Ethics in Biomedical Research - Dr. Carolyn Price

Our first Professional Development Session was incredibly intriguing! I have had conversations about ethics in science before due to my major, but I found that specifically focusing on ethics in research was especially interesting. There are many big issues that can be made either by unintentional mistakes or by purposeful misleading. Our conversation about Dr. Andrew Wakefield's extremely harmful article claiming that there are links between the MMR vaccine and autism is a prime example of this. This made me think about how I have to be especially careful when helping with the tasks in my lab and with the writing for posters or publications.

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Big Picture Purpose in Research - Dr. Megan Lamkin

It was really interesting to listen to Dr. Lamkin's talk on presenting your research to an audience that may not be as informed on the scientific process or STEM lingo. By explaining the big picture of your research, you can show others how your research will affect others in the future on a larger scale, rather than honing in on the smaller details. I have found the idea of creating a "hook", as suggested by Dr. Lamkin, to be incredibly helpful when explaining to my family members and non-STEM friends what I am doing in my lab. While my father, a blue-collared worker whose highest level of education is a GED, may not understand our work with the mTOR signaling pathway, he can understand how identifying how epilepsy truly works is important. 

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Ethical Considerations with COVID-19 - Dr. Jason Blackard

I really enjoyed attending this session. Dr. Blackard gave an alternative perspective to this issue as a virologist, which I found to be very valuable. My biggest takeaway from this session was that we can not always be so quick to attack those who have not been vaccinated. I have found myself doing this a lot recently, so I think this was especially important for me to hear. So many members of marginalized communities have been betrayed by the healthcare system, so it is understandable why they would have distrust surrounding the vaccine. Instead of jumping to conclusions, we should try to educate these individuals while also being compassionate around the sensitive history behind their distrust.