn’t hear about a conference or other opportunity in time. We wanted to make a centralized resource so that this would not happen to anyone else and the field would be more accessible to everyone. Students at schools without home programs often are at a disadvantage compared to students with one, and we built this platform to lessen that gap. We also wanted to provide students with a year-by-year guide so they know what they can be doing at each stage of medical school.

Both of us have prior coding experience and a willingness to learn new things, which laid the foundation for PlasticsPulse. We combined our knowledge of the field with guidance from plastic surgeons who wanted to help us build the platform. It took extensive planning and many months of trial and error to create this. Even today we are still learning new things and adding many new features to the site. We have expanded and now have a fantastic team of medical students and mentors who help with PlasticsPulse. We would not be where we are today without them.

What do you like to do outside of your academic and research pursuits?

JG: I love to cook and am always experimenting, whether that means trying a new cuisine, working on my plating or learning which flavors complement each other. I’m also into aquascaping and find a lot of peace in maintaining a small ecosystem. Otherwise, you’ll find me playing chess or billiards or trying new restaurants around Philadelphia and beyond.

NR: Outside of academics and research I really like to get outside, whether that’s hiking or playing a round of golf. I’ve been hiking for almost my whole life, and that has brought me to unique places such as Mount Everest base camp. I also love watching college football and am always cheering on Pitt.

Today's medical students have spent much of their lives hearing about crises and disruption.  What gives you optimism about the future of healthcare?

JG: What gives me the most optimism is how different our upbringing has been from that of physicians who trained even 10 or 20 years ago. Growing up alongside rapidly changing technology has shaped how we think about patient care, and we tend to see new tools as ways to improve both patient outcomes and the systems clinicians work in. The crises we grew up with matter just as much. Seeing hardship in the world, in our country and in our own lives forced many of us to grow up quickly and face problems head on. That pushes us to ask not just how to fix what’s broken, but how to keep it from breaking in the first place. COVID-19 is a big part of that. Living through the pandemic exposed problems in healthcare that had been easy to ignore, and I think it gave many of us the confidence to speak up and work on them. As we move into leadership roles, I believe that perspective will help us make real changes for patients and providers alike.

NR: What gives me optimism is the people entering the field. My classmates all care about access, and they are willing to build things instead of waiting for someone else to fix them. I also think technology is going to help in real ways. Working with robotic surgery showed me how tools can expand what clinicians can do for patients. Also, when students share information openly, as we’re trying to do with PlasticsPulse, the path into medicine becomes fairer for everyone.

What advice would you give to an aspiring medical student, whether or not they are interested in plastic surgery?

JG: Stay curious, and talk to as many people as you can, whether or not you come in with everything figured out. Hearing how others worked through their own struggles shows you problems and paths from angles you’d never consider on your own, the same way a good book lets you step into someone else’s life. In medicine, that kind of exposure helps you figure out what gives you satisfaction and where you can make the biggest difference. I came into medical school not knowing what I wanted to do, and I credit finding my path to putting myself in as many new situations and around as many different perspectives as I could. So, put yourself out there and be your own cheerleader. You’ll find mentors ready to support you, but you also must advocate for yourself and your education to see all the possibilities in front of you and truly grow as a student and person.

NR: Ask for help early and be specific about what you’re asking for. Most people are glad to help a student who has done some homework first. Don’t assume that a path is closed just because your school doesn’t have a built-in pipeline. Mentors, research and communities can be built. When you find something useful, pass it along to the next person.