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Spotlight on "Student Success 2006" - September 2006

Jessica Ordonez-CSP Junior
Jessica is majoring in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Spanish. In May 2006, she received a fellowship through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), to study with Katy Downs, MS, CGC, a Genetics Counselor. The research will will enable her to utilize her skills in Spanish and science. Good work Jessica!

A little background on the study:
This is a qualitative research study examining the views of persons who have participated in a genetic counseling session in which the genetic counselor and patient(s) did not speak the same language. This research is intended to provide practical strategies for working with interpreters in clinical settings, and a foundation for continuing research in fields of genetic counseling, health care delivery, and cultural diversity. For more information please refer to Katy Down’s website at www.khri.med.umich.edu/faculty/downs.shtml

Shawn Blanchard-CSP Alum,
May 2006, B.A. Mathematics/Mathematical Sciences Program.
Shawn is now a member of the New York City Teaching Fellows Graduate Students at City College of New York. He will be teaching at the Holcombe Rucker School of Community Research as a Mathematics instructor. His course is a Financial Literacy elective. Shawn loves the University of Michigan and has met many people in New York that are Michigan graduates! He will be working towards his Masters of Math Education and Administration. If you would like to contact Shawn his new e-mail address is shawntb1982@yahoo.com. Congratulations and best wishes in all your new endeavors.

 

Brandon Baugh, CSP Alum,
B.S. in General Biology, May 2006

I am currently in midst of my first year of Medical School at Texas A&M University System Health Science Center College of Medicine. I am not sure what type of doctor I would like to be but working in the emergency room seems interesting and exciting. While the care of others is one of the driving forces behind my pursuit of medicine it is not my only passion. Medicine in and of itself provides one with the opportunity to care for individuals, but not the population. In my opinion, one of the biggest problems we have as a nation is the lack of access to health care. In addition to obtaining my medical doctorate degree I plan to seek a degree in health care policy. I will work to gain health care services for the underserved and improve health care for those already covered. I believe that all individuals are equal and that socioeconomic standing and race should not be the primary determinates of ones health.

During my time at the University of Michigan I was a Biology Concentrator. I was a member of the Phi Sigma Theta National Honor Society and The National Honors Society. My most rewarding jobs were being a peer advisor for the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP, and a Pre-Health Advisor and tutor for the Comprehensive Studies Program (CSP). For two years I worked with Dr. Jayne Reuben in the lab of Dr. Peter Ward in the Pathology department at the University of Michigan. The main focus of Dr. Ward’s research is the regulation of the inflammatory response. During my time there I focused on the inflammatory response caused by ischemia/ reperfusion in the lungs and liver. In November of 2004, I submitted an abstract entitled, "Multiple Selectin Blockade Decreases Chemokine Production During Liver Ischemia and Reperfusion" to the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS). Out of over 1,100 abstracts submitted mine was not only accepted but one of just 54 students to be awarded an oral presentation. After presenting, I received an award for the best oral presentation in my category of the microbiological sciences. Some of my publications include: Expression of Nerve Growth Factor and its receptors during Lung Ischemia and Reperfusion, Inflammatory Mediator Expression in the Contralateral Lung during Lung Ischemia and Reperfusion, and Apoptotic Mediators in the Contralateral Lung during Lung Ischemia and Reperfusion.

I offer this advice to all aspiring doctors: "The road will be long and sometimes you might feel as if you've lost your way but do not give up. Perseverance, determination, belief in ones self and faith in God will get you through."

Brandon Baugh
bcbaugh@medicine.tamhsc.edu