Regardless of what your business is, or what your content is as a writer, it’s critical to make your presence known and easy to find. The following guest post comes courtesy of Michael Kordvani. It discusses importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for the success of online businesses. Michael Kordvani can be contacted at michaelkordvani@gmail.com.
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When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), many are aware it’s something that’s supposed to help their online business but very few make time to learn anything about it or to even try. Many tell you they rely on word of mouth marketing or paid advertising that can take a chunk out of your business budget.
It’s a shame that SEO marketing is misunderstood and underused. SEO is a series of techniques designed to make your website easier for both search engines and your visitors to understand. Since search engines don’t see and understand your web pages the way a human can, SEO helps them ascertain what each page is about and why it’s useful to its users. Then it helps the search engines bring their users to you.
6 Ways SEO Helps Your Online Business Succeed
While there are many ways SEO can benefit your online business, here are six of the top ones.
Use Professional Services: There are SEO specialists out there who can help you to achieve everything you want from your SEO campaign. Take a look around and visit site to learn more!
More Clients: With so many websites available for any given product, service, or niche, getting clients can be a challenge. Using solid SEO techniques will improve your ranking in the search engines and make it easier to find. The easier your site is to find, the more potential customers you will receive. With the increased traffic, you will see more conversions.
Mobile Friendly: According to Hitwise, as much as 58% of all search engine queries are conducted on mobile devices and that number will continue to grow. How does SEO factor into that? An entirely new set of SEO techniques, like local search optimization, have been developed to help businesses get their products and services in front of the mobile audience. Choosing to ignore this particular trend is allowing your business to fall behind and out of the minds of today’s consumers.
Reputation Building: Reaching the first page of a search engine is quite an accomplishment and much more than something to brag about. Greater consumer trust is given to pages that are highly ranked. For many customers, if they can’t find a business on the first page of their Google search results, it’s not good enough. SEO boosts your website’s ranking in the search engines, gradually helping you move towards the top of users’ search results.
Brand Awareness: Another great benefit of SEO is that it lets your site appear on relevant pages of the search engines. As your ranking goes up, your site will appear more often at the top of user searches. That increases awareness among potential customers, even for niche things like singularsound.com, more of them being aware of you means a higher conversion rate. Getting your SEO optimized content on social media channels too will also help increase your brand’s awareness and inspire consumer trust and loyalty.
Cost Effective: People are often afraid of investing in SEO because they don’t understand it. In educating yourself about the true power potential of SEO, you’ll see that such investment is much like investing in real estate. If you invest wisely in SEO, you get more from it. The remarkable thing is that a huge investment isn’t necessary and it’s very cost effective when compared to what you’d pay for PPC and social media marketing. The cost for SEO is extremely low compared to other marketing types, especially seeing as you also have social media, and applications like TubeBuddy which are free to use, unless you use an upgraded version. If you use a professional, this is going to be a little more expensive, but will be well worth it when you see the results that they can achieve.
The following guest post comes courtesy of Al Hill, Co-Founder of www.Tradingsim.com. It focuses on a case study for Cryptocurrency Apps – a topic related to my posts which discussed both Bitcoin and Blockchain Technology. While this post discusses Apps for financial transactions using Cryptocurrencies, it worth noting that the Big Words Blog Site is not involved in giving personal financial advice to readers and is not liable for any financial decisions made by readers. This post contains several infographics. Click on the images to enlarge them.
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Why do a case study on cryptocurrency apps? Well, it wasn’t up to me. There is just too much demand according to the number of searches from Google.
There are a lot of case studies on the web related to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies apps, so we wanted to do things slightly differently by defining a methodology to remove any inherit bias from the equation.
The study focused on 4 main factors on a normalized exponential scale of 1 to 100.
• Social Power- Social power is a custom ranking metric we created by weighting the numbers of followers across social networks: Facebook (45%), Twitter (35%), and LinkedIn (20%)
• Total Number of Installs (provided only by the Google Play App Store)
• Total Number of Reviews
• Rating on the Google Play App Store (the IOS App Store only provides “4+”)
So, after inputting these data points into our algorithm, what did we come up with? An awesome top 10 list for you to explore!
The top graph depicts the overall rating based on our methodology. Now, if you are a true data geek like me, please have a look at the supporting numbers in the table below.
As you can see, the methodology did create some separation between the best in breed.
Blockchain is the clear technology leader providing a framework solving many business challenges, one of which is the cryptocurrency market, so the 100 rating was not a shocker.
Some of the other apps are news outlets or provide the ability to track the value of currencies, which won’t measure up in terms of value add against apps that allow you to buy cryptos or use them as a form of payment.
But what makes Coinbase so popular?
The real story with Coinbase is the large number of reviews for their app.
With the largest count of over 600k reviews, this was not by chance. Coinbase has a clear growth strategy focused on 4 pillars:
1. Create a simple retail exchange that allow consumers to invest in digital currency
2. Enable professional traders and institutions to trade digital currencies
3. Create an interface for people to make payments with digital currencies and developers to build applications that utilize this payment network
4. Simplify the development process and even invest in some partners that have awesome ideas
This approach creates evangelists that not only use Coinbase’s products, but also scream about them from the rooftops.
