Dr. Bogdan’s interest in medicine originally focused on research. As a 16-year-old high school student in Maryland, his advanced grasp of science and math led to a summer job at the National Institutes of Health assisting in research. At around this time — well before the days of the Internet — he created a computer network for the school district that became the model on which other districts in the state based their systems.

At the University of Maryland, he opted to major in chemistry and earned his degree in 2 years, attracting the attention of an organic chemistry professor who recruited him to assist in his research. He graduated summa cum laude with degrees in both chemistry and zoology. While earning his diplomas, he volunteered during the night shift at a local hospital’s emergency room, which spurred his interest in medicine. At the time he enrolled at Stanford’s medical school, Dr. Bogdan still envisioned a career in research. But, he says, he discovered during surgical training that he enjoyed the personal interaction and technical demands of surgery more than research.

Dr. Bogdan completed years of surgical training at many of the nation’s most elite institutions before moving to Dallas to establish his plastic surgery practice.