10/07/2026
Nearly 26 years after Xander Boggs was born at Tulane Hospital, he returned to the same corner of New Orleans to begin a new chapter — as a first-year medical student.
"My displacement is pretty close to zero right about now," Boggs said. "I arrived back where I was born."
The Tulane physician who delivered Boggs on Sept. 1, 2000, Chi Dola, remains at the university as the Warren and Adolph Jacobs Endowed Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and section chief of maternal-fetal medicine.
"That journey came full circle when a baby I delivered years ago returned to Tulane as a medical student," Dola said.
Boggs' return also continues a family connection to Tulane and medicine. His father, Brian Boggs, graduated from Tulane School of Medicine, and Boggs was born while his mother, Olga Emgushov, was completing her Tulane residency. His pediatrician, Theresa Dise, was also a member of the university's faculty.
The family moved to Guam and eventually settled in Cocoa Beach, Florida, but Boggs continued visiting New Orleans.
"Tulane was always at the top of my list because of my family connection to it and to the city of New Orleans," he said.
At the University of Florida, Boggs studied cello performance while completing his premedical requirements. He also volunteered with an arts-in-medicine program in Gainesville, performing for hospital patients. After being admitted to Tulane School of Medicine in 2023, he deferred enrollment for three years and performed in Atlanta with Driptones, a four-member indie-alternative band.
He is particularly interested in emergency medicine, like his father, and neurology.
"Neurology lines up with a lot of my interests in combining music and medicine and how music affects the brain," he said.
"Seeing [students] begin their own path in medicine at the very institution where they entered the world is both humbling and inspiring," Dola said. “This remarkable connection between our clinical care and educational mission reflects the very best of the Tulane community, and it is one of the many reasons I am grateful to be part of the Tulane family.”