You of course will need to determine which app works best for your needs, but how people are sharing and using the application is likely a great measure.
“While other bodily tissues can tolerate varying degrees of O2 deprivation, it is well understood that even short periods of deprivation of the brain can cause irreversible damage, unlike with long periods of food and water deprivation.”
With the exception of my Blockchain Technology post, my previous Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) posts have covered the fields of: Pharmacology, Toxicology, and ADME/Drug Metabolism – all of which are considered ‘Biomedical’ sciences. Similar to those fields, Inhalation Toxicology as a discipline dates back to over a century ago, and is very complex regarding the wealth and depth of information available. It’s also still evolving today.
The goal of this post is not to address every detail and nuance of the field, but instead to give readers unfamiliar with it a basic introductory understanding of the discipline. This post was prepared for a general audience and thus any fellow Inhalation Toxicologists who may read this, may find it a little too simplistic. That’s okay though, as the goal is to educate others on our field and what we do. Further details about the many aspects of Inhalation Toxicology can be accessed online, or in scientific journals.
This overview of Inhalation Toxicology definitely falls under my principle of ‘Creating Ecosystems of Success’ as it is a very unique knowledge and skill set possessed by only a select few – one of which I acquired accidentally when seeking training in ADME/Drug Metabolism as a ‘Postdoctoral’ scientist. Why is Inhalation Toxicology a unique skill set? I’ll start with a holistic discussion about the three routes of human exposure which will take us briefly into another biomedical discipline; ‘Anatomy and Physiology’, which deals exclusively with the organ systems within the human body, and how they collectively work together at the tissue and cellular levels.
Routes of Exposure
My posts regarding Pharmacology, Toxicology, and ADME/Drug Metabolism focused on exposure to chemicals primarily through the oral route – ingestion through the mouth and then absorption into the ‘Gastrointestinal Tract’ (GI-Tract). While we typically think about the ingestion of chemicals through the oral route, the reality is that humans can be exposed to drugs and toxicants through two other routes; the dermal route by way of our skin, and the inhalation route by way of our ‘Respiratory Tracts’ – the region spanning from our nasal passage down into our lungs where gas exchange with the atmosphere occurs. Each route has its own unique properties anatomically which impact the potential absorption of chemicals into the body where they can exert their therapeutic or toxic effects at specific tissues.
Each route receives differing amounts of what’s called the ‘Cardiac Output’ or the blood delivered from the heart. On average, the GI-Tract receives 21%, the skin receives 9%, and the lungs receive 100% of the heart’s Cardiac Output. This makes sense as the function of the lungs is to facilitate gas exchange between our bodies and the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Alveoli and Gas Exchange
The lung’s ‘Alveoli’ are critical for the body’s absorption of ‘Molecular Oxygen’ (O2) into the bloodstream. Once inhaled, the O2 in the air is very rapidly absorbed into the pulmonary capillaries from the alveolar spaces where it binds to the ‘Hemoglobin’ in our blood while the ‘Carbon Dioxide’ (CO2) releases into the alveolar spaces to be exhaled. This exchange of O2 and CO2 are both very rapid and efficient in healthy lungs – something our bodies do without us even thinking about it. What allows for this very efficient exchange of gases with the environment is a very, very thin 0.5 micron three-cell layer separating the alveolar spaces from our pulmonary capillaries. These capillaries immediately receive and return blood to the heart for distribution to the body.
Without the continuous exchange of O2 and CO2 through our lung’s alveoli, our bodies could not function as O2 is a necessary substrate for our body’s many tissues at the cellular and molecular levels. This is important because while other bodily tissues can tolerate varying degrees of O2 deprivation, it is well understood that even short periods of deprivation of the brain can cause irreversible damage, unlike with long periods of food and water deprivation. For this reason alone, maintenance of proper respiratory function is critical. With that, I’ll transition into what Inhalation Toxicology is and why it’s important.
Hazard Through Inhalation
Inhalation Toxicology is the study of the harmful effects of chemicals on living systems through the inhalation route of exposure via breathing – typically as it applies to mammalian species. It’s a very important field as respiration is a critical biological process for mammals as described above, and thus any toxicant that compromises the body’s capacity to exchange O2 and CO2 with the environment is very dangerous.
Before I discuss the types of chemical agents that can cause injury through inhalation exposure, I’ll first describe the two types of effects that can result from exposure to inhalation toxicants; ‘Portal of Entry’ effects and ‘Systemic’ effects. A Portal of Entry (POE) effect is an effect produced in the tissue or organ of first contact with a chemical or toxicant. In this case it’s an effect where a toxicant causes damage starting from the nasal passage down into the multiple regions of the lung. There are multiple regions and cell-types along the respiratory tract – each with specific functions – all of which can be uniquely injured.
