BIOE Riley Schoch Selected as Rural-MD Scholar at UMSOM

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Riley Schoch, an undergraduate student in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BIOE) on the pre-health professions track, has been selected as a Rural-MD Scholar at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), where he will begin medical school in August 2026 as a member of the Class of 2030.

Schoch was chosen as one of 10 students in the third cohort of the Rural-MD Scholars Program, a competitive initiative aimed at addressing physician shortages and health disparities in rural Maryland, particularly on the Eastern Shore. Scholars receive full medical school tuition and participate in a four-year training program focused on rural health care delivery, with a commitment to practice medicine in a rural Maryland community after completing their training.

The Rural-MD Scholars Program begins with a pre-matriculation experience at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, followed by participation in the Rural Health Equity and Access Longitudinal Elective. The program provides sustained clinical exposure in eastern Maryland and includes mentoring, research, and community-based learning experiences. Its curriculum emphasizes care for rural patients, the scope of rural medical practice, and the social determinants of health that affect access to care.

Raised in Berlin, Maryland, Schoch became aware early of the challenges rural residents face when seeking medical care. He observed that limited access to specialty providers often required patients to travel long distances for treatment, including across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

“Being selected as a Rural-MD Scholar feels like publicly committing to the promise I made to myself when I first became interested in medicine. The physician shortage on the Eastern Shore is a generational health challenge that created many of the barriers to care my family, friends, and community back home experience daily.”

-Riley Schoch

As a middle school student, Schoch broke his arm at a growth plate and was referred by local physicians to specialists located about two hours away. While his family was able to travel for care, he understood that many others in his community faced barriers that made similar trips difficult. That experience, along with later part-time work as an emergency medical technician near Bethany Beach and shadowing physicians on the Eastern Shore, reinforced his goal of returning home to practice medicine. Through his EMT training, he saw firsthand the challenges rural patients face, including barriers to access and gaps in health literacy, and he hopes to make care more accessible and easier to navigate for patients in his community.

“Being selected as a Rural-MD Scholar feels like publicly committing to the promise I made to myself when I first became interested in medicine,” Schoch said. “The physician shortage on the Eastern Shore is a generational health challenge that created many of the barriers to care my family, friends, and community back home experience daily.”

Schoch is a Senior majoring in bioengineering on the pre-health professions track. His undergraduate research experience in the department, under BIOE professor Joe Huang, introduced him to translational research and the development of clinical therapies. Through that work, he gained exposure to moving research from bench to bedside and to collaboration among engineers, physicians, and other experts.

The research experience helped prepare Schoch for medical school and shaped his interest in oncology research, which he plans to pursue during his medical training. He said his time in the bioengineering department helped connect classroom concepts to real-world clinical applications and reinforced his interest in becoming a physician-scientist.

In addition to his academic work, Schoch previously worked as an emergency medical technician and recently finished serving as the lead technician at an ophthalmology clinic in Washington, D.C. He is currently exploring his medical interests at UM Shore Regional Health in Easton and its outpatient offices while continuing his research in Huang’s lab. He is also pursuing a minor in Spanish language, culture, and professional contexts.

Schoch plans to specialize in a surgical field and return to the Eastern Shore to help expand access to specialty care. His goal is to reduce the need for rural residents to leave their communities to receive medical treatment.

Published February 12, 2026