René Bravo (79) wouldn’t tell you his journey into the medical field was easy. In fact, if you look at his background, the odds seemed to be against him.
He didn’t have a private Christian education background to help him at PLNU. He was a first generation college student. And he was diagnosed with cancer at age 13.
“I had lymphoma, and I spent a number of years as a patient at the City of Hope [Hospital in Los Angeles],” Bravo explained. “During that time, I was inspired by the pediatric oncologists that I encountered. These were good people, and they were compassionate people.”
By the age of 15, Bravo knew he wanted to be a physician because of those doctors.
“They showed me that there was a significant balance to the mix of science and medicine,” Bravo said. “And, they really inspired me to pursue the medical practice.”
Decades later, Bravo is now leading the medical community throughout the state of California. In October 2024, he was named president-elect of the California Medical Association (CMA) and will begin his role as president in October 2025.
He has exemplified their mission to promote health equity and justice in medicine and science throughout his pediatric career. He served most of his career in San Luis Obispo but also is an advocate for global outreach. Bravo traveled internationally, lending his medical expertise, sharing words of hope and living out Christ’s example of caring for others.
And he said he owes much of his career and leadership trajectory to PLNU.
“If it wasn’t for the investment that a lot of the professors and even some of my peers gave me, I was at the point I probably wouldn’t have achieved and even got into medical school,” Bravo said.
His first year at PLNU came with challenges.
“I struggled because I couldn’t figure out why everybody knew everything, and I didn’t, even though we took the same classes,” Bravo explained. “But it changed my second year because the playing field became level once everybody was taking new subjects. It was there that I succeeded. I ran to the front of the pack during those years.”
He took the challenges in stride and kept his future career goal in mind. Along the way, he was mentored by professors such as Dr. Kenneth Hyde.
“He was really somebody who recognized who I was, my potential and helped me work with that,” Bravo explained. “He was not only a mentor, he was a friend. And, I give him a lot of credit for the successes.”
“As a pediatrician, every exam room that I entered, seeing the young families, the babies, the young lives that I could impact for a lifetime, were worth all of the effort and sacrifice that I went through to become a physician,” Bravo said.
After PLNU, Bravo went on to continue his medical studies at UC San Francisco and a residency at Stanford. During his postgraduate education, he realized he wanted to stay grounded with his roots at PLNU.
“There’s a secret sauce to Point Loma, and that is its professors and the relationships that they maintain, and the real friendships and compassion that they have for the students that they teach,” Bravo said. “I really realized when I left Point Loma how special that place was.”
It was where he met his wife of 44 years. And it turned out that four of his five sons also got to experience the “secret sauce” of PLNU.
Bravo eventually went full circle to reconnect with his roots, becoming a member of PLNU’s board of trustees.
“I wanted to continue giving back and making sure that later generations had that experience available to them,” Bravo said.
He’s served the university in that capacity for five years now. He’s also the chair of research associates in the biology/chemistry department, raising support and awareness for the summer research programs.
He’s seen the university through many changes and challenges. He shared how the board of trustees navigated the past two years.
“I would say that we have not made rash or quick decisions,” Bravo said. “There’s been a lot of deliberation, a lot of contemplation. I know the trustees have gone to prayer also in many of these things.
“[We’re] trying to mirror the principles that Christ gave of loving everyone, accepting everyone, and also the vision of Dr. Bresee, of caring for the poor, reaching out and speaking for those without voices, and being a salt and light in the world, in the community and to all brothers and sisters that we have.”
That’s what he hopes to bring into his presidency at the CMA today. He said this moment for him reflects his commitment to what he learned, and continues to learn, from his time at PLNU.
“I think it’s a natural extension of my desire to be a servant leader, my desire to do good and to reflect well in the community and in the world,” Bravo said.
As president, Bravo will serve as an advocate, testifying in governmental hearings, speaking to organizations and acting as a liaison for the CMA. The CMA represents more than 50,000 physician members in California. He will be the public face of the profession of medicine for the next three years, starting this October 2025.
“Doctors are an important part of our society,” Bravo said. “The families, disparities in birth, equity, the closure of rural hospitals in large areas where people of color live – those are things that we’re fighting to address and fighting to fix. Doctors must be advocates for good.”
Though his career has had its highs and lows, he highlighted that this vocation, though not for the faint of heart, is worth it.
“If you have the inkling or you feel the calling of serving people through the profession of medicine, please examine that carefully and don’t get discouraged if it’s hard or tough,” Bravo said. “If you get tired, rest. Don’t quit.”