In laboratory settings described later, some POEs are instant when observing lab animals and manifest as ‘clinical signs’ which are visible. Irritation in the respiratory tract can trigger the ‘Paintal’ reflexes and ‘Bradypnea’ in rodents which are immediate changes in the breathing patterns of the animals through very sensitive nerve processes and receptors in respiratory tissues. Anyone who has worked in a research lab and has opened a bottle of concentrated Hydrochloric Acid outside of a fume hood appreciates how quickly irritation can occur, as it only takes seconds to feel the burning sensation in the nose followed by: coughing, watering eyes, shortness of breath, etc.
Long-Term Effects
Other POE Effects are more time dependent and can take hours, days, or weeks to fully set in. Some are some are reversible, while others are irreversible. Prolonged exposure to some toxicants can cause ‘Inflammation’ in the lungs leading to ‘Pulmonary Fibrosis’ (formation of scar tissue) or the formation of ‘Pulmonary Edema’ – both of which compromise lung function and can eventually be fatal. ‘Asbestos’ poisoning causes injury through prolonged activation of the ‘Immune’ system in the lungs, damaging them over time as the Asbestos particles cannot be removed once inhaled.
Smoking cigarettes is a good example of people willingly injuring their lungs. The paper used to roll cigarettes and the ‘Tobacco’ inside them contain thousands upon thousands of compounds before the cigarette is even ignited. Once lit and those chemicals are ‘combusted’, they transform into numerous other chemicals – some of which are referred to as ‘Reactive Intermediates’ which themselves come into contact with the cells of the Respiratory Tract. Years and years of direct cigarette smoke inhalation can cause irreversible damage leading to diseases like Lung Cancer. There is also risk of lung injury from living in industrial areas where there is the potential to inhale combusted compounds and particulates from factory emissions.
Before moving on, I’ll add here that while many inhalation toxicologists consider the lung itself to be the most important part of the Respiratory Tract, recent science has shown that the Nasal Passage is also a toxicologically revelation tissue as it relates to inhalation exposure. It contains drug metabolizing enzymes similar to those described in my ADME/Drug Metabolism post. The lungs do as well. Some chemicals can thus damage these regions if inhaled for prolonged periods of time.
Systemic Effects
Systemic effects refer to injury/toxicity in other parts of the body beyond the Respiratory Tract. If a chemical/toxicant can efficiently pass through the lung’s alveoli as described earlier, it can enter the blood stream and into the body’s general circulation. From there it can damage other organs as discussed in my Toxicology post. Medicinally, some therapeutics such as anesthetics for surgeries are actually administered this way – Halothane is an example.
Two classic systemic inhalation toxicants are Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) which I’ve hyperlinked in case you’re curious to learn more about how they work. While CO poisoning has been associated with accidental deaths from tailpipe emissions in garages, HCN is a known potential chemical weapon which is particularly dangerous in enclosed spaces such as subway stations – something our intelligence agencies are very aware of.
These are just a few examples of toxicity through the inhalation route of exposure. There are many other chemicals and substances that can cause injury and in some cases therapeutic benefit through the inhalation route of exposure. Many industries and groups highly consider Inhalation Toxicology. They include:
• The Chemical Industry: Pretty much any industrial chemical that’s generated has the potential for inhalation exposure depending on its ‘Physical-Chemical’ properties, and how it’s used. These include paints, pesticides, and disinfectants – any product that companies are looking to sell to the general public. • The Tobacco Industry: The Tobacco Industry has to have a firm understanding of what cigarette smoke does to its customers and bystanders inhaling ‘second hand’ smoke. They are thus very interested in the long-term effects of cigarette smoke inhalation. • Nanoparticles and Nanomaterials: We’re very early in the use of ‘Nanomaterials’, and there is a lot that is unknown regarding the toxicity of these particles – in this instance, when they’re inhaled. • National Defense: Our military and the ‘Defense’ sector very much care about Inhalation Toxicology as soldiers are sometimes sent into theaters of war where enemies use biological and/or chemical weapons. There are also unfortunate incidences where chemical weapons are unleashed on civilians such as the recent chemical attack in Syria where rescue officials believe the agent used was Chlorine gas. • The Pharmaceutical Industry and Medical Devices: Some medicines can and must be delivered through the inhalation route. A classic example is the use of ‘Albuterol’ for patients with Asthma, but there are numerous other examples such as when anesthetics and other treatments are given through inhalation exposure. • Public Health: Federal and State governments, academic researchers and private sector companies are always cognizant of how the general public is exposed and affected by any of the chemicals described above which invariably end up in the air, and can cause any number of disease states including Asthma, and in some cases Lung Cancer.
Inhalation Toxicology Research
Having introduced the field in terms of background and context, I’ll now discuss some of its experimental and technical aspects using visuals provided by CH Technologies – a leading company in the manufacture of Inhalation Toxicology exposure systems. Inhalation Toxicologists and Scientists not only need an understanding of the biology of injury to the Respiratory Tract via inhalation exposure (examples described above), but they also need an understanding of how to properly create the experimental conditions to test for inhalation toxicity. It’s relatively straight forward to feed a test specimen the chemical of interest in food or water, or to apply it via the skin, but how do you administer it for inhalation exposure?
