{"id":527,"date":"2021-03-10T13:36:22","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T13:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/?p=527"},"modified":"2021-03-10T13:36:22","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T13:36:22","slug":"discovering-something-research-in-biomedicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/2021\/03\/10\/discovering-something-research-in-biomedicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovering something: Research in Biomedicine!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Kristopher Schmidt,<\/a> Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology & Chemistry, MS in Biomedicine Program<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the things I love most about being a professor in the Biomedicine program is teaching students about research and the important role it plays in medicine and health.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discovering something truly new is one of life\u2019s greatest privileges!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I love that our students get to participate in original research projects <\/a>as a part of their program – we have always prioritized research<\/a> because it helps our students to develop those invaluable scientific competencies <\/a>important to their future healthcare goals1<\/sup><\/strong>. \u00a0 For me, teaching the research class gives me the chance to live a little bit vicariously through our students.\u00a0 I still clearly remember the first time (wow, 20 years ago?) that I was able to pour over all the data I gathered in my first major project in graduate school.\u00a0 The goal of my work <\/a>was to understand how the brains of kids in southeast Africa (Malawi) were impacted by the malaria parasite.\u00a0 We catalogued forms of brain and retinal damage in those kids that no one in history had observed previously2<\/sup>.\u00a0 The malaria parasite has been around for millions of years, and the opportunity to add to the human story in a small way was an important personal victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s fun to watch my MS Biomedicine students pursue their own paths and gain confidence in their ability to do novel research!\u00a0 Students are both nervous and excited about taking on their thesis projects. Everything worthwhile is that way<\/em>.<\/strong>\u00a0 Some comments from early student reflections sum it up nicely:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m more nervous about this course than any of my other classes.  I\u2019ve never taken a project from start to finish on my own!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have so many interests, I don\u2019t know where to start.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to do something clinical!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are halfway into the class now and we are gaining momentum – we\u2019ve picked our projects and we\u2019re thinking about all the variables and sampling methods and controls we need to keep track of.  The statistics can be a bit of a bear, but we know that we are developing a sound selection of tools we can use to get the job done.  Students are thinking about the advisors they might choose. Faculty from across the university, in math, biology, chemistry, nursing, psychology and more, have partnered with students in the past.  Our students will work on these questions this summer and next fall.  While they are developing their questions independently, having the support they need is essential to finishing strong!   I\u2019ve been so impressed with our students and how they\u2019ve moved from nervous excitement towards realistic plans to develop new knowledge<\/em>.  We are not there yet, but we are certainly well on our way!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a short list of just a few of the project we are planning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n