In a world that amounts to a maelstrom of stimuli and a cacophony of interacting processes, it is of great importance that one develops systems for recognizing specific types of scenarios and reacting appropriately to them. These systems, or principles, inform our future decision-making and spare us the tedium of having to deal with all(...)
Events and Happenings
When Doing Science Isn’t Enough: Critical Issues in Science Policy
Posted by | Events and HappeningsI used to feel like doing science was my way of putting good into the world. I would work on problems related to human health and make discoveries that could be implemented to help people. Recently, however, I have come to realize that research cannot possibly help people unless it is adequately reflected in policy.(...)
The State of Johns Hopkins Medicine Address: What Is It?
Posted by | Events and HappeningsI have been part of the Johns Hopkins community for the last five years — first as a laboratory technician and now as a graduate student — and every fall I have gotten an email from Dean Paul Rothman inviting me to attend the State of Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) address. After years of good(...)
Advancing the Manufacturing of Human Cell and Gene Therapies
Posted by | Events and HappeningsCellular and gene therapy-related research in the United States is growing at a fast pace, with many products moving forward in clinical development. Applications of these cellular and gene therapies range from using a person’s own cells and genetically altering them to fight cancer, to replacing a gene in the eye to restore vision in(...)
Happy 30th Birthday to the Nathans Lab!
Posted by | Events and HappeningsThe big 30 — it’s a birthday the average person approaches with considerable trepidation, but the laboratory of Jeremy Nathans is far from average. On July 27, the Nathans Lab held a seminar to celebrate its 30 years of research at Johns Hopkins and to pay homage to the people who have made that research(...)
A Johns Hopkins Celebration of Women in Science and Medicine
Posted by | Events and HappeningsIn a time when women everywhere are fighting for equal pay, equal opportunities and an end to sexual harassment, it is important to celebrate women who have nevertheless persisted and succeeded in their chosen field. The school of medicine’s Office of Women in Science and Medicine (OWISM) aims to do this, and has given women(...)
Hopkins Medical Students Shape National Health Policy Through the AMA
Posted by | Events and HappeningsThe American Medical Association, or AMA, is the largest association of physicians and medical trainees in the United States. This organization has also established itself as one of the most powerful political lobbying groups in the country, ranking third in dollars spent for this purpose over the last 20 years. Additionally, the AMA has a(...)
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(...)
Honoring the Past Year of Johns Hopkins Trainee Accomplishments
Posted by | Events and HappeningsBeing a Ph.D. student is like tandem skydiving for the first time: You are asked to enter the freefall into the scientific world below, with your principal investigator (PI) guiding your career path. You have no control over the journey, and you don’t even really know the endpoint because your PI is the only one(...)
On How and Why Science Is Political
Posted by | Events and HappeningsShould science be political? Trick question — science is inherently political because the vast majority of science is funded through the federal government. So, if you don’t relish the idea of competing against your peers for an increasingly shrinking pool of grant money, it’s important to care about the process by which money is federally(...)