Like many medical schools across the nation, mine taught its first-year anatomy course through dissection of human bodies. Donors of cadavers donate their bodies for the education of medical students, specifically for the anatomy dissection course. It seemed violent, grotesque and bizarre to cut open a preserved, very dead human body. The only way I(...)
A Day in the Life
The Beautiful Epiphyte
Posted by | A Day in the Life“We often use illness to disparage a way of being, and identity to validate that same way of being. This is a false dichotomy … Many conditions are both illness and identity, but we can see one only when we obscure the other.” Andrew Solomon’s Far from the Tree Elena Schwartz was born with rosehips(...)
Why Do Students Pursue a Ph.D. in Neuroscience?
Posted by | A Day in the LifeAs a fourth-year neuroscience Ph.D. student, I appreciate the variety of topics that lie within the umbrella of the nervous system. Nowhere is this more evident than in the diverse backgrounds and passions of my fellow students. To provide a glimpse into the vibrant world of neuroscience research, and to provide insight to others considering(...)
Grad Grooves: The Soundtrack of Our Science
Posted by | A Day in the Life, Perspectives in ResearchBackground music is everywhere. It plays quietly in malls and grocery stores, and loudly at sports events. It is almost ever-present in the TV shows we watch. In addition to all of this, many graduate students listen to music all day in lab. Because we work so much, this means we could have music streaming(...)
Re-thinking Language as a Scientific Tool
Posted by | A Day in the LifePreclusion of efficacious scientific communication, nucleating from the cultivation of an elitist scientific culture, is a pervasive detriment to the impact of science. Wait, let me turn off scientist mode and start over. Ahem. Occam’s razor — often interpreted as: when there are various solutions to a problem, choose the simplest one — represents a(...)
19th-Century Technology, 21st-Century Users
Posted by | A Day in the Life, Perspectives in ResearchIn February, the Johns Hopkins History of Medicine Survey had the opportunity to experiment with three stethoscopes: a replica of René Laennec’s 1816 stethoscope, a Russian cavalry surgeon’s 1915 stethoscope and a modern stethoscope bought a few years ago. Per M.D./Ph.D. student Maya Koretsky’s instructions, I sat on the office desk with my back turned(...)
Every Ph.D. Journey Is Different, and That’s OK
Posted by | A Day in the LifeAs a second-year student in the pathobiology graduate program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, I joined a thesis lab this past August. During our first year, we do three research rotations in different labs to get more experience doing research at the graduate student level, in addition to getting a feel for(...)
Transition to the Wards: A Pivotal Point in Medical School Training
Posted by | A Day in the LifeBy Neha Anand On Friday, my classmates and I completed our last preclinical unit of medical school. After a year and a half of lecture learning and small groups about the intricate physiology of the kidneys, detailed pathways of the brain and so much more, we finally came to one of the most immersive classes(...)
On Kindness
Posted by | A Day in the Life“Whatever happens tomorrow you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man.” This is one of my favorite quotes from Captain America because it reminds me that at the end of the day, no matter how superhuman people think we are — whether(...)
Drifting Through the Dark
Posted by | A Day in the LifeI have never wanted to be an astronaut. The idea of hurtling upward in a rocket ship, crashing through the Earth’s atmosphere, and launching into the weightless, densely black sky with the knowledge that you might never return makes me feel a certain loneliness. Yet when friends and family ask what it’s like to do(...)