Scholar Stories: Puri Blends Interest in Technology, Passion for Medicine Through Biomedical Engineering
2/5/2025 12:40:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
By Mya Fromwiller
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each week MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
Rithik Puri, a senior on the University of Michigan men's gymnastics team, is not one to stray away from a challenge. He openly embraces them, which is why he has chosen to pursue two difficult fields of study while competing in collegiate athletics. In the spring, he will graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering through the College of Engineering and a minor in computer science. He plans to combine these two subject areas through a career in medicine, which has been a lifelong dream of his.
Since Puri was a child, he wanted to go to medical school. His parents are physicians and while they encouraged him to explore other career paths, he knew medicine was his passion. His decision to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering was also heavily influenced by his family -- more specifically his older brother -- who also attended Michigan. When Puri was still in high school, he visited his older brother at Michigan and attended one of his brother's BME classes. He instantly appreciated the major's focus on technology and research and knew during that visit that BME was the right choice for him.
Throughout his time as a BME major, Puri has thoroughly enjoyed the curriculum and the inclusion of subjects such as math and physics, which have always been some of his favorites. He has also enjoyed the projects assigned in his classes, which have allowed him to gain hands-on experience and complete several design assignments -- including two in which he studied orthopedic implants that are currently on the market.
"We were looking at these devices and trying to figure out ways either biologically or mechanically that we could improve their performance, said Puri. "I really love that aspect of engineering. They're constantly, iteratively trying to improve something."
He also has enjoyed classes exploring the intersection of technology and healthcare, such as a class about using AI in biomedical engineering and how to use machine learning models to analyze patient data. He has supplemented this interest in technology through his minor in computer science, which has been a challenge he has thoroughly enjoyed. He initially became familiar with the subject when two of his friends, one of who is also on the gymnastics team, decided to major in it.
"I watched them go through it and I started to think, 'Wow, this seems very, very challenging.'" Puri said. "I like doing challenging things. This was around the time that I was growing more interested in the ways that biomedical researchers are using computer science and technology to augment their research, so it seemed to work out in two ways. It seemed like a useful thing to tack onto my degree as someone interested in medical research. I also knew that this would be a difficult challenge and I wanted to push myself in an organized way."
Puri's commitment to challenging himself academically and preparing for a career in medicine has earned him several academic awards, including being a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a CGA All-American Scholar-Athlete. However, Puri's pursuit of his dream does not stop in the classroom. In addition to his studies, Puri has also participated in several extracurricular activities in preparation for the medical school application process.
He has begun exploring different focus areas in medicine and has shadowed doctors in several lines of work, such as orthopedic surgeons and vascular surgeons. During the school year, he works at the Shea Lab, which focuses on regenerative medicine and bioengineering. More specifically, he has been working with a PhD student to study breast cancer and improve diagnostic testing and treatment for breast cancer, which has provided him with a new interest in oncology. Lastly, he has spent time volunteering in the hospital during last summer and fall, which has been one of the most impactful opportunities he has participated in.
"There have definitely been rewarding moments when you get a chance to help someone and learn more about the whole healthcare experience from the patient side," Puri recalls. "The doctors and nurses have chosen to be in the hospital and that's what they want to do, but especially in an inpatient care system, a patient didn't choose to be there. You learn a different kind of compassion."
As he prepares for graduation in the spring, Puri already has his next year planned out. This summer, he will take the MCAT and will subsequently apply for medical school throughout the next year. In that time, he will get a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering, which is an opportunity that Puri is excited about.
"When you're in undergrad, they really try to expose you to all of these different niches in BME because it's such an interdisciplinary department," Puri said. "I love biochemistry and I've really enjoyed the intersection between biochemistry and the computational work for drug discovery, protein analysis and things like that. What I'm hoping to do in this master's is take some more advanced classes that dive deeper into those things and expose me to more of the research and the big questions being asked in that area."
In addition to preparing for his last semester of undergraduate studies, Puri is also preparing for his last season as a gymnast, which is a sport he has been participating in since childhood. Puri started gymnastics at age 5 in his hometown of Chicago, Ill., and began at Lakeshore Academy, remaining there for 13 years before moving on to the collegiate level. While competing in gymnastics, Puri was constantly thinking about the next challenge and was continually thinking about advancing to more competitive environments. The opportunity to grow was always something he loved about gymnastics, but he was also inspired to compete in college as a result of the collegiate meets held in Chicago.
"When you're growing up in Chicago with some of these competitions where NCAA teams are coming and competing, you get really excited about being a part of that and getting to have that experience, energy and drive."
After deciding to compete in collegiate gymnastics, Puri was then faced with the decision of choosing which school to attend. However, Puri described that he had a "gut feeling" about coming to Michigan and immediately felt confident that it was the right school for him.
"I was interested in developing as a student as well as an athlete," said Puri. "When it came time to make this decision, it was like a gut reaction that Michigan felt like the right place, that it is going to support me. It's full of so many different opportunities. It just made sense and is definitely the best decision I ever made.
"I'll always remember that the first thing my mom jokingly said to me when I committed to Michigan was 'You look good in blue.'"
His gymnastics journey at Michigan has continued to challenge him, but it is something he really admires about the program. He began training in the all-around but admits the transition was difficult. However, as a junior, he found the spotlight on rings and high bar and made the lineups in both events at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. His performance contributed to the team's first-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and second-place finish at the NCAA Championships and also earned him All-Big Ten second-team honors. In addition to the talent of the team, Puri also credits the team's success to the dynamic they've developed over the past four years.
"The team culture is like nothing I've ever experienced," said Puri. "We've struck a very healthy balance of intense and passionate competitiveness and the love and brotherhood that is the foundation beneath. That balance is something that allows us to perform at a high level and push each other, but also pull each other up when things get hard. Nothing I've experienced would have been possible without the guys who were standing next to me and have come up with me."
His spot on the team also furthered his desire to go into medicine because of the opportunity to be a part of another team environment. Before coming to college, Puri felt that gymnastics was more of an individual sport but after coming to Michigan, he was finally able to experience a close-knit, team environment. Although he did not initially realize that a career in medicine would provide him with a strong team environment, he recalls the moment when he came to that realization.
"There's a student-athlete group called Michigan Athletes Towards Careers in Healthcare and they have a conference every year," he said. "During my freshman year, the keynote speaker said something that I will always remember. He said, 'Medicine is the coolest team sport you'll ever be a part of.' That was the moment it clicked. I love being a part of a team and I love contributing. I love being of service and I love science, so this seems like the best way to combine all of these things."
As he enters his last semester of competing in gymnastics and prepares to say goodbye to the team environment he has cherished so much, he is extremely grateful for the Michigan Athletics community that has provided him with so much support throughout the past four years. Whether it is the tight network of resources or access to elite trainers and facilities, Puri admits that the support from Michigan Athletics has been critical to his success. In addition, he has also found a strong community among the other student-athletes, many of whom have become some of his closest friends.
Although the path to a career in medicine will be difficult, Puri has shown that he can tackle any challenge he faces. Through gymnastics, schoolwork and extracurricular activities, Puri has prepared himself well for the road that lies ahead and is sure to find success in whatever area of medicine he pursues.
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