Reply to comment

Hi NBSers,

My name is Elliot Rabinowitz and like many of you, I am also a senior biology major. I currently work in Professor Punt's lab at Haverford, an immunology lab focused on T cell development and cell fate decisions, focusing on the underlying molecular pathways involved in these processes. My research is a new project started this year on microRNAs and their most likely, but much unknown involvement (or lack there of) in this area. As for my life outside of the lab, I'm currently applying to medical school and cannot wait to figure out where I will hopefully be going next year. I anticipate focusing in pediatrics, though am certainly open to my interests changing over the next few years with more experience.

As a freshman entering college, I decided to try something new and take some psychology courses. I immediately became interested with the intro biopsych course that began the year. I have found that science classes often lack the aspect of interesting discussion that courses in some other subject areas promote. The NBS classes I have taken have provided an inclusion of that fascinating discussion while holding on to an interest in the molecular, biological bases behind the topics that I also find so important and intriguing. Just creating our list of ideas last class proved extremely interesting - we will obviously have plenty to talk about.

I am not specifically drawn to one topic that we discussed on Tuesday. Reading people's responses to different areas they find attractive keeps making me change my mind. Neuro-ethics, and ethics in general, is an issue that I find particularly interesting, especially how it will relate to a future career in medicine. Therefore, the whole "talking cure" vs. "drug cure" also grabbed my attention. Our wide variety of topics relates to so many fundamental parts of people's lives (education, health, etc.), that further analysis and discussion by all people of these NBS topics is crucial. This class is a great place for at least us to start these conversations. I am already looking forward to Tuesday's class and to the rest of the semester ahead.