BioBuzz’s Buzzin’ Brood Student Spotlight series celebrates the upcoming generation of life sciences talent — and the programs, institutions, and organizations investing in them.
Name: Jonathan Baddoo
Hometown: Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Institution: Loyola University Maryland (Baltimore, Maryland)
Role: Bio-Health Student, Concentration in Biological Commercialization
Jonathan Baddoo is a Bio-Health student, a Model UN delegate, and a Chapel Choir tenor who believes you don’t need to be the one holding the scalpel to change medicine. We sat down with Jonathan to talk about his path to Loyola, what’s exciting him right now, and where he sees himself headed next.
Jonathan grew up in Forestville, Maryland, and has called Upper Marlboro, Prince George’s County home since he was eight — an upbringing that shaped how he thinks about public service and healthcare access. That interest carried him through DeMatha Catholic High School, where he got involved in service work, including organizing a fundraiser that connected ten recently immigrated families with resources they needed. At Loyola University Maryland, Jonathan is now a Class of 2029 Bio-Health major with a concentration in Biological Commercialization — a program built around the idea that medicine isn’t just science, but something that has to actually reach people, get funded, get regulated, and get built into systems that work.
Outside the classroom, Jonathan sings in Loyola’s Chapel Choir, performs with the Chamber Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble, and debates global issues as a member of Model UN. He’s already thinking past the bench toward the business and policy side of the life sciences, convinced that commercialization, policy, and communications are just as much “the future of medicine” as the science itself. We sat down with Jonathan to talk about his path to Loyola, what’s exciting him right now, and where he sees himself headed next.
How did you get here?
I grew up in Forestville, Maryland and have called Upper Marlboro, Prince George’s County home since I was eight. Growing up in that community shaped how I see public service and healthcare access — I saw firsthand how much of a difference responsive institutions can make in people’s lives. That interest followed me to DeMatha Catholic High School, where I got involved in service work, including organizing a fundraiser that connected ten recently immigrated families with resources they needed. When I got to Loyola University Maryland, I knew I wanted to combine that interest in service with something more scientific and career-concrete, which led me to the Bio-Health major with a concentration in Biological Commercialization — a way to think about medicine not just as science, but as something that has to actually reach people, get funded, get regulated, and get built into systems that work.
What is currently blowing your mind right now?
You genuinely don’t need to be the one holding the scalpel to change medicine. Commercialization, policy, communications — all of it is just as much “the future of medicine” as the science itself, and I think that gets slept on.
If you could explain yourself right now in only emojis…
🎶 🤣 😑 🤨 🧐 ⚡️
If you could travel into the future… What does your LinkedIn headline say?
“Healthcare attorney bridging policy and access — building systems that get medicine to the people who need it most.”
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
I’d want the ability to think something into reality.