The answer is that the chemical must be administered as a ‘gas’, an aerosol’, a ‘dust’, or even a ‘cigarette smoke‘ suspension in some instances. This involves some knowledge of Chemistry and Physics, as well as Mathematics and Statistics. A key aspect of any toxicological field is proving the concentration/dose tested and properly correlating it with the effects observed. Scientists must thus be able to verify their test atmospheres, and there are numerous ‘analytical’ chemical methods for doing so.
Gases, Aerosols, Dusts and Vapors
Some chemicals readily exist in the ‘Gas Phase’ – that is they have what is referred to as a high ‘Vapor Pressure’ and are very ‘Volatile’. Some are liquids while others are solids. Mothballs are an example of a volatile substance – a solid which ‘sublimes’ and converts directly into a vapor. They give off the unique odor most of us know from our grandparents’ closets, and are comprised of the chemical ‘Naphthalene’ which itself has a high vapor pressure. Other chemicals have low vapor pressures and are considered ‘Non-Volatile’ and must form aerosols to be inhaled – think of a mist from a spray bottle. ‘Dust’ suspensions can be generated as well for experiments. In some instances, generating inhalable suspensions are not feasible depending on the properties of the test material of interest.
Test Models and Species
While the test species for Inhalation Toxicology studies vary, the species of choice is typically rodents – rats and mice. In some instances guinea pigs and primates are used. Each of these species possess the same organs that humans possess for the most part, and are thus useful models for human exposure. Scientists must be well trained in both caring for the test animals and also operating the highly specialized equipment used in these studies which I’ll cover next.
Test Systems
Testing a drug’s/chemical’s efficacy/toxicity through inhalation exposure requires the use of an ‘exposure chamber’ where an inhalable atmosphere of the test article is generated for inhalation exposure by the test subjects. The accompanying picture shows a single level chamber with the accessory equipment used for measuring the chamber’s inner atmosphere using some of its ‘exposure ports’. Click on the image to enlarge it. Using the accessory equipment, the concentration of the test material in the chamber can be monitored by the scientists running the experiment, in addition to other important measurements including: O2, CO2, temperature and humidity to name a few.
To generate the chamber’s test atmosphere, most modern systems utilize an air-pressure pump to create an in “inflow” into the exposure chamber, and a vacuum pump to create an “outflow” from the chamber – together creating a consistent supply of O2, and removal of CO2 for the test subjects. The accompanying diagram shows a complete inhalation exposure system designed to expose the test subjects to aerosols. Click the image to enlarge it. Whether gases, aerosols or dusts are generated, a supply-line for the test article is ligated into the air supply line feeding the exposure chamber, allowing for the control of the concentration within the chamber by the scientist – something that must be actively monitored throughout experiments.
Whole-Body and Nose Only Exposures
Inhalation studies can use ‘whole-body’ chambers where the animal’s whole body is exposed, or ‘nose- or head-only’ chambers which in some instances have become the preferred method due to their increased specificity to the respiratory tract. A potential drawback of using Whole-Body chambers is that test subjects – usually rodents in the process of grooming themselves can orally ingest the test material by licking their fur coats. ‘Dead space’ within whole body chambers is also a drawback. The accompanying picture shows how a rodent sits in a ‘restraint‘ tube during exposure. An important key to properly running inhalation exposure experiments, is making sure that animals are adequately acclimated to the tubes and are comfortable in them for extended periods of time.
The accompanying photograph shows a Nose-Only inhalation exposure chamber with all of its exposure ports occupied by the restraint tubes for rodent species. Click on the image to enlarge it. The picture further shows how the number of animals exposed can be increased by stacking multiple chamber levels and increasing the total number of exposure ports.
Depending on the questions being asked in that particular experiment, exposures can range from: hours, to days, to weeks, to months and years. During and afterwards, any number of toxic or therapeutic biological responses can be measured including changes in: clinical signs, body weights, blood chemistry, clinical chemical parameters, and changes in organ weights and tissue microstructure (histopathology). Again, collectively these are a very technical set of experiments to run, and which require a very specific and unique skill set.
Inhalation Toxicology Training
How can students get trained in Inhalation Toxicology? Beyond high school, students can major in Biology, Chemistry, or any of the Biomedical sciences as undergraduates where they can start receiving lab training if there are researchers at that particular university, or one close by. Further training can be obtained at the Masters or Ph.D. levels. Similar to Pharmacologists, Toxicologists and Drug Metabolism Scientists, Inhalation Toxicologists generally receive their training at major research universities.
As a sub-discipline of Toxicology, scientists looking to receive training in Inhalation Toxicology can have varying backgrounds in terms of degrees conferred. If an individual doesn’t initially train in an Inhalation Toxicology lab, they can work in these labs as Postdoctoral scientists or ‘Fellows’ with any of the Biomedical degrees, and even with ‘Medical’ and ‘Veterinary’ degrees. When I gained my training in Inhalation Toxicology, my Ph.D. was actually in Pharmacology.
