Bowling is a leisurely but surprisingly old sport that may date back as early as ancient Egypt. Many different versions have existed throughout history, but modern bowling in its most common form is more precisely named tenpin bowling. In tenpin bowling, a large ball (about 8.5 inches in diameter and 10–16 pounds in weight) is… Read More »Flying Ducks: A Unique Version of Bowling Lives on in Baltimore The post Flying Ducks: A Unique Version of Bowling Lives on in Baltimore first appeare...| Biomedical Odyssey
Life is a miracle. But have you ever wondered what the biological trajectory leading to it is? It all begins (partly) in a female’s reproductive organ, ovaries to be scientifically sound. Special cells in the ovaries grow and mature into eggs (oocytes). Each egg has only half the normal number of chromosomes, waiting to combine… Read More »How Life Begins – the Sacrifices, the Mandatory Inequality, and the Unsung Hero The post How Life Begins – the Sacrifices, the Mandatory Inequali...| Biomedical Odyssey
It had been about two weeks since I’d moved to Baltimore. While I was excited for the opportunity to work on my post-doc, it was also the first time I’d left my country, and it was a daunting experience. So here I was all alone in an empty apartment, a resounding silence welcoming me to… Read More »A Phone Call The post A Phone Call first appeared on Biomedical Odyssey.| Biomedical Odyssey
Multidrug antibiotic resistance has become one of the most significant clinical problems. Despite billions of dollars invested in research and stewardship programs to regulate antibiotic use and reduce the spread of resistant infections, bacteria continue to evolve to become resistant not only to antibiotics but also to biocides commonly used in hospitals.| Biomedical Odyssey
I used to feel like doing science was my way of putting good into the world. I would work on problems related to human health and make discoveries that could be implemented to help people. Recently, however, I have come to realize that research cannot possibly help people unless it is adequately reflected in policy. So how do you make sure your government has policies that reflect scientific knowledge? At a recent Johns Hopkins event, three experts explained why and how scientists should advo...| Biomedical Odyssey
Tips and Tricks for Virtual Conferences| biomedicalodyssey.blogs.hopkinsmedicine.org
At the time, chaos and disappointment were all I saw in Baltimore.| Biomedical Odyssey
Knits from the Heart of Baltimore| biomedicalodyssey.blogs.hopkinsmedicine.org
As I enter my fourth year of medical school and make plans for residency and beyond, I realize that I have spent much of the past few years checking off boxes and anticipating the next steps in my career. I have often viewed medical school as a source of delayed gratification, part of a process| Biomedical Odyssey
All photos provided courtesy of author. Spring is nigh, spring fever is in the air, and February has been doing a superb job of dodging the cold clutches of winter in favor of the warmer embrace of the season to come. On several days this past month, we got a feel for what spring has| Biomedical Odyssey
Planning my move to Baltimore City, I persistently scoured the yearly lists of the “most dangerous cities in the United States” and found myself perpetually disheartened by Baltimore’s seemingly continuous success in topping that list. Friends and acquaintances who had previously been to Baltimore did not help either. Many made it their responsibility to warn| Biomedical Odyssey
The Path to Purpose: From Trail to Medical Training| biomedicalodyssey.blogs.hopkinsmedicine.org
This article has been deidentified to protect the anonymity and confidentiality of the patient in the story. Any matches in names or circumstances to other patients are entirely coincidental. His face was now pale. The body that had labored for each breath lay still beneath the thin hospital blanket. I placed my stethoscope gently on… Read More »A Brief Encounter The post A Brief Encounter first appeared on Biomedical Odyssey.| Biomedical Odyssey
This article has been deidentified to protect the anonymity and confidentiality of the patient in the story. Any matches in names or circumstances to other patients are entirely coincidental. It’s early in intern year, and I’m a new "baby doctor". My mind is algorithmically checking off the boxes as I read the morning lab values:… Read More »Learning to Read The post Learning to Read first appeared on Biomedical Odyssey.| Biomedical Odyssey
