From Bioengineering to the Battlefront
University of Toledo alumnus Dr. Stephen Donnelly is charting a remarkable path of service since graduating with a degree in Bioengineering from The University of Toledo in 2009. Dr. Donnelly says choosing UToledo was an easy decision after visiting the campus multiple times during his senior year of high school. He was drawn to the welcoming atmosphere, stunning campus and the highly recognized bioengineering program.
Donnelly’s time at UToledo impacted his views on service. He shares that, in addition to marching in the Mid-American Conference Championship at Ford Field, he volunteered with Engineers Without Borders in Honduras to build a clean water pipeline. “Watching the pipeline turn on for the first time was a defining moment. It showed me that with the right team and a shared mission, you can make a tangible difference in people’s lives.”
After graduating from UToledo, Donnelly attended Wright State University for medical school, followed by a combined Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine residency at Christiana Care. He went on to practice Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University and provided care at a critical access hospital on the Oregon Coast.
Service Over Self
In February 2022,, he experienced his true calling to provide life-saving medical training. While working an overnight shift in the ER, he watched a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War unfold on TV and woke up the next day with a strong sense of purpose. “I didn’t plan it, but when I woke up the morning after the invasion started, it felt like a calling. I knew I had to go to Ukraine and help in whatever way I could.” After reaching out to multiple non-governmental organizations, he traveled to Ukraine and joined a team offering tactical medicine training.
In Kharkiv, he led an emergency medicine fellowship that taught Ukrainian medical professionals through hands-on, case-based learning. His team also traveled to the frontlines, living alongside soldiers in tents and abandoned homes while delivering crucial medical training. The real-world setting of the war allowed Donnelly to teach vital trauma skills and adapt lessons to the unique needs of soldiers and medics. In doing so, he made sure his work was sustainable by empowering his students to teach others and save lives long after the training ended. “You can’t just train someone for a hospital emergency room in a classroom. We were in the trenches, the forests, and open fields. That’s where the skills matter the most.”
Since then, he has trained nearly 3,000 healthcare providers and co-founded Forca Ukraine, a nonprofit that offers trauma care training for frontline soldiers and medics. Donnelly’s work has even led him to present advancements in emergency medicine to the World Health Organization on advancements in emergency medicine. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done, but I also believe it’s important that we continue to share what we’ve learned with the global community. The lessons we’re learning here can help shape emergency medical care worldwide.”