Depending on the degree level earned and where the scientist is employed, Inhalation Toxicologists can earn starting salaries of $60,000-$70,000 and above. One of the themes of my posts in this series is there is a tremendous amount of flexibility and overlap in the Biomedical sciences. Upon receiving training in Inhalation Toxicology, scientists must then determine which sector they want to pursue – academia, the private or public sectors, or nontraditional careers. Scientists with this background also have the flexibility to combine their knowledge sets with other disciplines to go into a wide variety of areas in: pharmaceutical companies and biotechs, chemical companies, consulting, patent law and even starting their own companies and ‘Contract’ labs.
Toxicology For the 21st Century
It’s worth reiterating something from my Toxicology blog post and that is there’s an effort currently underway called ‘Tox-21’ or ‘Toxicology For the 21st Century’. One of the goals for Tox-21 is to minimize animal usage. Currently, there are efforts to develop methods to test for inhalation toxicity using in vitro models and cell culture preparations simulating animal tissues. Students interested in this field will position themselves well by learning about some of these advances that are on the horizon.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and I hope I was able to shed some light onto what Inhalation Toxicology is as a field. Similar to the other disciplines I’ve discussed, Inhalation Toxicologists have their own professional societies and meetings. While the Society of Toxicology has subsections on Inhalation Toxicology, the field has two of its own professional societies and meetings; the American Thoracic Society, and the American Heart Association as the Heart is a major organ affected by the inhalation of toxins.
The next posts in this series will talk about what Regulatory Science is, and then my personal journey towards becoming a Scientist. If you enjoyed this post you may also enjoy:
A special thank you is extended to my Postdoctoral Advisor and his lab for allowing me to learn and train in this exciting field. I also want to thank two other colleagues who will remain anonymous – very brilliant veteran inhalation toxicologists with vast experiences, who have continued to teach me about the field. Finally, I want to thank and acknowledge CH Technologies for graciously answering my many phone calls as a Postdoctoral Scientist when I was first learning how to use their inhalation systems; and also for graciously providing the diagrams and pictures of the inhalation exposure chambers, and systems used in this post.
The Big Words LLC Newsletter
For the next phase of my writing journey, I’m starting a monthly newsletter for my writing and video content creation company, the Big Words LLC. In it, I plan to share inspirational words, pieces from this blog and my writers blog, and select videos from my four YouTube channels. Finally, I will share updates for my book project The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story. Your personal information and privacy will be protected. Click this link and register using the sign-up button at the bottom of the announcement. If there is some issue signing up using the link provided, you can also email me at bwllcnl@gmail.com . Best Regards.
I originally published this piece on the Examiner in February of 2016. It is not about a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) practitioner or inventor per se, but instead it is a look at an individual who had the potential to practice science. Because of life choices and circumstances however, he used his intellectual gifts for criminal activities. This person is an example of the wasted intellectual ability in the United States’ inner cities and also something my father talked about which was that, “People in the inner cities are naturally creative and inventive often times out of necessity.”
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West Indian Archie was portrayed by Delroy Lindo, in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X starring Denzel Washington. Though he was a minor character in the movie and in Alex Haley’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X, West Indian Archie holds several significances, particularly in the realm of science. Many of these significances are extremely relevant today in an era where there is a great push to get underrepresented minorities involved in STEM.
Malcolm X (then Malcolm Little) first met West Indian Archie in New York city prior to converting to Islam and dedicating his life to Civil Rights. West Indian Archie was one of the bigger players in the ‘Numbers’ game in Harlem who had done time up the Hudson River at Ossining State Prison best known as ‘Sing Sing‘. He eventually took Malcolm under his wing and taught him the Numbers game, and used the novice in his illegal activities.
West Indian Archie had the amazing ability memorize long sequences of numbers such that he never had to write them down. He in fact warned Malcolm never to write his customer’s numbers down to minimize the potential for incriminating evidence should he get apprehended by the police. As with most street partnerships, theirs eventually crumbled due to greed and ego, and Malcolm Little eventually fled Harlem to save his own life.
After Malcolm Little converted to Islam and became Malcolm X, he later found West Indian Archie close to death and the two reconciled their differences. After educating himself in jail and gaining a new perspective on the world, Malcolm X realized that someone like West Indian Archie with his ability to memorize long sequences of numbers, could have used his talent to become any number of things particularly in the sciences. He could have become a physicist, an astronaut, a mathematician, etc. He realized that in blighted urban areas all over the United States there were similar minds with the abilities to practice science that were wasted and used in things like criminal activity by default – a challenge we still face today.
Thank you for taking the time out to read this blog post. If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy:
For the next phase of my writing journey, I’m starting a monthly newsletter for my writing and video content creation company, the Big Words LLC. In it, I plan to share inspirational words, pieces from this blog and my writers blog Big Words Authors, and select videos from my four YouTube channels. Finally, I will share updates for my book project The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story. Your personal information and privacy will be protected. Click this link and register using the sign-up button at the bottom of the announcement. If there is some issue signing up using the link provided, you can also email me at bwllcnl@gmail.com . Best Regards.
