Oct. 13, 2025
The latest episode of the Inside Mizzou Health Sciences podcast explores the military backgrounds of two College of Health Sciences program directors who took unique paths to health care and education.
Jeff Galen, director of the Nuclear Medicine program, and Jennifer Keely, director of the Respiratory Therapy program, share stories of service, unexpected career turns and how their time in uniform continues to shape their approach to leadership and teaching.
For Keely, service began with music. A former Mizzou music major, she auditioned successfully to play the flute in the U.S. Air Force Band. When asthma ended her military career, she turned her newfound interest in the lungs into a calling and returned to Mizzou to pursue respiratory therapy.
Galen’s story started in the skies. A Navy pilot during the first Gulf War, he was grounded after developing eyesight issues and began searching for a new direction. A college friend introduced him to nuclear medicine, where he has made a career for more than 30 years.
Listeners can hear Galen recount how a string of in-flight mishaps earned him an unfortunate nickname — and what unexpected items were in Keely’s briefcase when she applied for her first teaching job.
Together, they reflect on how their experiences in the military prepared them for clinics and classrooms.
Listen to the full episode:
