As Father’s Day approaches, Lijun Xia, M.D., Ph.D., recalls the night in 2018 his son called him, clearly discouraged.
Jon Xia had spent four years toward his bachelor’s degree and seven years on a dual M.D.-Ph.D. program. Now, he was spending another seven years doing his combined medical residency and fellowship training in Chicago.
“Jon told me some of his high school and college friends with bachelor degrees were now well into their careers, some of them making a lot of money,” said Xia, a longtime scientist at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. “Many were getting married, but Jon had trouble affording to travel to the weddings. He was wondering whether he’d chosen the right career.”
Xia understood like few fathers could. His son was following in his footsteps to become a physician-scientist – a path about only 3% of physicians take.
Today, Jon Xia, M.D., Ph.D., is a gastroenterologist and clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Medicine. An expert in bile-duct cancer, he says his father’s calm, steady encouragement helped him persist through those lengthy training years.
Jon Xia graduated from the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics in 2006, then spent that summer at OMRF as a Sir Alexander Fleming Scholar. The experience, he said, ignited his passion for research – but so did growing up around his dad.
After a decade as a practicing hematologist, Lijun gave up his medical practice to focus on research. Three decades later, he leads OMRF’s Cardiovascular Biology Research Program.
The senior Xia’s advice is more collegial than fatherly these days, as his current research bears similarities to his son’s. He studies the role of intestinal sugars in cancer, fatty liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease.
When asked about his son’s accomplishments in the lab and clinic, the elder Xia ticked off a list like a proud father. He highlighted Jon’s recent work at Digestive Disease Week, the world’s leading conference of gastroenterologists, where Jon chaired two sessions.
“I’m very happy for him,” Lijun Xia said.
Jon Xia credits his father as a guide and source of inspiration, especially during challenging periods of his education and training.
“The message I took from my father was that worthwhile things often take time, and that if I believed in the work and kept going, the path would eventually make sense,” Jon Xia said. “What I’ve been able to do since then reflects years of support and perspective from my family that helped me get here.”
