Calvin Datze Sun (born November 20, 1986) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

physician. Sun is notable for his first-person accounts of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

emergency rooms and creating the travel blog, The Monsoon Diaries.

Early life and education

Sun was born in

. His parents came from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, but met in New York City. His father was originally from the

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

region of China. In 2006, Sun's father died from a heart attack. Sun's mother has

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. In 2008, Sun graduated with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. During his sophomore year at Columbia, Sun was a research assistant to molecular biologist Dr.

Richard Axel Richard Axel (born July 2, 1946) is an American molecular biologist and university professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Columbia University and investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His work on the olfactory system won h ...

at the

Columbia University Medical Center Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) is the academic medical center of Columbia University and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The center's academic wing consists of Columbia's colleges and schools of Physicia ...

. In 2014, Sun received an

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine and completed four years of residency at the Emergency Medicine Residency Program at

Albert Einstein College of Medicine The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a Private university, private medical school in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein is an independent degree-granting institution within the Montefiore Einstein Health System. Einstein hosts Doc ...

Career

COVID-19

Sun works at an urgent care in New York City. During the

, Sun was working

per diem ''Per diem'' (Latin for "per day" or "for each day") or daily allowance is a specific amount of money that an organization gives an individual, typically an employee, per day to cover living expenses when travelling on the employer's business. A ...

as an emergency physician, rotating among different hospitals in New York City during the early days of the pandemic. Sun gave first person accounts of his experiences and thoughts on the disease via his Instagram. He also gave many interviews to media outlets in the United States and abroad, and with interviewers like

Katy Tur Katherine Bear Tur Retrieved October 16, 2018. (; born October 26, 1983) is an American author and broadcast journalist working as a correspondent for MSNBC. She has anchored daytime news coverage for the network since 2017; her show has been nam ...

from

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

, Willie Geist from ''

The TODAY Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

''. In his interview with

Katie Couric Katherine Anne Couric ( ; born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, ''Wake Up Call''. Since 2016, she ha ...

, he likened working on the front-lines of the pandemic to being like going to war every day. Sun discussed his initial concerns with national shortages of ventilators and

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elect ...

(PPE), issues with cross-contamination in crowded ER rooms, the importance of testing and staying home in the interest of public safety. Both of Sun's grandparents contracted COVID-19 and his grandfather died of the disease.

The Monsoon Diaries

In 2010 while beginning medical school, Sun began to document his international travels in an online photo blog called The Monsoon Diaries. Around Winter 2012, Sun turned his blog into a travel community so that participants can travel in spontaneously formed groups on budget-conscious trips while still being able to work or go to school full-time.

Filmmaking

In July 2007, Sun's short film, ''Asian American Beauty: A Discourse on Female Body Image'', won the One to Watch Award at the 30th

Asian American International Film Festival The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) is the first and longest-running film festival to showcase the works of emerging and experienced Asian and Asian American filmmakers and media artists in the US. The programming includes a div ...

in New York City.

Book

2022: The Monsoon Diaries: A Doctor's Journey of Hope and Healing from the ER Frontlines to the Far Reaches of the World, Harper Horizon, Sep 27, 2022 - Biography & Autobiography - 224 pages

References

External links

*
The Monsoon Diaries
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Calvin 1986 births Columbia College (New York) alumni Trinity School (New York City) alumni American emergency physicians SUNY Downstate Medical Center alumni American film directors of Taiwanese descent MTV people Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai faculty Living people