Finding new treatments for infectious diseases is often the focus of clinical research, but recent research has demonstrated the importance of both developing and improving diagnostic tools in the fight against malaria. Malaria is a disease caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, and mosquitoes spread it. In 2017, there were over 219 million cases of […]
Perspectives in Research

Plan S: How Open Access Publishing Could Be Changing Academia
Posted by Kyla Britson | Perspectives in ResearchI started working in academia as an undergraduate laboratory technician in 2009. After a decade of experience and four years as a graduate student, I thought I would have run out of things that would surprise my family about academia. However, there is one side of academia I haven’t had a lot of experience with […]
Apr 17, 2019

When the Consequences of Sweeteners Are Not Sweet
Posted by Yazmin Rovira Gonzalez | Perspectives in ResearchCoke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Sunkist, Mountain Dew, Sunny D, Brisk, Fanta, Kuat, Capri Sun and others — what do these drinks have in common? They’re all sugar-sweetened beverages. Sugar-sweetened beverages, or sugary drinks, are composed of any liquid sweetened with one or more forms of sugars, and they are the main source of added […]
Apr 15, 2019

Are Vaccines the Next Step in Controlling the Opioid Epidemic?
Posted by Laura Pugh | Perspectives in ResearchFlu season is still going strong, meaning that almost every primary care visit concludes by ensuring that the patient has gotten their flu shot. There is no cure for the flu, but a simple shot greatly decreases an individual’s chances of contracting the virus and keeps epidemics from spreading in the population. What if we […]
Apr 11, 2019

Grad Grooves: The Soundtrack of Our Science
Posted by Lisa Learman | 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 […]
Apr 5, 2019

Is Cough Syrup an Antidepressant?
Posted by Mike Wang | Perspectives in ResearchEverything from shrooms and weed to molly and ketamine — once known mainly as party drugs — is finding a place in clinical trials for depression and other mental health conditions. Precisely how they work on the brain, however, strays wildly from prescription antidepressants. In doing so, these drugs are challenging traditional ideas of how […]
Apr 2, 2019

Movie Review of “End Game”
Posted by biomedicalodyssey | Perspectives in ResearchGuest post by medical student Barry Bryant. The original article can be found on Closler.org. “End Game” is an Oscar-nominated short documentary directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. The film takes place at the University of California at San Francisco and incorporates the Zen Hospice Project. The overarching theme of the film is working […]
Apr 1, 2019

19th-Century Technology, 21st-Century Users
Posted by Kristin Brig | 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 […]
Mar 26, 2019

Underrepresented minority biomedical researchers: numbers, challenges and initiatives for change
Posted by Erika Dunn-Weiss | Perspectives in ResearchIn 2012, the Advisory Committee to the Director Working Group on Diversity (ACDWGD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) produced its first report. The committee stated plainly that diversity increases core scientific principles — creativity, innovation and rigor — and that the NIH had a responsibility as a publicly funded body to maintain the […]
Mar 14, 2019

Are Physician Salaries Appropriate?
Posted by Benjamin Ostrander | Perspectives in ResearchOver the holiday season, I was fortunate to spend time with family in northern California where I grew up. There I had the opportunity to catch up with some friends from high school. We talked about many things, but eventually the conversation turned to work, salaries and other practicalities of adult life we would have […]
Feb 26, 2019