From QB to M.D.

One would be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks an ACL tear is a good thing, but that’s exactly how it worked out for Brandon Luczak, M.D.

That’s because were it not for that high school injury, life might be a bit different for Luczak, ’15, OUWB.

He might not have understood at such a young age the difference that a physician can make in someone’s life.

He might not have been exposed to the medical and physical rehab settings — the kind of places appealing to a youngster like Luczak, who had a keen interest in science and engineering.

He might not have attended OUWB. He might not have even been a doctor.

“I really felt grateful for my surgeon who was able to take me from a spot where I couldn’t play to a place where I could play at a high level,” he said.

So much so, he says, that the seed of an idea to one-day become a physician was planted — an idea that would eventually become reality.

“I liked the idea of being the one to help people to get back to playing sports and doing the things that they love to do.”

Putting in the work

Luczak grew up in Rochester, Michigan, not too far from Oakland University.

He attended Rochester High School, and good grades came fairly easy for him.

“I was taught to do the best I can,” he says. “You know, put in the work and get out of it what you need to get out of it.”

He carried that attitude over to sports, which Luczak says have always been a big part of his life. He grew up playing soccer, football, basketball, and baseball. In high school, he played basketball, baseball, and football.

Sports were so important to him, in fact, that he wasn’t dissuaded when he tore his ACL playing basketball between his freshman and sophomore years.

He just “put in the work” and it paid off.

As an undergraduate, he attended Kalamazoo College where he not only studied pre-med, but also played two sports: baseball and football.

To this date, Luczak holds just about every school passing record in the books from his stellar 2009 season. That includes the top three records for total offense in a game, top two records for passing yards in a single game, most completions in a single game, as well as total passing yards and total touchdown passes for a single season.

“Sports have always been a huge part of my life and I always wanted to make some type of career out of them,” he says.

That’s where OUWB came into the picture.

‘Very blessed’

After Kalamazoo College, Luczak did a research year before being accepted into OUWB.

He says the academic aspects of OUWB were similar to what he had experienced in western Michigan, especially the smaller class sizes, and the feeling that all of the students knew each other.

Luczak says he also liked the general philosophy of the school, the curriculum, and the fact that it was close to his family.

And as part of the school’s inaugural class, Luczak also found the newness of the school appealing.

“The staff and administration listened to us,” he says. “They wanted our feedback…wanted us to be part of building something at OUWB.”

Luczak took advantage of the opportunity, too. In 2012, he received the LaBan Award from OUWB, which was given to the most outstanding first-year medical student in the school’s Art and Practice of Medicine course.

That same year, he was the first person to receive the Michele D. Raible Award, which is given to a medical student wo best exemplifies a love for learning and a collaborative and supportive spirit amongst the student body.

In 2015, he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.

Perhaps most meaningful, he says is how close he remains with many of the cohort of “pioneers” that made up OUWB’s first class.

“Because I’ve always been in sports, I’ve always been a team player, and that’s how it felt at OUWB — and that’s something that I’ll always remember,” he says. “Some of the other big schools I was looking into just didn’t have that kind of feeling.”

After OUWB

Luczak completed an orthopaedic surgery residency at Beaumont. For 2019-20, he served as chief resident.

In 2020-21, Luczak held an orthopaedic sports medicine fellowship at University of Connecticut Musculoskeletal Institute.

After completing the fellowship, he returned to metro Detroit, and since 2021 has been an orthopaedic sports medicine surgeon at Trinity Health IHA Medical Group in Brighton.

At IHA, Luczak works with younger and older athletes alike. He performs non-operative and operative procedures, such as arthroscopic surgery of the shoulder, hip, and knee, as well as shoulder replacements. He also works as a team physician at Howell High School.

Luczak says he’s grateful “to be able to do what I wanted to do all along, which is help improve the lives of others.”

“It’s satisfying to know that I’m finally doing that,” he says. “It’s most fulfilling to see patients getting back to doing what they love and thanking you for helping them get there…that’s why I do.”

When not building up his practice, Luczak likes to spend time with his wife of nine years, Jaime, and their three boys. He also enjoys coaching little league, and playing golf as part of a mission to “keep the competitive juices flowing.”

And he never forgets his time at OUWB.

“I’m always grateful for everything that OUWB…it helped me get to where I am today,” he says.

“I was very blessed to be part of OUWB.”