New Perspectives: Once Tired of School, Baylor UMC Resident Thrives in Radiology
By ABR Associate Director of Communications Rodney Campbell
February 2026;19(1):7
Brittany Miles, MD, is doing well for a self-described “high-school dropout.”
A second-year diagnostic radiology resident at Baylor University Medical Center, Dr. Miles almost didn’t even make it to college. Taking evening community college classes and working overnights at Taco Bell in Midland, Texas, she woke up one morning with no interest in attending high-school classes even as a senior with graduation in sight.
“I was so tired in the morning and really did not want to go to school,” she said. “(High-school administrators) were threatening to have me not graduate on time. I thought, ‘This is a great idea. Let’s drop out. How do I sign out?’”
Despite pleas from her principal, Dr. Miles submitted paperwork to leave high school, although she continued taking college courses. It proved to be a viable plan. Her high school determined that her college classes qualified for advanced placement credit and awarded her a diploma.
Her family’s financial struggles made higher education feel like a long shot. She lost her father when she was 5, and her mother struggled. She moved from Missouri to Texas to be with her grandmother at age 11. The idea of college felt foreign, and she wasn’t sure where to start.
“I recall Googling ‘how do you go to college’ when I was 13,” she said. “I made a plan that day and stuck with it.”
She began saving for college at age 16 by working at Taco Bell and ultimately became the first person in her family to attend college.
“I was awarded a scholarship that requires you to be in the top 5% of your graduating class and was only given to two or three applicants that year,” Dr. Miles said “It was exciting, but I wasn’t familiar with the concept. I recall asking, ‘When do I pay this back?’ and they said, ‘Never. It’s a scholarship.’ They had to tell me multiple times and when it hit me, I cried. I was so shocked.”
Radiology wasn’t on her mind when she entered the University of Texas Permian Basin for undergraduate studies. She began by taking 18 to 21 hours of classes per semester and working three jobs.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do at first, and it seemed like everyone else did,” she said.
She ultimately chose medicine, inspired by childhood experiences with cousins who had cystic fibrosis. After an initial rejection from medical school and several years working as a middle school science teacher to save money to reapply, she was accepted at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
Dr. Miles got involved in research during her first semester. She presented at more than 35 conferences during medical school, won multiple national and international awards, and was named one of the top three researchers from her institution at graduation.
“I don’t look at research as just a way to get a publication,” Dr. Miles said. “I use it to connect with faculty. I have found all my best mentors through research.”
During her intern year at Baylor University Medical Center, she was reminded how different her background was from other residents.
“Someone said their dad was writing them a prescription,” Dr. Miles said. “I said, ‘Oh, your dad’s a doctor?’ they said yes, then everybody else in the room slowly volunteered that their fathers, too, were all doctors. I kept quiet. I was a little embarrassed.”
Once she entered her diagnostic radiology residency, she knew it was especially important that she find a mentor. Fortunately, Dr. Miles identified an excellent one in Umesh Oza, MD, an ABR Trustee, partner at American Radiology Associates in Dallas, and chair of radiology at Baylor University Medical Center.
Dr. Oza believes that Dr. Miles’ personal and professional backgrounds give her a unique perspective at work.
“She is a very conscientious physician who sees a patient in radiology as more than the singular imaging study in front of her for interpretation and more often as an individual on a medical journey,” he said. “Her strong internal medicine background coupled with her insatiable curiosity and drive have given her the foundational tools to become an outstanding radiologist.”
Partnering with Dr. Oza and being part of the Baylor program was just what Dr. Miles needed.
“Dr Oza recognized when I was struggling and helped me find my footing in radiology, which is his gift in life,” she said. “He knows how to navigate resident education individually. I didn’t know if I was capable of success in radiology, and he showed me that I am.”
Dr. Oza is part of a team of mentors at Baylor who have helped Dr. Miles. The group includes Ankit Mehta, MD, program director for the department of internal medicine; Joseph Philip, MD, a neuroradiologist; and Benjamin White, MD, associate director for the diagnostic radiology residency program.
“I am so blessed at Baylor because I have so many people who care,” Dr. Miles said. “Dr. Mehta has been a constant source of support. What ultimately drew me to Baylor was the program culture, the depth of personal investment Dr. Philip demonstrated in my story, and my desire to work with Dr. White. During my R1 year, (Dr. White) became my sounding board and talked me off a cliff more times than I’d care to admit.”
Inspired by her mentors and her work, Dr. Miles is now a morning person. Unlike her days following all-night Taco Bell shifts, she wakes up energized and excited.
“When I wake up, I am already thinking about the cases I will see that day,” she said. “The work is intensely stimulating. Interpreting PET scans or trauma cases feels like solving a medical mystery. It is no longer hard to wake up in the morning. Sometimes all it takes is finding the right field to ignite curiosity and passion.”
