Lauren Endersen Madigan, M.D.
Utah Cross Country ‘09
Third Year Dermatology Resident, Henry Ford Health System

Utah cross country and track and field alumna Lauren Endersen Madigan has always achieved at the highest level. She was a Presidential Scholar at Utah, held a 4.0 throughout college, was an Academic All-American, and is now a third year resident in the competitive field of dermatology.

Madigan says that much of her success can be credited to lessons learned as a long-distance runner.

“Perseverance can get you a long way in life,” Madigan said. “Running teaches you that if you put in the work every day, you’ll see the results. You see what determination and hard work can really accomplish.”

“You also learn to be okay with not always coming in first,” Madigan added.

Despite that lesson, Madigan did come in first much of the time. As a recipient of Utah’s prestigious Presidential Scholarship, Madigan was on full academic-based aid throughout her four years of college. She also managed to maintain a 4.0 throughout her college career and scored in the 99th percentile on the MCAT—all the while, competing at the highest level in cross country and track and field.

Madigan had always been drawn to biology but wasn’t necessarily sure she wanted to be a doctor. When she first came to college, she was more drawn to doing research and had a special interest in zoology. She considered getting her PhD but ultimately fell in love with medicine after experiences volunteering and working as a certified nursing assistant.  

“People often asked me how I was going to balance it all when I decided to pursue a difficult major,” Madigan said. “But you just get creative: I studied on the bus, while sitting in the airport, before and after meets—you get used to always having your notes in your duffle bag.”

While at Utah, Madigan says it was mostly the people she met who made her experience special, from teammates to coaches and professors.

“I ran with a wonderful group of girls all four years,” Madigan said. “We became really close and several of them served as bridesmaids in my wedding.”

Athletically, Madigan won the 10.000-meter race at the 2008 Mountain West Championships with the fifth-best score in Mountain West history. But this level of success was not always so easy. Madigan suffered several injuries throughout her running career, but persevered and continued to do what she loved. 

“Those injuries are difficult because you work so hard to get to a certain point, and then you suffer a setback,” Madigan said. “But I had a wonderful group of teammates who got me through it and kept me connected.”

After graduating from Utah, Madigan went on to attend medical school at Ohio State.

“Medical school is like drinking out of a fire hose,” Madigan said. “It’s a lot of information coming at you, but when you’re a distance runner you get really good at making your mindset ‘one lap at a time.’ Medical school is the same: one subject at a time, one test at a time.”

Today, Madigan is a third year dermatology resident at the Henry Ford Medical System in Detroit. She spends her busy days in clinic, seeing patients, studying, attending lectures, and participating in clinical research. 

“I love talking to my patients every day,” Madigan said. “It’s a unique teaching opportunity to sit down one on one and help them understand their disease.”

As a resident, Madigan says its tough to balance research, clinical practice, and family life but the reward is getting to finally apply everything she’s learned to her interactions with her patients. 

From maintaining a 4.0 throughout college to matching into a competitive field like dermatology, Madigan has managed to achieve at a high level no matter what comes her way. 

Madigan plans to take all she’s learned from being a distance runner through her residency to pay it forward by teaching others. She hopes to become a teaching clinician and working with medical students and residents.

She says much of her determination to make it this far comes from her time as a distance runner at Utah: “I wouldn’t have changed my collegiate athletics career for anything; everyday was absolutely awesome.”