While there are actually quite a few black astronauts, two names that immediately come to my mind are Mae Jemison and Ronald E. McNair. The TRIO program which led me to my graduate research was actually named after Ronald E. McNair who died during the tragic launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger STS-51-L.
Since volunteering at the David M. Brown Arlington Planetarium, I’ve become aware another black astronaut; Colonel Michael P. Anderson. Michael P. Anderson was a member of the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107 which disintegrated upon re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere on February 1, 2003. Anderson served as the ‘Payload Commander’ and the ‘Lieutenant Colonel’ in charge of science experiments on the Columbia.
A biography of astronaut Michael P. Anderson is readily available on line, but just briefly, he was born into a military family in Plattsburgh, NY but grew up in Spokane, Washington. He earned his Bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1981, and in 1990 he was awarded his Master of science degree in physics from Creighton University. Colonel Anderson entered NASA by way of the United States Airforce where he was selected for astronaut training being one of the 19 candidates selected from 2,962 total applicants. Prior to the STS-107 mission, Anderson participated in the STS-89 Endeavour mission.
The Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107 disaster occurred due to critical damage to the shuttle’s ‘orbiter’ when foam from the fuel tank’s insulation fell off and tore a hole in Columbia’s left wing. During re-entry, the hole allowed super-hot atmospheric gases to penetrate the orbiter’s wing, leading to its destruction. The other astronauts in the crew included:
• Rick D. Husband
• William C. McCool
• Kalpana Chawla
• David M. Brown
• Laurel Clark
• Ilan Ramon
Thank you for taking the time out to read this blog post. If you’ve found value here and think it would benefit others, please share it and or leave a comment. I’ve started a YouTube channel entitled, “Big Discussions76“. Please visit it and subscribe. To receive all of the most up to date content from the Big Words Blog Site, subscribe using the subscription box in the right hand column in this post and throughout the site, or add the link to my RSS feed to your feedreader. Lastly follow me at the Big Words Blog Site Facebook page, on Twitter at @BWArePowerful, and on Instagram at @anwaryusef76. While my main areas of focus are Education, STEM and Financial Literacy, there are other blogs/sites I endorse which can be found on that particular page of my site.
While black history should be celebrated throughout the year and not just in February, the month provides the opportunity to not only recognize African Americans who have made significant contributions in the past, but also those who are presently making history. As there are numerous African American scientists and innovators who are typically celebrated during black history month in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), there are also quite few African American scientists in modern times that are worth recognizing. One such scientist is Dr. Namandje Bumpus (pronounced Na-Mon-Jay), of The Johns Hopkins University. On Feb. 1, 2016, Dr. Bumpus granted an interview to discuss her background, the path to her current career, and potential avenues for under-represented minorities to get involved in STEM. I originally published this piece when I wrote for the Examiner, and two years later, I’m republishing here on my blog.
Anwar Dunbar: First Namandje, thank you for this opportunity to interview you. My writings in February tend to focus on Black History Month and as a scientist myself I want to shine the light on other African American scientists and innovators who are currently in the trenches expanding our scientific knowledge. Also being in the biological sciences versus the information technology and robotics fields, it’s not so obvious to the lay person what a pharmacologist is, so for all of these reasons I thought about you. With those things being said, let’s start.
Talk a little bit about your background. Where are you from? Were there any scientists in your family who you were exposed to at an early age? Were you always interested in science? If so, was it always biology or were you good at other parts of STEM, mathematics for example?
Namandje Bumpus: I was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in western Massachusetts. There were no scientists in my family. I had an uncle who spent some time working in a lab as an undergraduate student. He wasn’t a scientist, but he still talked to me about how he enjoyed working in the lab. Hearing about his experiences working in a lab was interesting to me. Early on I liked chemistry. My parents and others in my family started getting me chemistry sets when I was in elementary school because I started vocalizing that I thought science would be something interesting to do.
I worked through them (chemistry sets) and I really liked it, and when I was ten (pre-email), I actually wrote a letter to the American Chemical Society to ask about information for careers for chemists. They sent me back lots of brochures and a letter discussing things you could do with a chemistry background. That really got me even more excited just having all of that information and starting to dream about the things that I would do. So I was really more chemistry focused until high school when I finally took a physiology class, and then realized that I wanted to lean more towards biology and physiology.
NB: I went to Occidental College, a small liberal arts college and did some research there. We didn’t have many labs so I was doing plant research and I really liked that, but I thought that I wanted to do something that was more directly related to human health and physiology, so I started researching certain fields to see what that would be. I came across Pharmacology and it was something that seemed interesting, so the summer after my junior year, I applied for summer research programs in Pharmacology so I could try it out.
Michigan had a summer program called the Charles H. Ross Program for African American undergraduates to come and work in the Pharmacology Department for a summer, so I applied for that and I got it. That summer before my senior year, I had a really great experience in the department in general. I worked in Dr. Richard Neubig’s lab, and they gave us a short course where I was introduced to the principals of Pharmacology. That really sold me on Pharmacology and since I also had such a great experience in the department, I became really interested in going to the University of Michigan for graduate school.
