Biomedical Odyssey

Life at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

medicine bottle and person

Is Cough Syrup an Antidepressant?

April 2, 2019

Everything 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 […]

Mike Wang ⋅ Perspectives in Research anti-depressant, clinical trails, depression, in the lab ⋅

A doctor holds a patient's hand in a display of comfort.

Movie Review of “End Game”

April 1, 2019

Guest 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 […]

biomedicalodyssey ⋅ Perspectives in Research death, medical school, Palliative Care ⋅

History of Medicine graduate students try out the 1915 stethoscope. Alex Parry (left) plays patient as Michael Healey (right) listens to his breathing.

19th-Century Technology, 21st-Century Users

March 26, 2019

In 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 […]

Kristin Brig ⋅ A Day in the Life, Perspectives in Research History of medicine ⋅

Colleagues Writing Mathematical Formulas On Transparent Wipe Board

Underrepresented minority biomedical researchers: numbers, challenges and initiatives for change

March 14, 2019

In 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 […]

Erika Dunn-Weiss ⋅ Perspectives in Research diversity ⋅

Doctor putting money in his pocket in his office, cropped photo.

Are Physician Salaries Appropriate?

February 26, 2019

Over 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 […]

Benjamin Ostrander ⋅ Perspectives in Research debt, healthcare, physician salary ⋅

Shot of a young woman resting on a pile of books in a college library, looking thoughtful.

Student Perspectives: All About Grad School

February 18, 2019

Curious about graduate school? Below are recent posts from our students sharing advice, accomplishments and the latest goings-on in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine graduate programs. The Future of Biomedical Education: A Conversation with Dr. Ziegelstein A Ph.D. candidate sits down with Dr. Ziegelstein, vice dean for education at the Johns Hopkins University […]

biomedicalodyssey ⋅ A Day in the Life, Perspectives in Research grad students, Graduate School, graduate students, ICYMI ⋅

Kyla Briston

Partnering Toward Discovery: A Focus on Inclusion Body Myositis

February 15, 2019

Many people are not familiar with a rare disease called inclusion body myositis (IBM). Most have never heard of it. On Jan. 22, 2019, Harry Benjamin Larman and students Janelle Montagne, Sahana Jayaraman and Kyla Britson presented their clinical and basic science research on IBM at the first event in this year’s Partnering Toward Discovery […]

Yazmin Rovira Gonzalez ⋅ Perspectives in Research basic science, graduate students, medical students, partnering towards discovery ⋅

Silver bullet in flight

Engineering Magic Bullets for Pancreatic Cancer

February 4, 2019

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 […]

Roshan Chikarmane ⋅ Perspectives in Research Cancer, cancer research, Pancreatic Cancer ⋅

100 dollar bills, pills, and medicine containers

A Life or Debt Decision: Tackling Unaffordable Drug Prices in Maryland

January 28, 2019

I 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 […]

Talia Henkle ⋅ Perspectives in Research Access to Medicine, affordable care, drug prices, healthcare costs, prescription drugs ⋅

a finger with a string around it

Fuggetaboudit: Is Forgetfulness a Vice or a Virtue?

January 22, 2019

Where 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 […]

Lisa Learman ⋅ Perspectives in Research memory, Neuroscience ⋅

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