In a 1909 manuscript titled “Ueber den jetzigen Stand der Chemotherapie” (“About the Current State of Chemotherapy”), Nobel laureate Paul Ehrlich proclaimed, “We must learn to aim in a chemical sense.” What did he mean? Ehrlich was referring to his “magic bullet” theory of chemical specificity, the observation that certain drugs can eliminate disease-causing entities […]
Perspectives in Research
A Life or Debt Decision: Tackling Unaffordable Drug Prices in Maryland
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchI first became concerned about unaffordable drug prices when I did one of my first-year research rotations in a lab that studied the hepatitis C virus. The timing of my rotation was in the midst of the (continuing) hepatitis C epidemic and just after the development of Harvoni, an exorbitantly expensive cure ($50,000–$100,000). I learned […]
Fuggetaboudit: Is Forgetfulness a Vice or a Virtue?
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchWhere are my keys? What’s the name of that actor again? Did she say 3 or 4 o’clock? Forgetfulness is a part of life, albeit often an inconvenient one. If you find yourself wishing you would never forget anything, you may want to reconsider. Neuroscientists are beginning to uncover the molecular mechanisms of forgetting. With […]
The Relationship Between Age and Blood Pressure: Another Way Your Lifestyle Can Impact Heart Health
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchMany of us have likely experienced recent high blood pressure. Whether it’s from well-meaning but very inquisitive relatives, or the winding lines at the airport, most of us are acquainted with a temporary rise in blood pressure under stress. And unfortunately, high blood pressure (BP) is a common chronic issue for millions of people worldwide. […]
The Future of Biomedical Education: A Conversation with Dr. Ziegelstein
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchFor the second part in my series on the future of biomedical education, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Ziegelstein and discuss what elements he sees as vital to education at all levels of training at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Read part one. Roy Ziegelstein, vice dean for education […]
Do You Want to Write for Us?
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchOur medical students, residents, postdocs and fellows have a lot to share — from daily life in the classroom, tips on thriving during residency, new research that is pushing the boundaries of science and patient care, to the best places to grab a bite in Baltimore, they share it here on the blog. If you […]
Discussing the NIH Mandate to Study Sex as a Biological Variable in Basic Biomedical Research
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchIn one of my courses in the neuroscience Ph.D. program at Johns Hopkins, we recently discussed the 2016 National Institutes of Health (NIH) mandate requiring consideration of sex as a biological variable in grant applications to NIH agencies. Citing the success of the initiative to include both men and women in human clinical trials, the […]
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine: Diverse Perspectives
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchEqual treatment for all is one of the values on which this institution was founded. In an 1873 letter from Mr. Johns Hopkins to Johns Hopkins Hospital trustees, he wrote that the hospital must care for “the indigent sick of this city and its environs, without regard to sex, age, or color, who may require […]
Cara Plott: ‘Are you OK?’ A med student’s plea for action to stop gun violence
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchBy Cara Plott, a second-year medical student at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. I am sick of needing to text my friends and family to ask whether they have been shot. On Nov. 7, my friend traveled to Thousand Oaks, California, to visit her family. Late that night, a gunman shot and […]
Never a Dull Moment in Cardiology
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchIf it sounds like it’s too good to be true, then it probably is. This proverb may come across as pessimistic; however, it seems to be ringing true for Piero Anversa. Anversa made waves in the field of cardiology with his studies on cardiac muscle regeneration and the proposed use of cardiac stem cells to […]