Photo left to right: Sahithi Madireddy, Amy Feng, Pallavi Menon, Paul O’Rourke I was fortunate to receive funding from the school of medicine to attend the 2025 Gold Humanism Summit: The Person in Front of You, held in Baltimore this year. The conference was hosted by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, an organization dedicated to… Read More »Gold Humanism Summit 2025: The Person in Front of You The post Gold Humanism Summit 2025: The Person in Front of You first appeared on Biomedical Odys...| Biomedical Odyssey
After carefully lining up fruit fly larvae on a glass dish, I slid the dish under the microscope, hoping to capture a clear 3D image of their neurons for my summer project. Despite following the protocol my mentor had left, I ran into one technical problem after another. The microscope software wasn’t cooperating, and I… Read More »Overcoming the Fear and Finding My Own Voice in Science The post Overcoming the Fear and Finding My Own Voice in Science first appeared on Biomedical Odyssey.| Biomedical Odyssey
Smoking causes cancer. That may be enough for some people, but for those interested in what happens in between, what follows is one explanation. Upon inhalation of tobacco smoke, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and certain nitrosamines are deposited in body tissue. These are metabolized by cytochrome P450 and other enzymes, forming reactive metabolic intermediates that form… Read More »Explaining Illness The post Explaining Illness first appeared on Biomedical Odyssey.| Biomedical Odyssey
This article has been deidentified to protect the anonymity and confidentiality of the patient in the story. Any matches in names or circumstances to other patients are entirely coincidental. “But that’s the thing, doctor, I don’t have any pain, I’m just sick to my stomach.” She was 94 years old, generally healthy, and had come… Read More »Slowing Down The post Slowing Down first appeared on Biomedical Odyssey.| Biomedical Odyssey
I had never been more grumpy in my life. It was almost midnight, and our group had been walking for over 15 hours. On the first day of a multiday backpacking expedition in Iceland, my first time camping, we had gotten quite lost and had doubled back several times to find the trail and continue in the right direction.| Biomedical Odyssey
By Susana Rodriguez, Ph.D., Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Physiology| Biomedical Odyssey
Equal treatment for all is one of the values on which this institution was founded. In an 1873 letter from Mr. Johns Hopkins to Johns Hopkins Hospital trustees, he wrote that the hospital must care for “the indigent sick of this city and its environs, without regard to sex, age, or color, who may require surgical or medical treatment.” We take this charge to heart.| Biomedical Odyssey
Children in Baltimore City are about twice as likely to have asthma as children nationwide. The country Tuvalu is disappearing because of sea-level rise, with more than one third of its citizens applying for climate visas in Australia. Extreme weather events, such as heat waves and floods, put thousands of people in the United States at risk of illness, injury or death. What I learned in medical school (in excruciating detail) is that we are biological organisms. What my classes haven't ackno...| Biomedical Odyssey
Aravind Eye Hospital in PondicherryGuest Blogger Shruti Anant is a fourth-year medical student at Johns Hopkins from Northern Virginia. Her professional interests include using technology to address the burden of preventable blindness and in improving access to care for refugee populations. In her free time, she enjoys running, videography, film photography, and live music.| Biomedical Odyssey
As a child, my mother would take my siblings and me to the local public library. I would check out so many books that the librarians would often ask if I was sure I could read them all. I met their challenge, however, to the point where I would sometimes get in trouble at school for reading under the desk. In high school, my friends and I would spend hours in the library reviewing calculus problems and laughing at comic books during our study breaks. In college, we had 24/7 access to our scho...| Biomedical Odyssey
I am sitting in one of the most beautiful architectural marvels I have ever seen: the iconic Rose Main Reading Room of the New York Public Library. A thoughtless turn of the head while stretching my neck and I catch a glimpse of centuries of knowledge in their primordial form — first edition journals and volumes neatly displayed in stacks of thousands. I could look up and be mesmerized by a scene that is reminiscent of a trip I once took to the Sistine Chapel in Rome, with a ceiling inlaid ...| Biomedical Odyssey
Tucked away on the first floor of The Johns Hopkins Hospital is a room that looks closer to a 19th-century parlor than anything having to do with clinical care. The room is covered with patterned sofas, lamps and reading nooks. Littered around are books covering everything from women’s history and leadership to guides on physical examination.| Biomedical Odyssey
