mRNA vaccines (235K+ lives saved), CRISPR’s sickle cell cure, Alzheimer’s-delaying genes discovered, hearing aids slow dementia 48%, Senolytics target aging cells, instant brain injury blood tests emerge, multivitamins boost aging minds, GFP illuminates disease research, enzyme therapies tackle rare diseases, Human Genome Project fuels precision medicine. Not bad for 0.68% of our budget. I think NIH deserves more funding, not less.
I am now returning from a wonderful trip to Washington DC, where I attended the Society for Neuroscience conference. I was able to see breakthrough science, and was really fascinated by using stimulation to modulate phase-amplitude coupling, and perineuronal nets in the extracellular matrix. I am definitely excited to test out several new hypotheses in my epilepsy models.
Over Christmas Vacation, I have had a lot to think about. As I look back on 2022, I think my greatest achievements were getting my first grants, preparing my first manuscript from my work at Washington University, and becoming much better at software development and data analysis.
As I look forward to 2023, my primary aspiration is to become a much better writer. Similar to how I spent a lot of time in 2022 doing coding tutorials, in 2023, I would like to similarly develop my skills as a writer. I plan to write more here in my blog, publish more articles, and be more active in my academic field. If anyone reads this, I’d love to hear your insight on resources to becoming a better writer!
My review article on Neurostimulation in Epilepsy was published in Biomedical Journal. It is my first publication from WashU as first author. TL;DR is that neurostimulation has made tremendous progress in epilepsy, but there is still a long way to go!
I am having a wonderful time researching and writing a review on our understanding of epilepsy and brain stimulation. It is fascinating to read the literature in chronological order. You can see discrete stages in which the shared mental frameworks used to describe neurophysiologic phenomena evolve. During the 80s, the Lyapunov exponential method was en vogue, using oscillatory states to describe seizures. More complex and dynamic models then emerged. Now, machine learning algorithms are permeating the literature. I find it interesting how the scientific community is open to increasingly complex and less elegant descriptions of neuronal activities, likely since simpler models cannot reproduce what we see in nature. I am excited to see what the next decade will bring to our mental frameworks and the language we use to discuss these topics.
I enrolled in a course on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Biomedicine. In doing my research for a novel project, I stumbled across this company: Cerebral Therapeutics. I believe they are bringing to market an implantable device that provides anti-seizure medication directly to the brain. It looks like Mark Cook is helping them with feasibility of the device. It is an exciting prospect, and I believe there could be many new applications, and potential iterations of such a device.
People: My family, friends, and all the people I interact with. I love to be around people, to hear their stories, and to enjoy their presence. I love to hear the kids riding bikes in the neighborhood, overhearing conversations on the bus, and seeing families walking in the hospital.
Places: Our townhouse is wonderful. I love my commute by bike or bus. I love the trees out our windows. I love my memories of Italy. I enjoy the mountains, beaches and historic places of the world.
History: For my ancestors, especially my grandparents and parents who sacrificed much to make my life so enjoyable. For soldiers, revolutionaries and public servants who have created and defended my rights and opportunities.
Knowledge: For my teachers. The authors of the books I’ve read. For scientists and physicians who have given neuroscience and neurology. For each bit of knowledge which I have been able to remember.
Faith: In God. In my family. In good people that are trying to make a difference. In the hope and promise of future generations.
I am grateful for every moment.
Two weeks ago I flew to San Francisco. I spent a couple days there before flying back to Tucson to pick up the kids from my in-laws and fly home. It was an eye opening trip. Thursday due to flight delays I was in airports for seven hours. I read an entire chapter book- in one day. That hasn’t happened since before Scotland was born. Friday, Tom was at his neurology conference all day, so I had the day solo to explore the city. I woke up when I woke up, did some yoga, had a cup of tea while I ready my scriptures, and got ready. I bought a MUNI pass- jumped on the subway and headed out. I walked along the high-end market stalls in the Ferry Building, lingering to savor the samples of $12 bars of chocolate- without having to wipe faces, and hands, and clothes. I stalled to take in the diversity of mushrooms- no one complained. I took pictures without being pulled off balance. I didn’t buy breakfast- I didn’t want to waste time, and no one was begging me to. I explored the Embercado area, then took a street car north so I could climb the Filbert steps. I got off a stop early, and jogged the rest of the way, because I could. A goofy smile was smeared across my face. I couldn’t help it. I was in San Francisco, the sun was shining, the air brisk, fresh! I had an entire day to myself. I felt both stressed and exhilarated. How to make the most of it?! I climbed the steps, stopping from time to time to turn around and take in the view of the bay. I side tracked and walked down skinny alleyways between houses, admiring the enormous succulents, and new-to me plants. I imagined life in those homes- etched into a cliff, overlooking the bay. I had pleasant flashbacks to a trip to Cinque Terre, with it’s similar cliff dwellings, and steep narrow streets. I climbed all the way to the top arms swinging, mouth smiling, mind free. Wait, arms swinging, such a strange sensation. It was at this point in the day, an hour in, that I realized how strange it was to have NO one else to consider that day. My whims would guide the day. No time would be wasted discussing the merits of this or that decision, no energy spent trying to choose based on the others’ perceived desires. I would just go, do, enjoy. At that point I let go of any stress or pressure and decided to just take it all in. I took the elevator up Coit tower. I leaned out the windows (far enough that the attendant had to warn me!) feeling the fresh ocean breeze, and taking in the gorgeous 360 of San Francisco. Such a gorgeous city. The details of the day are less interesting than the feeling I had- such freedom, such abandon. I took busses the wrong direction, and walked too long in ordinary neighborhoods. I didn’t do things in the best order, and I ate nothing but granola bars until 5:00pm. But there was no one but me to worry about, no one complained, demanded, begged. The change was shocking. And yet I wasn’t gleeful about the absence of my children- in reality I melted every time I saw a child, and teared up a bit when a 2 year old darling with blonde curls danced around in Coit Tower. I wished Tom was there to share the view, and found myself focusing on things the boys would find interesting- double decker bridges, the variety of public transit options, decorative dragons. But I was also surprised by how often I felt freed by the opportunity to actually pursue something that interested me- to linger in the garden, to examine the succulents, to read the plaque, without consequence.
