Biomedical Odyssey

Life at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

People skate on a rink at Johns Hopkins.

Skating on Thick Ice — how do we learn new motor skills?

March 3, 2022

Skating is something I learned to do by falling on the ice — a lot. When I was a junior in high school, I joined the JV hockey team, without really knowing how to ice skate. The very first thing I learned was how to fall safely on the hockey pads. Even so, I was […]

Jeong Jun Kim ⋅ A Day in the Life graduate student, learning, motor skills, Neuroscience ⋅

An illustration of a brain wearing a medical mask above the text, "Your brain in the time of COVID-19."

Podcasting Through the Pandemic

April 9, 2021

Curious about how your brain is processing the experience of the pandemic? Johns Hopkins graduate student Emily Han launched a podcast to explore the neuroscience behind pandemic emotions.

Emma Spikol ⋅ Honor Roll Brain, Neuroscience, pandemic, podcast ⋅

A pair of young hands hold a pair of older hands in a gesture of support.

The P-value of People

January 15, 2021

The prospect of helping patients is what attracted neuroscience graduate student Riley Bannon to the field of research, but this semester brought many humbling reminders that it is all too easy to lose sight of the bigger, human picture in translational research.

Riley Bannon ⋅ Perspectives in Research graduate student, Neuroscience, Patients, translational research ⋅

Goldfish trapped in hourglass. Isolated on white background.

To Regrow Neurons, Fish Retinas Go Back in Time

December 17, 2020

Have you ever wondered why worms and fish can regenerate lost limbs while humans can’t? Read how Seth Blackshaw’s developmental neuroscience lab uses insights from zebrafish to regrow damaged eye neurons in mice.

Lisa Learman ⋅ Perspectives in Research glial cells, Neuroscience, vision loss, zebrafish ⋅

Tubes of blood samples rest atop laboratory form.

A Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Disease? Breakthroughs and Limitations

September 13, 2019

Recently, researchers at Washington University, St. Louis made a significant breakthrough in developing a blood test for early indications of Alzheimer’s disease. But what exactly is Alzheimer’s disease, how prevalent is it, and why do we seem to be so far away from a treatment or cure? In this post, I provide an overview of […]

Erika Dunn-Weiss ⋅ Perspectives in Research alzheimers disease, blood test, Neuroscience ⋅

An illustrated interpretation of the left and right halves of the brain.

Left- vs. Right-Brained: Why the Brain Laterality Myth Persists

May 22, 2019

You 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 […]

Lisa Learman ⋅ Perspectives in Research Brain, Neuroscience ⋅

An illustration of a brain emitting lines of binary code in an artificial intelligence concept.

Why Do Students Pursue a Ph.D. in Neuroscience?

April 8, 2019

As a fourth-year neuroscience Ph.D. student, I appreciate the variety of topics that lie within the umbrella of the nervous system. Nowhere is this more evident than in the diverse backgrounds and passions of my fellow students. To provide a glimpse into the vibrant world of neuroscience research, and to provide insight to others considering […]

David Ottenheimer ⋅ A Day in the Life graduate students, Neuroscience, Ph.D. ⋅

Night Sky with Stars and soft Milky Way Universe as Background or Texture

Drifting Through the Dark

March 6, 2019

I have never wanted to be an astronaut. The idea of hurtling upward in a rocket ship, crashing through the Earth’s atmosphere, and launching into the weightless, densely black sky with the knowledge that you might never return makes me feel a certain loneliness. Yet when friends and family ask what it’s like to do […]

Erika Dunn-Weiss ⋅ A Day in the Life basic science, Neuroscience ⋅

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 ⋅

Transparent cells with nucleus, cell membrane and visible chromosomes

Discussing the NIH Mandate to Study Sex as a Biological Variable in Basic Biomedical Research

January 4, 2019

In one of my courses in the neuroscience Ph.D. program at Johns Hopkins, we recently discussed the 2016 National Institutes of Health (NIH) mandate requiring consideration of sex as a biological variable in grant applications to NIH agencies. Citing the success of the initiative to include both men and women in human clinical trials, the […]

David Ottenheimer ⋅ Perspectives in Research diversity, Neuroscience ⋅

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