Our higher education system must be radically changed at every level to ensure an equitable and safe future for Black scholars.| Biomedical Odyssey
Last week, NPR published “Academic Science Rethinks All-Too-White ‘Dude Walls’ of Honor” on its website. This article addresses the message that walls of honor that mostly feature white men may send to nonwhite and nonmale trainees. Several academic institutions are dismantling or relocating their “dude walls” to send a more inclusive message, and this has been met with mixed opinions.| Biomedical Odyssey
In 2012, the Advisory Committee to the Director Working Group on Diversity (ACDWGD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) produced its first report. The committee stated plainly that diversity increases core scientific principles — creativity, innovation and rigor — and that the NIH had a responsibility as a publicly funded body to maintain the basic fairness of equal opportunity. To support greater representation of minorities in the biomedical sciences, the ACDWGD issued recommenda...| Biomedical Odyssey
Working in science can sometimes be an arduous, solitary journey. While being a graduate student is challenging enough, the pressure is ratcheted up when one is a postdoc. A postdoctoral fellow, or postdoc, conducts mentored research after obtaining a doctoral degree, prior to moving on to a more permanent position. Postdocs are expected to generate scads of data while also carving out time to write grants and mentor trainees. The chronic pressure and competitive environment can also exacerba...| Biomedical Odyssey
In the months after America’s reflection on systemic racism, student groups are continuing to fight for initiatives to support underrepresented minority trainees at Johns Hopkins.| Biomedical Odyssey
Climate change, global conflicts, poverty and antiscience: Peter Hotez gives us his take on these issues and their relationship to neglected tropical diseases and vaccines.| Biomedical Odyssey
Maame Yaa Konadu Idun is a dual degree candidate in the public health and business administration master’s programs, with concentrations in epidemiology and biostatistics/health technology and innovation. Her writing draws inspiration from perspectives coming straight from the nuanced bits of all corners of the world. I wake up to my 5 a.m. alarm, a constant showdown between| Biomedical Odyssey
You are on a roll. In the morning, you delivered a compelling business proposal. You were the center of attention at lunch and your colleagues loved your witty remarks. In the afternoon meeting, you stood your ground and brilliantly defended your case with irrefutable arguments.| Biomedical Odyssey
In the wake of a seismic shift in the political environment in the United States, with a new presidential administration and the promised rapid repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), medical students across the country are making their voices heard. Health professions students have unified under an ancient, fundamental ethical principle set forth in the Hippocratic Oath: “primum non nocere,” or “do no harm.” Repealing the ACA, these students have argued, “wi...| Biomedical Odyssey
On Nov. 9, 2016, our country awoke on the precipice of a new beginning. The recent presidential election was historic in many ways, but one that particularly struck me was the unprecedented lack of enthusiasm shown by voters toward both candidates. This lack of enthusiasm reflects the hopelessness many people in the United States feel toward the actions of our government, a feeling that is also pervasive throughout the medical profession. As physicians, the idea that we are unable to affect c...| Biomedical Odyssey
As an international medical graduate from Lebanon, training in the United States is an opportunity I’ve dreamed about for many years. Yet, while I immerse myself in fellowship training at one of the most prestigious institutions in the world, my heart and mind often drift thousands of miles away, to my homeland, which is currently ravaged by war.| Biomedical Odyssey
Last 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 to the brain’s innate ability to learn very effectively by watching others — a phenomenon called observational learning.| Biomedical Odyssey
Nothing spells summer in Baltimore like the smell of hot asphalt, the sulfurous haze of backyard fireworks and the sweet siren’s call of a faraway ice cream truck.| Biomedical Odyssey
