Most days, I just think of myself as a scientist. But in honor of Pride Month, I am embracing my identity as not just any scientist but specifically a gay scientist by reflecting on the struggles I’ve faced as a gay student and the challenges LGBTQ+ scientists face today. It’s easy to minimize the difficulties(...)
Do’s and Don’ts for Preparing for Your Thesis Committee Meeting
Posted by | A Day in the LifeEvery year, after passing the dreaded preliminary oral exam, Ph.D. students are required to meet with their thesis advisory committee (TAC) to assess their progress and plan future work. These meetings can be incredibly valuable, and they provide important check-ins during the sometimes chaotic day-to-day lab work. While preparing for my last TAC meeting, I(...)
Art As Applied to Medicine: the 2019 Graduate Showcase
Posted by | Events and HappeningsJohns Hopkins is renowned for its highly regarded medical school and graduate programs, and every May our halls are inundated with freshly minted M.D. and Ph.D. graduates ready to be leaders in their fields. However, several programs at Johns Hopkins deserve more recognition and none more so than the Master of Arts program in medical(...)
Responsibility Without Blame: An Interview with Philosopher Hanna Pickard
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchHanna Pickard, D.Phil., is a professor and chair of philosophy of psychology at the University of Birmingham, and is a recently announced Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Distinguished Professor. Her work focuses on philosophy of mind, moral psychology and clinical ethics. Her philosophy is grounded in real-world issues, informed by her clinical experience and biomedical research, and(...)
Inhibiting Oxidation to Treat Heart Disease
Posted by | Events and HappeningsYou have probably heard of antioxidants and the many “superfoods” that inhibit oxidation, such as dark chocolate, pecans, blueberries, kale, goji berries and others. But if antioxidants are good, does that mean oxidants are bad? What are oxidants anyway? They are reactive agents, produced both inside your body and in the environment around you that(...)
Summer Reading from the Hopkins History of Medicine Department
Posted by | A Day in the LifeAsk anyone in the Johns Hopkins history of medicine department and they will tell you that summer is the time to catch up on all the reading they can’t do during the semester. Some of us have found our favorite books in the summer. Need a jump-start on your own reading? Check out these titles(...)
Left- vs. Right-Brained: Why the Brain Laterality Myth Persists
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchYou might have heard artists say they’re right-brained or mathematicians say they’re left-brained. Maybe when you were a kid someone noticed you were left-handed and told you that meant you were creative. The idea that some of us are “left-brained” and others are “right-brained” is extremely popular. But, like so many other appealing ideas, the(...)
Tales of Dinosaurs Past
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchDo you remember sitting in your first or second grade class learning about dinosaurs? I distinctly remember being taught that a huge rock hit the Earth, causing a tumultuous series of events that ultimately lead to their demise. What I didn’t know is that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to suggest that the asteroid hitting the(...)
The Joy Is in the Ride!
Posted by | A Day in the LifeAs I turned the knob of the water fountain, I started musing about science blogs. Why should one write for a science blog? Could I not spend my time writing a review or focusing on that manuscript that is long overdue? What difference does it make? Is it worth spending the time and energy decoding(...)
It’s a Twin Thing
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchIn NASA’s most comprehensive study ever on the physiological and molecular consequences of living in space for a prolonged period of time, scientists from across the country collaborated to investigate various aspects of human biology using samples from famous twin astronauts, Scott and Mark Kelly. Though a handful of astronauts had previously lived in space(...)