Stepping into the Anne and Mike Armstrong Medical Education Building (AMEB), you can always count on Aisha to brighten your day. Born and raised in Baltimore, Aisha has worked at Johns Hopkins since 2009, and recently changed positions from security first class officer to interim administrative assistant. Everybody knows and loves Aisha, who greets each(...)
The Beginning and End of an Era
Posted by | A Day in the LifeMedical school curriculum has traditionally been split into two halves: preclinical and clinical years. Preclinical years generally include the first two years of medical school, when topics including anatomy, biochemistry and organ system-based physiology, pharmacology and pathology are taught in lecture halls. At most schools, clinical years encompass the last two years of medical school,(...)
A New Blood Test Tries to Detect Cancer Sooner
Posted by | Recently PublishedA patient develops symptoms that cannot be explained. The doctor orders a myriad of tests to discern the cause. If cancer is suspected, the patient may go through a painful and sometimes invasive biopsy procedure to sample the tissue in question. But what if a simple blood draw could be used instead? This is the(...)
Drowning in Data: New Challenges in Modern Biology
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchBiology is a vast and rapidly evolving field. The science of life ranges from studying the physical and chemical interactions of molecules to mapping a network of billions of brain cells. How can we make sense of an entity as complicated as an organism? A prevailing attitude in biomedical research has been that if we(...)
Fresh or Frozen Embryos? Equal Live-Birth Rates Among Infertile Women
Posted by | Did You See This?, Recently PublishedAbout 40 years ago (July 1978), Louise Joy Brown was born at Oldham General Hospital in England, weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces. This birth may sound like any ordinary baby story, but the conception and delivery of Louise, the first human conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF), symbolized the possibility of having children for women(...)
Do You Want to Write For Us?
Posted by | Did You See This?Do you blog? Journal? Write in your spare time? Are you interested in pursuing communications at any level in parallel with your professional training? We need you! Biomedical Odyssey: Adventures from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is a newsfeed dedicated to showcasing the accomplishments of the students, postdocs, residents and fellows here at the Johns(...)
Mental Health on the Reservation: Native American Teens and Toxic Stress
Posted by | A Day in the LifeToxic stress is everywhere. As a pediatrician in Baltimore City, I acknowledge the elephant in the exam room at nearly every appointment. Abuse. Neglect. Domestic violence. Toxic stress is a term used to describe the repeated experience of adverse childhood events without positive interpersonal relationships to buffer the ongoing trauma. As a result, children in(...)
From Baltimore to Guatemala: Experiences in Global Health
Posted by | A Day in the LifeInternational medical work is a passion of mine and one that I hope to continue pursuing throughout my career. As I write this blog post, I’m flying to Peru to volunteer at a traveling medical clinic. In preparation for my trip, I’m reading a book called When Helping Hurts, by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.(...)
Last Year’s Resolutions — A Brief Summary of Some of 2017’s Greatest Scientific Advances and Discoveries
Posted by | Did You See This?The onset of each new year is frequently marred by overly ambitious and quickly neglected resolutions — an onslaught of new gym memberships, Jenny Craig enrollments, and Kindle purchases that will likely remain unread for years. New Year’s resolutions aside, the beginning of the year is a timely opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come.(...)
Using Epigenetics to Fight Tumors
Posted by | Perspectives in Research, Recently PublishedWhile the word cancer treatment may identify everything from chemotherapy to radiation, there is significant variance between the type of cancer and its responsiveness to even the most promising therapies. That has been precisely the case for the α-PD-1 immunotherapy treatment. While it has shown remarkable efficacy in patients diagnosed with lung cancer, other types(...)