UNMC program led to birth of band

Sebastian Lane is coming to UNMC this month to play the guitar.

Next August, though, he hopes to be coming back to UNMC as an incoming medical student.

Lane is the guitarist and a vocalist for Ambur Lane, the band that will play at the welcome barbecue for incoming UNMC students, being held from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17 near the skating rink on the Ruth and Bill Scott Student Plaza.

The gig is something of a homecoming for Ambur Lane — its three founding members, Lane, Justin Burr and Alex Amato, met while attending the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program, a UNMC/national grant-funded program for freshman and sophomore college students that offers a variety of academic and career experiences that will support their dental and medical school career preparation.

Lane, who has been playing guitar since he was 3 years old, said the creativity and skill at improvisation that makes a good musician also makes for a good medical student.

“Having that ability to think outside the box will help you in medicine and science,” he said. “As a scientist, you have to keep your mind open and question everything; as a physician, you have to be able to put information together to come up with a diagnosis and treat a patient.”

From left, the members of Ambur Lane: Sam Matticks, Joe Matticks, Justin Burr, Russel Riley, Sebastian Lane. (Not pictured is vocalist Alex Amato.)

Lane, a biology major at Hastings College, took his MCAT in July and has an application in to the UNMC College of Medicine, as well as other medical schools. He hopes to one day be a thoracic surgeon.

“I’ve been interested in medicine since I was a little kid,” he said.

Lane’s grandfather died of cancer when Lane was only 5. Curious about the illness, Lane started seeking more information, which morphed into a lifelong passion.

“I started learning a bit about cancer, then a bit about medicine,” he said. “So I got interested in the sciences in elementary school, and I’ve been interested ever since.”

Both music and medicine are important to Lane, and he sees similarities — both are demanding disciplines in which few succeed.

“To be a successful musician is hard,” he said. “My dad is a musician, and so was my grandfather. My grandfather, Jimmy Rogers, played with the Muddy Waters Band, and my dad, Jimmy D. Lane, played with guys like Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Only a handful of musicians have done that.

“And there are all these students across the country trying to get into medical schools, and only a handful will get in,” he said.

“For me, these are two things I’m passionate about. And I do really love a challenge.”