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Takeaways:
- Science and creativity intersect: Dawei’s work shows how the structure and curiosity behind music composition mirror the logic and discovery of scientific research.
- Global experience shapes innovation: His journey to Utah reflects a lifelong commitment to exploring viruses, the immune system, and potential cancer discoveries.
Impact: At Huntsman Cancer Institute, researchers like Dawei pursue discoveries that deepen understanding of how viruses and the immune system interact—knowledge that can help inform future cancer treatments.
For Dawei Kumaki, MD, PhD, science and music are not separate worlds—they are different expressions of the same curiosity.
A Life Shaped by Medicine
Dawei grew up in Beijing, China, in a family deeply connected to medicine. His mother was a physician and his father served as a medical officer. Dawei started conducting an orchestra and choir and writing full scores at 14. When Dawei was 19, his parents offered him straightforward advice: Go to medical school.
In China, students can enter medical school directly after high school, and Dawei followed that path, earning his degree.
After graduating from medical school, he worked for four years as a physician at a hospital in Beijing.
The experience sparked a deeper interest in viruses and how they affect the body. That interest eventually led him into research, where he began studying virology and immunology.
Dawei later received a fellowship from the Japanese government, spending more than five years conducting research for a PhD in Japan.
A Career in Antiviral Research
In 2006, his work brought him to Utah. He joined the Institute for Antiviral Research at Utah State University in Logan, where he spent 12 years conducting antiviral research. He published eight original research papers (first author) and two review papers as well as some other co-author papers.
Today, he works at the Williams Lab at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U), focusing on genotyping, DNA extraction, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques. His research examines how viruses affect mouse models and how the immune system responds—work that contributes to the search for new anti-cancer treatments.
But Dawei’s days often begin somewhere unexpected for a scientist.
“In the morning I go to the School of Music here on campus, and before lunch I go back to the lab,” he says.
A Lifelong Passion for Music
Music has been part of Dawei’s life since childhood. When he was seven years old, he began learning the Chinese flute. By the time he was 10, he had also taken up the violin.
Over time, performing naturally evolved into composing and arranging music for orchestras and choirs. After moving to Utah and settling into his research career, Dawei decided to formally study music as well. He took courses at the U in music theory 1-3, counterpoint, form and analysis, orchestration, composition, 20th-century music technique, conducting, and special topics music theory (minimalism), developing his skills.
For Dawei, the connection between science and music feels natural.
“My teacher told me that music is a science,” he says. “How you arrange it, how you put every note together—it’s very logical.”
He compares composing music to writing scientific papers. Both require structure, careful thought, and attention to detail.
“How do you make the melody more beautiful? How do you arrange the harmony?” he says. “That’s a type of science.”
Bringing Music to the Community
In recent years, Dawei has helped bring his musical and cultural interests to the community. In 2015, he began arranging and writing music for the Chinese concert series in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Collaborating with musicians in the Utah Symphony, he has helped showcase traditional and contemporary Chinese music for local audiences. A major performance in May 2025 drew strong support, and organizers recently received a grant to continue the concert series. His piece, Piano Quintet, “Butterfly Lovers,” had been played by the musicians at the Utah Symphony and the professors at the School of Music, and was also seen and performed by the Hong Kong Sinfonietta.
Discovery in Every Form
While Dawei’s work spans laboratories and concert halls, his passion remains the same: discovery. Whether studying viruses or arranging a musical score, he enjoys exploring complex systems and helping others learn along the way.
At the U, he says he appreciates the collaborative environment and the opportunity to mentor the next generation of scientists.
“Science and music are both part of my why—they push me to keep exploring, discovering, and understanding the patterns that shape life.”
For Dawei, the rhythm of each day—music in the morning, research in the afternoon—feels just right.