Tom texted around 5:15- “Where are you!?” My day alone had come to an end. An exciting dinner date awaited. I jumped on the side of a cable car, holding on to the bar, and resisting the urge to lean out and start singing. An older man, asked me curiously, “Do you feel comfortable there?” “Oh. I feel great!”
I created this applescript to create a link back to the source email. I can then use the apple mail rules to filter known actionable emails to Reminders, and archive them from Apple Mail:
using terms from application "Mail"
on perform mail action with messages theMessages for rule theRule
set ReminderList to "Inbox"
tell application "Mail"
repeat with eachMessage in theMessages
set emailSubject to (subject of eachMessage)
set recieveDate to (date received of eachMessage)
set messageid to (message id of eachMessage)
set urlText to "message://" & "%3c" & messageid & "%3e"
tell application "Reminders"
set whichList to list ReminderList
tell whichList
make new reminder with properties {name:emailSubject, remind me date:recieveDate, body:urlText}
end tell
end tell
display notification ("Set reminder for '" & emailSubject & "' due: " & recieveDate)
end repeat
end tell
end perform mail action with messages
end using terms from
Let me know if it worked for you!
Just wanted to let everyone know that I am finishing medical school in May (...finally!), and then will be moving to Seattle (woohoo!) for a five year residency program in Pediatric Neurology. I will be working primarily at Seattle Children's hospital and at the University of Washington. The program involves two years of general pediatric training, one year of adult neurology training, and two years of specialized pediatric neurology training. I will be continuing some of my research in biomedical engineering, though time will be at a premium (have you seen those mountains?!)
It is "my first real job" (n.b. no more need for "eternal student" jibes!).
We are so excited to move to Seattle. We found out Friday in the residency match; before Scotter opened the envelope, we knew that I had a job somewhere, but not where. We are a little nervous about the cost of living, but we aren't the first family to live in Seattle on a budget. Kjirsti's parents live a few hours from Seattle, which will allow scotter some much needed space for running around. Kjirsti is excited to develop a new Voice Studio in Seattle. Scotter is excited about all the puddles. And I'm excited about, well, everything!
I love watching Scotland learn how to move about. Today, while Kjirsti and I were working on some projects, we noticed that Scotter had started walking with his new toy! It is inspiring to watch him overcome his fears, to do hard things, and to trust. youtube.com/shorts/2l…
All treatments in medicine have potential benefits, but also potential risks. Prescribing treatment requires some degree of hope that the patient will be part of the group of people in which treatment benefits outweigh the damages. Patients receiving prescriptions will find no benefit unless they have at least enough hope to follow through on the doctor’s recommendation. Ultimately, the hope may be realized, and the patient’s ailment relieved. However, sometimes hope is in vain: the side effects are intolerable, the therapeutic effect is insufficient, or the surgical procedure is disastrous. The unpredictable nature of medicine means that, regardless of best intentions, hopes will not always be achieved. Instilling “hope”, therefore, requires communication of some level of doubt, to ease understanding when treatments do not go well.
Yet, I have seen doubt damage patients. They stop a blood pressure medication after 2 days because “It’s not working”. They tell me they didn’t pick up a medication because they “didn’t think it would work”. As humans, we like quick fixes, which make treatments like antibiotics so popular. We are fatigued by insidious diseases like diabetes and obesity, which require constant vigilance and daily sacrifice. Doubt overwhelms many patients, and they stop trying. In their most difficult times, they need increased hope, that each effort increases the likelihood of more tomorrows. It is our job as medical practitioners to explain risks, but also to instill hope sufficient for our patients to get the most out of the rest of their life.