AD: Not a lot of people understand what doctoral training is like and what it entails. You chose the lab of Dr. Paul Hollenberg which was a Cytochrome-P450 lab and we will discuss that, but what was it like learning how to do research? For example, what was the question you were looking to answer through your thesis project?
NB: In my project I was specifically looking at how genetic variances and mutations that existed in the population could impact their ability to metabolically clear certain drugs that are used clinically. We focused on a drug used to treat depression called Buproprion, and we looked at an HIV drug called Efavirenz. So I was looking at how genetic mutations could affect clearance of the drugs, and how those genetic variances might impact different people having genetic differences in drug-drug interactions.
AD: So would that be in the area of Pharmacogenomics?
NB: Yes.
AD: So as a Postdoctoral scientist did you work on a similar project? Or did you go in a completely different direction?
NB: Yes, my postdoc was somewhat different. I was looking at how lipids and fatty acids are cleared and how we regulate that process. Specifically, I was trying to find which pathways in cells were responsible for the metabolism of fatty acids. In particular, we were interested in stress activated pathways and seeing how activation of these stress pathways impacted expression of Cytochrome P450s that were responsible for metabolism of lipids.
AD: So right now in your own lab, what are you all working on?
NB: Lots of different things. The major focus has still been P450s, but looking at two different areas. The first is seeing how P450s and their metabolites contribute to drug induced toxicities, and to see if there are ways we can mitigate toxicities. We’ve had a focus on drug usage through HIV. The other side of my lab has been helping in collaborative clinical teams to develop drugs for HIV prevention, and trying to figure out how people’s pharmacogenetic variances in drug metabolism can impact their therapeutic responses when they are taking drugs used for HIV prevention.
AD: Now just briefly, from your doctoral studies through your postdoc, were there skills that you had to develop or did you come ready to go with everything? What were your major learning points as you worked through your thesis and your postdoc?
NB: My postdoc was really different. The experimental tools that I learned during my dissertation didn’t really help with what I wanted to do in my postdoc. I wanted to learn something new. Obviously the thinking and knowing how to design experiments was translatable. In graduate school I was doing a lot of mass spectrometry, more chemical-type techniques, and more biochemistry and enzymology. In my postdoc I was doing more in vivo biology and physiology, so I was using mice for the first time. I had never worked with a whole animal before. So I had to do a lot of cell isolation experiments and injections, things I had never done before; so I really had to learn a lot of new techniques for my postdoc. Now in my lab its great because we’re able to combine all of that, so we do a lot of mass spectrometry, biochemical techniques, in vitro mechanistic stuff/enzymology, as well as a lot more whole animal work, and a lot more whole cell work, things that I picked up in my postdoc, and I was able to combine both skill sets to build my program.
AD: Did you always have the leadership skills necessary to run a lab or did you have to learn them? Was it a work in progress?
NB: Yes, you always build on it and it’s still a work in progress. I think you don’t necessarily get trained for it in graduate school or as a postdoc, but I tried to participate in things that were extracurricular; the Association for Minority Scientists at Michigan, and in my postdoc I was a part of our postdoctoral association, so I tried to pick up leadership skills by being involved in those other groups; but even still you’re not prepared to run your own lab. You really learn it as you go; you try things to see how they work. You talk to senior colleagues to get their advice and potentially go back and try something else. You take mentorship or leadership classes which I’ve done too, but I think it’s always a work in progress.
AD: We’re almost done. For the lay person, what are Cytochrome P450s and why are they important?
NB: They are proteins expressed in our bodies in all tissues, but mostly in the liver. What they largely help us to do is clear foreign compounds from our bodies. So for instance, if you are taking a drug therapeutically, you take it orally and you swallow it, one of the first places it’s going to go is into your liver. Your liver doesn’t want it to hang around and be inside of your cells forever, so we have these proteins that will change (biotransform) these drugs structurally to make them something that can be removed from your cells and removed from your liver. Thus, P450s are proteins that help us to clear foreign compounds and molecules. Drugs are obviously a large percentage of the foreign compounds that we’re exposed to, so we call them drug metabolizing enzymes.
AD: All of us went different routes after leaving Michigan. Some landed in the private sector in big pharma or the chemical industry. Others like myself, went into the public sector on the regulatory side, and I think I’m one of the only ones from our department to do that. A large chunk of our graduates went into academia which requires a ton of skills: leadership skills, entrepreneurial skills, and teaching skills. It’s also a very competitive environment and I very much admire my peers, such as yourself, who went that route. What made you decide to go into academia as opposed to the private sector or some other track?
NB: I think academia is the only thing that really fits my personality. I really like interacting with and training students. I like having a really close relationship with them where they come and work in my lab for several years while they work on earning a Ph.D. I get to see them grow. It’s similar with postdoctoral fellows. They come to the lab for a couple of years and I help them try to get to the next stage in their career.
