Category: Nerd Corner

Free HIV Webinar: Nothing About Us, Without Us.

Hello Everyone, As you all know, I am a strong advocate for HIV awareness and in doing so have been involved with HIV research an awareness most of my life. Tomorrow April 12th at 4:00 PM EST, I will be a part of a webinar speaking to high school students, undergrads, and grad students interested in pursing research in HIV and public health. It is absolutely FREE. I’ll be presenting alongside Dr Bob Fullilove of Columbia University & Taija Revels of Columbia University. Sign up here: http://goo.gl/whgnlZ

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The Power of Cow Urine and other Natural Medicines in India

As I continue to work on my PhD I have found myself extremely interested in natural medicines, and so I decided to dig deeper into some used in India. One part of my proposal is to look at the advantages of such natural extracts or products on HIV Dementia. So, in my mini vacation to India I explored and questioned about some of the unique aspects of traditional medicine.   Cow Urine My first encounter with cow urine, was as I walked the streets of Bombay. There on the streets a cow was peeing and a young girl rushed for a pan and started catching the urine. I was astonished that this was occurring, and my friend and I stopped to watch. We begin wondering why this little girl felt the need to catch the urine, as with such hot conditions, the urine would evaporate. We could not deduce a …

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Making the Best of a Scientific Conference: Ate Octopus, Isolation Tank, Passport Stamp and More…

I was fortunate to be 1 of 12 abstracts chosen for a conference in California (Minority Trainee Research Forum). I was actually a part of the scientific summer program that hosted the conference since 7th grade through most of college. Every summer, I worked in laboratories all over the US and Canada to develop skills that pretty much got me where I am today. It is an amazing program that has grown over the years to help minority students excel in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine, and Math. I do recommend anyone interested to take a look at the website and apply. It has dramatically changed my life and I will definitely do a post about TMARC/PSTP (now called STEMPREP) in the coming week. Either way, the conference ran from March 9-12th, and everything is covered. So let me begin my full coverage.   Travel, Presentation and Lodging The wonderful thing …

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Bug Chasers: People that Actually Want to be HIV+!

We all tend to have the understanding that HIV is NOT something anyone would want to have… at least that was my understanding of the virus. In my years of research in the field, hosting Safer Sex Socials, promoting being tested every year… never did I imagine that someone would be out there not only wanting to have HIV (Bug Chaser) but those with HIV willing to give it to someone (Gifter). When on earth did HIV become a GIFT?? As I opened my view of HIV research to understand not only my lab work and how it affects the central nervous system, I started taking a course on Coursera. For those who do not know, Coursera is a online classroom (free!) for individuals to acquire knowledge and information from a large selection of fields (math, science, finance, public health, you name it). What is even more exciting is that classes …

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Seminar Today!! AHHH!!

Presenting my very first Seminar today… plus meeting with my committee members!!!! I am not even really sure what to expect… but I guess just wish me luck!!! (THANKS!!)

 

Learn Something New this Week…

“There is always something to learn….ALWAYS something to that is important to understand.” ~unknown.

Life lessons never end.. it doesn’t end with that masters, or PhD, or that promotion…

What will you learn about this week?

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: I Am My Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper

 We all go day in and day out updating our statuses and pictures on Facebook! Instagram! Twitter!! But it is time to update the one status that truly matter…. Get your HIV Status UpdateAs you know, I have always had a strong interest in HIV research. Currently working in the field, mainly on how HIV affects the brain and aging, I still find it important to stress the everyday issues of HIV. While my blog posts are usually more geared towards traveling, I wanted to shed some light on a very serious matter, especially among Black communities in America. February 7, marks the 15th year of  National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day!! This was first observed in 1999 initiated in response to the growing HIV and AIDS epidemic in African American communities.  The theme for 2015 is: “I Am My Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper. Fight HIV/AIDS!” So why do Blacks/African Americans need a special Awareness …

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It’s February!! Let’s start it with a BANG!

If you don’t step forward, you are always in the same place! -Floyd Patterson

 

Take that step forward this week.. I mean what is the use of always wondering… #YOLO #TRY #MakeMoves

From Bench to Bedside: What Does Your Research Mean in the REAL WORLD?

One of the greatest task of anyone bench researcher (meaning work done in the laboratory on cells/mice etc) is the clinical relevance to what is actually happening in the real world (aka translational research). You may find yourself overly consumed with getting results day in and day out. You keep reading endless papers about what is going on in your specific field, BUT never lose sight of why you do research in the first place. While it is great to push out tons of articles, go to mind stimulating conferences and reach your research goals… I have found there can be missing aspects of the PhD process. In the summer of 2013, I set out to Kisumu, Kenya (East Africa) to better my understanding of HIV pandemic, as well as to truly venture into the neurological impact of HIV and the drugs. For those who do not know, 69% of …

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One Step Closer: Committee Members Found

I wrote last year (2014), because that was SOOOO long ago, about my quest for committee members. I also shared my issues in not only asking them, but introducing myself to these individuals (because they have no idea who I am). I am pleased to share I did in fact form my committee! #YAY #High5After talking to a few students who already have their committee in place, my mentor,  seeing the head of the PhD department (along with the liaison for all paperwork related)…. I buckled down and explored my best options. I chose people I contacted based on 3 main things: Direct research in HIV and drug related issues (not many focus on this at my school), and the ability for them to keep my research clinically relevant. Second member I chose for pharmacology background as this will be crucial for the entire projects. Third member I chose for general neuroscience …

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