Since my dream of an abundance of dispensable flowers is not likely in this decade, my new focus is going to be on enjoying my flowers inside in a very small focused vignette sort of way. This vase is tiny, but perfect to display a couple of my spring daisies. I am amazed at how they brighten up a dull space, and how much more I am aware of appreciate the details of their form in such small numbers. So I will keep dreaming, trying to restrain my mouse from draining my bank account for rare but perfectly needed flowers, and enjoying my cuttings in a miniature sort of way.
Amazing to think we have been going to space for nearly 50 years!
playingforchange, a group who is trying to promote peace through music, made the following video. It touched my heart, hopefully it will touch yours. “This cover of Stand By Me was recorded by completely unknown artists in a street virtual studio all around the world. It all started with a base track—vocals and guitar—recorded on the streets of Santa Monica, California, by a street musician called Roger Ridley. The base track was then taken to New Orleans, Louisiana, where Grandpa Elliott—a blind singer from the French Quarter—added vocals and harmonica while listening to Ridley’s base track on headphones. In the same city, Washboard Chaz’s added some metal percussion to it. And from there, it just gets rock ‘n’ rolling bananas: The producers took the resulting mix all through Europe, Africa, and South America, adding new tracks with multiple instruments and vocals that were assembled in the final version you are seeing in this video. All done with a simple laptop and some microphones.” [gizmodo]
After a long a stressful week, I unfortunately came down with a bit of laryngitis. However, this movie made me smile, so I’d like to share. It’s called Validation:
As Kjirsti already blogged, the big highlight of the week was probably skiing. I was talking to friends at work, and we all decided it would be great to go skiing together. It was wonderful to cut through the icy snow, and get a nice workout. I had a great faceplant early on, which would have been documented if I wasn’t the photographer. Cleveland is so great this time of year!
Happy New Year!
Kjirsti and I had a great time in Washington with her family. I love all of our wonderful nieces and nephews. They have such spirit!
Kjirsti got me perhaps the coolest gift I’ve ever gotten. It’s called an arduino, and it has to be the geekiest thing I’ve ever owned. But it sure is cool. I made a timer for our camera, and put together a time lapse video of our front yard:
I came across this beautiful time lapse series from our earth. We live in such an amazing place! túrána hott kurdís by hasta la otra méxico! from Till Credner on Vimeo.
A few hundred people in the edmonton, canada area witnessed a beautiful fireball/meteor crash through the atmosphere. Luckily, a canadian policeman had his dashboard camera pointed in the right direction. Here it is: The meteor is thought to have weighed about 1-7 tons before entering the atmosphere. On entry, it was roughly 5 times the brightness of the full moon. It likely landed near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. Edmonton Journal
Two interesting things. I put together a pdf of the newspapers I typically read: The Day After Someone with more time did this one: Headlines And here is a great article in Time magazine that captures the worlds reactions: TIME And a great worldwide slideshow: Huffington Post Now when we travel, we don’t have to act like we’re Canadian!
What an amazing thing to be able to vote. Even with all the economic problems we are having, we have such a wonderful country. Earlier this week I came across a couple of powerful pictures of the drama in congo: Congo I wish there was more we could do for Africa. I’m grateful that we as a country have to make a decision between this guy: Obama and this one: McCain and not: Omar or: Mugabe I’ll be following the election tonight here: google_election Let’s hope the best one wins!
A lot of people have asked me to put up a video from our wedding. Micah Brown made a gorgeous video for us, better than we could have ever expected. And lucky for you guys, it’s only about 3 minutes long.
This is probably the best video I could find of the launch. From our view, it was AWESOME in person, but probably wouldn’t be more than a speck on the camera. Here’s my summary of the launch. There were a ton of people on the beach, which created a really great atmosphere. Most people were in their 20’s-50’s. There were a lot of families, and a lot of guys who had always dreamed of seeing a launch (like me). There were some absolutely incredible binoculars, and camera’s with super zooms. So we were only out there for ~ 2 hours. They went through a bunch of checks, and then we didn’t hear anything for about an hour. And then, all of a sudden, they started the countdown. 10, 9, 8…… Smoke was pouring out of the rocket…..7,6,5…..you could barely see the shuttle, there was so much smoke….4,3,2,1,Lift off! And up comes the rocket! It quickly accelerates, and gets higher and higher every second. Everything has been silent up to this point, but you start to hear the rumble of the rockets. The sound grows louder and louder each second. Then we saw the shuttle roll, and begin to shrink in size. Through binoculars, I watched the solid state booster rockets separate and return to earth (they reuse them). Then the shuttle became a beautiful star, visible in daylight. It was simply incredible. Within minutes, they were in space!