You are driving on a road and see a pedestrian approaching the crosswalk. You brake to give way. Even such a simple action as this requires multiple levels of processing in our brains — recognizing the shapes and curves that resemble a human being, observing the speed at which they move, pressing the brake with(...)
Transcontinental (or “Not-So-Long Distance”) Residencies and Making It Work
Posted by | A Day in the LifeMy Match Day in March 2015 was probably one of the best days of my mid-twenties. I stood around a table with my best friends and my significant other — also a medical student — as we opened our Match letters together. It was our best day — I was headed to Baltimore, and he(...)
Advice for Fellowship Applications – Part Two
Posted by | A Day in the LifeMissed part one? Catch up here. Take a deep breath; it is time to start working on fellowship applications. After applying for and receiving the Ford Foundation fellowship, my friend and fellow Ph.D. student, Ashley Stewart, and I wanted to share advice for fellowship applicants. Since each fellowship has different requirements, its own spectrum of(...)
Learning to Walk
Posted by | A Day in the LifeThe hospital turns worlds upside down, for both patients and for care providers alike. Luckily, I haven’t yet been a patient in a hospital, but I can only imagine how jarring it must be for patients to leave their daily routines and enter the bustling, complex machinery of the hospital, largely for circumstances out of(...)
Innovations at the Intersection of Medicine and Engineering
Posted by | Events and HappeningsOn March 16, the Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine and Whiting School of Engineering held a research retreat titled “Re-Engineering Medical Discovery.” A number of students, researchers and clinical faculty attended to learn about the exciting innovations currently happening at the intersection of these fields. The day started with opening remarks from Mark Anderson, director(...)
Advice for Fellowship Applications – Part One
Posted by | Recently PublishedFor graduate students, the first years of the Ph.D. are packed with an array of hurdles, and it is easy to end up feeling overwhelmed. Once you have passed your qualifying exams, chosen a thesis laboratory, finished the majority of your coursework and have a good general direction for your thesis project — roughly mid-second(...)
A Conversation with Kapil Ramachandran, Johns Hopkins Graduate Student and Incoming Member of the Harvard Society of Fellows
Posted by | Honor RollRecently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Kapil Ramachandran, a graduate student in the Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology (BCMB) Graduate Program who has been named an incoming junior fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows. This prestigious position grants Kapil the resources to work as an independent investigator immediately following completion of(...)
Welcome to Internship! Tips from a Graduating Resident
Posted by | A Day in the LifeEvery March, thousands of fourth year medical students simultaneously open letters containing the names of their future residency programs. A pediatrics resident nearing the end of her training reflects on things she wishes someone had told her as she prepared to become an intern. Most days, you will have to choose between getting enough sleep,(...)
Bridging the Gap Between the Ivory Tower and the Public
Posted by | A Day in the LifeHuman well-being and the eradication of disease are causes that bring everyone together. Some people give back by donating their change to philanthropies at the grocery store, others participate in charity events, while some take the plunge and work in fields such as health care or research. I, like many scientists, decided to make my(...)
That’s Not Fair! — The Neuroscience of Injustice
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchAs a kid you probably found some decisions by your parents utterly unjust. Perhaps you proclaimed, “That’s not fair!” when you were forced to eat spinach, or if your sibling got something you didn’t. As adults, we still experience intense sensations of injustice, sometimes in response to more serious issues such as human rights, health(...)