This past April, you may have noticed a surplus of sparkling lights scattered throughout Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. For those who participated, Light City Baltimore provided food, music and fun. This event was so popular, it even attracted people from outside of Baltimore, including residents from Philadelphia and New York City, among other places.| Biomedical Odyssey
The Department of Neuroeconomics and Neuromarketing sounds like a title chiseled on the wall of a corporate division in a dystopian future; the highlight of a consumerism episode of Black Mirror. But Dino Levy, a researcher in this seemingly dystopian department at Tel Aviv University, was quick to readjust our preconceived notions of what his lab studies when he spoke at Johns Hopkins several weeks ago. Neuroeconomics and neuromarketing are terms that refer to the science of choice: How do...| Biomedical Odyssey
The American Medical Association, or AMA, is the largest association of physicians and medical trainees in the United States. This organization has also established itself as one of the most powerful political lobbying groups in the country, ranking third in dollars spent for this purpose over the last 20 years. Additionally, the AMA has a very active medical student base, the Medical Student Section (MSS), which meets biannually for national meetings just like its parent organization, the AM...| Biomedical Odyssey
Aloha! Being a medical student has its perks. Over the past semester, my medical school experiences have taken me across the country. I’ve traveled to various conferences in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Boston, and this month, Hawaii, where I attended the American Medical Association (AMA) Interim Meeting in Honolulu. The AMA is the largest coalition of physicians in the United States, and it serves as a system of leadership among medical practitioners while providing a voice for physicians t...| Biomedical Odyssey
Guest blogger Katie Pham is a neuroscience Ph.D. student interested in visual processing and memory research. She was born in Hanoi and raised in Northern California. Outside of lab, she enjoys spending time with her cats, watching Family Guy, and reading literary fiction.| Biomedical Odyssey
The history of cannabis use likely traces back to Asia as early as 500 BC. The plant’s purpose then was medicinal, but there are reports from ancient Greece of recreational use by the Scythians. Fast forward thousands of years to July 1, 2023, when the recreational use of cannabis was legalized in Maryland. While the| Biomedical Odyssey
I was surfing Amazon the other day when I came across the most peculiar thing. It was a brain stimulator, a research tool like the one we often use in the lab I work in to study the brain. Yet this wasn’t a device manufactured for research purposes; it was marketed to the average consumer as an all-in-one panacea to boost cognitive performance, treat mood disorders and accomplish who knows what else. Naturally, I was intrigued, a curiosity that led me down the rabbit hole of direct-to-consu...| Biomedical Odyssey
Scientists at MIT Sloan created a data-driven interactive role-play exercise to drive home the urgency of the climate crisis. Ph.D. candidate Talia Henkle shares her experience participating in this exercise.| Biomedical Odyssey
Baltimore murals are more than just landmarks. They are also windows into the communities that sponsored them and have deep roots in the neighborhoods’ histories and cultures.| Biomedical Odyssey
Each November, the American Medical Association (AMA) Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates is held. The House of Delegates is a policy and legislative body comprising nearly 500 elected physicians. The House of Delegates convenes under one roof with delegates from each state and specialty society to discuss the direction of medicine and medical advocacy for the coming six months. The following topics were at the forefront of negotiations at this meeting in November 2023.| Biomedical Odyssey
What steps are clinical teams responsible for to ensure that artificial intelligence (AI) recommendations are accurate and unbiased before using them in patient care? If a care team member uses AI to automatically write a note in a patient’s chart, how should this be indicated in the electronic medical record? Once an AI has been shown to have largely accurate performance, is it necessary that a physician be able to explain the AI’s decision in an individual case?| Biomedical Odyssey
The incorporation of machine learning into daily living has exponentially increased in recent years after the release of ChatGPT for public use. From generating digital artwork and creating personalized playlists to predicting medical outcomes and election results, artificial intelligence (AI) has taken up an indispensable role in improving the efficiency of our recreational and professional| Biomedical Odyssey
