Right this moment, your gastrointestinal tract is crammed with a vast number of different microbes, together referred to as the human gut microbiota. Don’t be too alarmed though, as this complex gut microbial ecosystem maintains a mutual and beneficial relationship with you. Given the bad reputation some bacteria have as being infectious and antibiotic-resistant, you(...)
Diversity at the Top of the Social Media Signaling Cascade
Posted by | Recently PublishedCaroline's essay received 3rd place in The Lasker Foundation Essay Contest. The Lasker Foundation’s Essay Contest engages young scientists and clinicians in a discussion about big questions in biology and medicine and the role of biomedical research in our society today. The Contest aims to build skills in communicating important medical and scientific issues to(...)
Recent Study Reveals How the Brain Learns from Others’ Mistakes
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchLast month, my friend came back from Mount Kosciuszko with stunning photos and a seriously painful-looking sunburn. As I prepared to undertake the same hike based upon his enthusiastic recommendation, I decided to pack some SPF 50 and planned to reapply every 30 minutes. Without experiencing a sunburn firsthand, I knew to stay sun-safe, thanks(...)
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(...)
Celebrating the Hopkins LGBTQ+ Community at Baltimore Pride 2018
Posted by | Recently PublishedThis June was Baltimore Pride, a tradition dating back to 1975 that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community in Baltimore. Over 200 members of the Johns Hopkins community participated in the Pride parade on June 16, a highlight of Pride weekend that sees organizations from across Baltimore and Maryland celebrating LGBTQ+ life (see the Hub write-up). I(...)
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(...)
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(...)
Finding the Missing Piece — the Limits of the Current Malaria Vaccine and How We Can Improve Future Vaccine Design
Posted by | Recently PublishedWith hundreds of millions of infections worldwide, malaria continues to be a global health threat and burden to vulnerable populations. For decades, researchers have dedicated work to stamping out this illness, which is caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, and a vaccine was recently licensed for prevention of the disease. The vaccine, called RTS,S/AS01, has(...)
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(...)
Insilico Medicine: A Hopkins Startup Using AI to Enhance Biomedical Research
Posted by | Did You See This?Remember that time you Googled something and it showed up on your Facebook newsfeed the next day? These oftentimes unnerving, targeted advertising strategies are driven by gradations of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning software, which constantly improve and build in sophistication. The power in these programs lies in their ability to find patterns between(...)