Bermudian Dr. Malcolm Brock is ultra-modest about his rise to the top in medicine — from his studies in the UK to his current career at Johns Hopkins Medicine, in Baltimore.

Last week, Dr. Brock, 43, who hails from Cox's Hill in Pembroke, was on the Island along with other colleagues from Johns Hopkins, to bolster the hospital's relationship with local physicians.

Here, he gives words of encouragement to aspiring Bermudians considering a career in medicine — what to expect and what not expect.

Working in the Division of Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Brock is charged with providing surgical therapy for patients who have thoracic cancers.

Additionally, he helps with developing an active research laboratory for the early diagnosis of lung and oesophageal cancers.

"This is about Hopkins showing an appreciation of the long relationship that we've had with Bermuda.

"It's been a two-way street, it hasn't just been patients coming up to Baltimore. Johns Hopkins has had a very long relationship with Bermuda, a familiar one, one that's been going on for more than 20 years and coincidentally, I've been at Hopkins for 20 years."

Johns Hopkins University is named after Mr. Johns Hopkins, a Quaker merchant, banker and businessman, who left $7 million in 1873 to create the hospital.

Formerly known as Johns Hopkins University, it is now Johns Hopkins Medicine.

It is a term that combines the school of medicine with the health professionals and facilities of the broad Johns Hopkins Health System.

Dr. Brock, is the son of the first CEO of the Bermuda College, Mansfield (Jimmy) Brock.

He is a board-certified general surgeon and also board-certified for cardiovascular surgery.

He earned his undergraduate degree at Princeton University; a Rhodes Scholarship for postgraduate oriental studies at Oxford University, in England; and a medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Most are surprised to discover that Dr. Brock is also fluent in speaking Japanese; having picked it up at age 16 when in Japan as a rotary exchange student.

He studied there for countless summers and even as a translator, including for universities and colleges. At Oxford University, part of his research focused on Japanese biotechnology.

At Princeton, he minored in Asian Studies where he again focused on Japanese studies.

He spent nine years of postdoctoral surgical training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.He also has spent time training in cardiovascular surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England.

His research work centres on developing tests for the early detection of lung and oesophageal cancers from blood and sputum. And, he has authored more than 40 scientific papers and often gives presentations about his work.

His sister, Arlene Brock, who was sworn in as Bermuda's first Ombudsman two years ago and a success in her own right, described him as brilliant but down to earth."Obviously, everyone is very proud of Malcolm," she admired.

"He is not only brilliant, but works hard and is very passionate about medicine. "As well as research and his patients. His lectures are always interesting he has a way of making the most complicated concepts understandable and accessible."

But most of all, I admire his humility."Asked to describe his daily duties at Johns Hopkins Medicine, one day is hardly the same as the next, Dr. Brock explained.He added:

"We treat patients, which is primarily the main thing that we do. What Hopkins expects us to do is push the envelope for medical discoveries and medical therapies.

"They want us not just to treat patients but to discover new ways, better ways of treating patients."

I spend a certain number of days per week treating patients and I try to spend a certain number of days thinking about and working on therapies."

In order to do the latter, I have a research lab that employs six people and it's almost like a small business because we are constantly trying to be innovative."

In his spare time, the novel physician prefers to spend time playing golf and lots of time with his three children, all girls, who live in the US.Above all, the Island way of life is what he misses most of his home, looking from the threshold of scientific loftiness."Ginger beer – that's something I miss most about Bermuda," he joked.

"You miss your family and your friends, food obviously, but the world is now a small place.

"I miss all the traditional foods you can't get in the States, especially ginger beer, cassava pie – you'll always miss that sort of stuff."

Sister Michelle Brock-Jackson, an assistant vice president at Argus, spoke of an extremely hard-working youngster when it came to academics.

"I remember when Malcolm was doing his GCEs at Warwick Academy as a teenager, he did about 12 GCEs and got mostly 'A's – it was crazy," she said."He had a view then, to do medicine.

"Malcolm worked extraordinarily hard, he's extremely disciplined and he has an unchanging, steadfast belief that he can do whatever he sets his mind to do."

He set his mind to being a world-renowned surgeon and he has done that."As for him living in Baltimore, he could not do what he does and live in Bermuda.

'He's come to that realisation. He cannot be a world-renowned cancer researcher and live in Bermuda."