Fine Tooner

Austin native Bryan Medina has been at UT for almost a dozen years, and he's spent all of them with the Center for Biomedical Research Support (CBRS), a major research core facility that provides biologists, geneticists and other researchers access to best-in-class equipment and the experts who manage it. Now a member of OVPR’s finance team, Bryan manages the CBRS supply center and provides administrative support for three CBRS facilities.

He is also a cartoonist and taco enthusiast — read on to learn more and see how he has combined those two passions.

How long have you been CBRS’s supply center manager, and what does your role entail? 

I’ve been the supply center manager for almost three years.

The supply center provides molecular biology reagents through our 24-hour freezer program. I support the custom primer services that include next-day delivery and the drop-box sequencing that provides next-day results. We also offer single-use dry ice and liquid nitrogen. We charge labs internally for all these services. 

Additionally, I provide administrative support for three of our Research Core Facilities: the Sauer Structural Biology Laboratory, the Mouse Genetic Engineering Facility and Electronics Services.

How long have you been at UT?

This December will make it 12 years, all at CBRS. I was here when it was called ICMB (Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology).

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I’d say my favorite part of the job is the people I work with here on campus. We have an incredibly supportive team at CBRS. To top it off, the researchers we provide services for are all very friendly, which makes working here feel like a real community.

Are you from Austin originally? What do you like most about it?

I think I can safely say I’m from Austin. I was raised here; however, I was born in Frankfurt, Germany, because my dad was stationed there in the Army. I got here as soon as I could! Most of my family is here in Austin and central Texas.

I love Austin. I love the culture, music, art and the people you can meet around town. You can meet people from all over the world, especially now that it’s grown so much. As I’m driving on the highways, I’ll make comments now and again that I don’t recognize the city. But once I’m on the streets, I still get a hometown feeling.

I heard you are a cartoonist. Can you tell us more about that?

Yes, I draw cartoons now and again. Mostly I sketch and doodle. Hopefully one day I can get a bit more serious and maybe do something with all these drawings. I have a rough idea of a comic strip that involves misadventures of a bat and an armadillo around a particular central Texas city. Here’s an old one I did of “Beto the Bat” showing his love of tacos:

What else do you like to do in your free time?

My free time is spent mostly with my family and kids. We play games, watch movies and I encourage my kids to be creative. There are plenty of craft projects around the house.

What is your favorite place in the world, and why?

A couple of weeks ago my answer would have been South Padre Island. It’s just a great place to go recharge and enjoy the ocean.

But… we just recently went to Disney World, and I have to say that place is pretty amazing. Now, we didn’t do a lot of relaxing — it was a mad dash to do as much as we could in a couple of days — but our little family had a great time and there was something there for everyone.

And finally, most important: If you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

This may be the most common answer, but it’s true: tacos. The time of day doesn’t matter — I’ll eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Just wrap it in a tortilla and I’ll take it!