Most would agree that a principal goal of scientific research is to enhance society’s understanding of the world around us. In biomedical research, we are particularly interested in discovering the workings of the body to find better treatments for disease and enact better guidelines and policies for healthy living. A crucial element of this endeavor(...)
A Day in the Life
Teaching About Vaccines — A Miracle of Modern Medicine
Posted by | A Day in the LifeAs an immunologist-to-be, few things frustrate me more than hearing of misinformed antivaccine sentiments. I have been of the opinion for some time now that education about vaccines should begin in high school to give students the tools to properly combat misinformation campaigns. Thus, when I learned that Johns Hopkins was looking for applicants to(...)
Tips for Attending an International Conference
Posted by | A Day in the Life, Events and HappeningsIn January, my thesis adviser asked me if I wanted to attend the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology meeting in Amsterdam, which is scheduled for this June. To date, this is the easiest question my adviser has ever asked me, and my answer was a resounding “yes.” In most ways, a scientific conference is basically(...)
Medical Education Around the World
Posted by | A Day in the LifeA few weeks ago, I completed my master’s degree in public health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Through the help of two projects I worked on during my master’s degree, I rediscovered a niche in the field of global health that I find particularly unique and exciting. This niche is the field of(...)
My Childhood Home: My First True Laboratory
Posted by | A Day in the LifeFor nine years, I went to summer camp in the Poconos, far away from highways and large cities in a small town near Scranton, Pennsylvania. Each summer my counselors would take our bunk on a “sneak out,” where we would go to the top of a hill, lay down in the grass and stare up(...)
Top Five Strategies to Generate Great Ideas and Build a Successful Startup
Posted by | A Day in the Life“Now that would be an amazing app for patients!” she exclaimed to her colleague. “Agreed. We could have our own little startup on the side,” he replied. I was wandering the halls of the hospital for the first time in months, and overhearing this short snippet of conversation led me to reflect on all I(...)
Advice for Fellowship Applications – Part Three
Posted by | A Day in the LifeRead parts one and two of this series. You’ve found the fellowships you want to apply for and have begun the writing process for your personal and research statements — but don’t forget the critical component of all fellowship applications: the letter (or letters) of recommendation. Letters of recommendation are imperative to building and reinforcing(...)
Transcontinental (or “Not-So-Long Distance”) Residencies and Making It Work
Posted by | A Day in the LifeMy Match Day in March 2015 was probably one of the best days of my mid-twenties. I stood around a table with my best friends and my significant other — also a medical student — as we opened our Match letters together. It was our best day — I was headed to Baltimore, and he(...)
Advice for Fellowship Applications – Part Two
Posted by | A Day in the LifeMissed part one? Catch up here. Take a deep breath; it is time to start working on fellowship applications. After applying for and receiving the Ford Foundation fellowship, my friend and fellow Ph.D. student, Ashley Stewart, and I wanted to share advice for fellowship applicants. Since each fellowship has different requirements, its own spectrum of(...)
Learning to Walk
Posted by | A Day in the LifeThe hospital turns worlds upside down, for both patients and for care providers alike. Luckily, I haven’t yet been a patient in a hospital, but I can only imagine how jarring it must be for patients to leave their daily routines and enter the bustling, complex machinery of the hospital, largely for circumstances out of(...)