Marco Ellis, M.D. was selected to the inaugural class of Ron Brown Scholars in 1997. The Scholarship program, funded by the charitable donations of the CAP Foundation, annually selects the top 20 graduating African-American high school students. He applied the $40,000 award towards tuition at the University of Virginia. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Biochemistry. His most prized achievement was living on the university’s historical Lawn, a prestigious honor given to selected graduating seniors. Marco spent his summers in college conducting biomedical research which refined his initial interests in medicine. He completed internships at the Institute of Human Gene Therapy in Philadelphia, PA and the Picower Institute in Long Island, NY.

Marco then enrolled in medical school at Harvard University where he concentrated his studies in general surgery and academic medicine. He has continued his studies at Northwestern University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. He is chief resident in the Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. He has also completed a research fellowship in craniofacial surgery at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Chicago.  His clinical interest is in reconstruction of the facial skeleton. In the future, he plans to participate in medical missions to developing countries in Asia and Africa.