It’s More Than Just Architectural Damage

Credit: Pexels from Pixabay The moment you hear the word “earthquake,” your mind might jump to natural disasters like the major earthquake that rocked San Francisco in 1906, claiming its title as the worst and deadliest earthquake in United States history. Earthquakes occur all over the world at a rate of 20,000 quakes a year—equating … Continue reading It’s More Than Just Architectural Damage

The First Years’ Guide to Graduate School Rotations

Credit: imjaki from Pixabay To a first year graduate student, deciding what labs to rotate in may seem like a daunting task. When I joined the Penn State College of Medicine graduate program, I was faced with an overwhelming number of options and found it difficult to narrow down my top three lab choices. I … Continue reading The First Years’ Guide to Graduate School Rotations

The Good, the Bad, and the Misunderstood: Understanding Ingredients in Plant-Based “Meats”

By Stephen Matthews Credit: Thomas Ulrich from Pixabay In today’s day and age, it is incredibly easy to search the internet and find answers to any question you may have. This increased access to information provides an easy avenue for misinformation to spread. With the abundance of searchable information available, it can be difficult to … Continue reading The Good, the Bad, and the Misunderstood: Understanding Ingredients in Plant-Based “Meats”

Something BIG is Happening at Penn State!

What is BIG? BIG, “Business and Innovation Group” is a newly inaugurated group at Penn State Hershey College of Medicine. Previously known as the “Hershey Medical Consulting Group”, the organization was rebranded toward the end of 2019 to more accurately represent the mission of the group. We are currently represented by Dr. Kevin Harter, Director … Continue reading Something BIG is Happening at Penn State!

The Life of Aducanumab: A Potential Novel Alzheimer’s Disease Drug

On October 22nd, 2019, headlines read “Biogen plans regulatory filing for Aducanumab for Alzheimer’s disease based on new analysis of larger dataset from phase 3 studies”. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease characterized by cognitive dysfunction and memory loss. It is the 6th leading cause of adult deaths in the United States. Biogen … Continue reading The Life of Aducanumab: A Potential Novel Alzheimer’s Disease Drug

The Little Brain with Big Potential

Credit: Raman Oza from Pixabay Until recently, the cerebellum, often referred to as “the little brain,” was thought to regulate motor movements, balance, and coordination. However, according to an article published in 2009, the cerebellum has 70 billion neurons (compared to the 25 billion in the cerebral cortex) giving it 2.5 times more neurons than … Continue reading The Little Brain with Big Potential

A Cure by Prevention: Eradication of Viruses by Vaccination

Credit: Arek Socha from Pixabay May 8, 2020 will mark the 40th anniversary of the groundbreaking declaration by the World Health Assembly that smallpox—a disease that had plagued humanity for over two millennia—had been completely eradicated following the vaccination efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO). This year also marks the 1st anniversary of another … Continue reading A Cure by Prevention: Eradication of Viruses by Vaccination

Recommendations to Prevent Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in the Pediatric Population

Credit: Thanks for your like from Pixabay An endocrine disruptor is an exogenous chemical or mixture of chemicals that can bind to the body's endocrine receptors to activate or block natural hormone synthesis, resulting in modification of hormonal signals and normal endocrine function. Alternately, these chemicals can mimic naturally occurring hormones in the body, including … Continue reading Recommendations to Prevent Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in the Pediatric Population