I really love the educational aspect of the training. Additionally, I really like the broader training environment. In addition to my associate professorship, I’m also associate dean in the area of education where I get to spend a lot of time with graduate students who aren’t in my lab. I work more broadly with other graduate students helping them decide which lab they should choose for their thesis, and what they want to do next with their career. I further help them identify training opportunities for careers that they might want outside of academia. I really enjoy education training so this is the place for me.
Also, I like that scientifically, if I can dream it I can do it. If we have something that I really want to test in my lab, we can find a way to do it and test it out. I like the autonomy and the ability to be that creative with our science as well, so I think it’s a really good fit for my personality and goals.
AD: Now lastly, what advice would you give to young African American girls or those who are curious about science, but not sure that they can do it, or parents who are reading this and want to expose their kids to science?
NB: I think first knowing that if it’s something you really want to do, then you can do it. I think what’s most important about being a scientist is the passion for it and the interest. It’s not about everyone thinking that you’re brilliant. It’s about being interested and being a curious person and organically interested in science. I think it depends on which stage you’re at. If you’re in elementary school, starting off like me getting chemistry sets and microscopes is a good start – getting kids the type of gifts that will stimulate their interest and curiosity in science. Make them see that they do have the ability to do experiments and explore things on their own, and I really think that can get them even more excited about it. Microscopes, chemistry sets, and telescopes, those are things you start with from five years old.
Often times there are summer camps. At Johns Hopkins we have summer programs for people, middle school students and high school students. At many different stages you can contact local universities and museums to see if they have summer camps for science that kids can go to and that can be helpful. A lot of schools including ours have high school programs. In ours you can spend the whole summer working on a project and I think that’s a great way to see if you like scientific research and really get excited about doing research; so I think there are a lot of opportunities. You just have look out for them. The best place to start is contacting local universities and museums. Most universities will have a community engagement program you can contact for opportunities.
AD: The last question, Namandje, involves something personal you shared with me. The science community recently suffered a great loss, someone who was a mentor to you. Would you like to say a few words in memory of this individual? From what I gather, this person was also a female African American scientist.
NB: Sure. Her name was Dr. Marion Sewer. She was a full professor at the University of California-San Diego, and a Pharmacologist as well. She worked on endocrinology and really did a lot to understand the endocrine system and how it impacts lipid metabolism.
She was just a very highly regarded scientist and she was also someone who cared a lot about outreach. She ran a lot of programs that were focused on diversity and giving opportunities for people in high school through undergraduate school, and really spent time with postdocs to make sure there were really opportunities for people of different backgrounds, including African Americans, particularly for African Americans to have exposure to science. She was someone who was a really great colleague, a really great scientist and someone who also, in a rare way, really cared about people, service, equity and inclusion in science. She really inspired me and helped me to get my first National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant by reviewing it for me several times. She was more senior and experienced, and I think a lot of us have that same story where she helped us get started because she was so generous with her time, so it was definitely a really big loss.
AD: Well thank you for this interview opportunity, Namandje, and your willingness to discuss your life and career. A lot of people will benefit from this.
NB: Thank you, Anwar.
Thank you for taking the time to read this interview. If you’ve found value here and think it would benefit others, please share it and or leave a comment. To receive all of the most up to date content from the Big Words Blog Site, subscribe using the subscription box in the right hand column in this post and throughout the site. Lastly follow me on the Big Words Blog Site Facebook page, on Twitter at @BWArePowerful, and on Instagram at @anwaryusef76. While my main areas of focus are Education, STEM and Financial Literacy, there are other blogs/sites I endorse which can be found on that particular page of my site.
One of the focuses of my blog is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), and my most central principle is “Creating Ecosystems of Success”. While we tend to think of clinical medicine as strictly a ‘Healthcare Profession’, its foundations are actually rooted in the ‘Basic Sciences’.
I discovered Dr. Quinn Capers, IV on Twitter one day by chance and started following him when he was tweeting about medical education at “The Ohio State University”. The ‘hashtag’ he used in most of his tweets ‘#BlackMenInMedicine’ further piqued my curiosity. After seeing more tweets and pictures of himself and his medical students, I reached out to Dr. Capers, the Dean of Admissions of the Ohio University’s Medical School, and he agreed to do the following interview. In our interview which coincided with Black History Month, Dr. Capers discussed his own educational path, the ‘hashtag’ #BlackMenInMedicine, and the current landscape of medical education for prospective students.
Anwar Dunbar: Thank you for the opportunity to interview you Dr. Capers. I stumbled across one of your tweets one day which included the hashtag you often use; ‘#BlackMenInMedicine’. It caught my eye, in addition to the pipeline of black male doctors, you’re training there at Ohio State University. Even though you’re at The Ohio State University and I’m a University of Michigan alumnus, I thought interviewing you would be very beneficial to my audience as I’m a STEM practitioner and an advocate myself. Also even though we typically don’t think of medicine as a science, it very much is. With that, can you talk briefly about yourself? Where are you from? What got you interested in medicine?
Quinn Capers: Thank you for the honor of being interviewed Dr. Dunbar. Speaking of Black History Month, your last name reminds me of my high school in Dayton, Ohio. It’s named after our hometown hero; the first black poet who made a living with poetry, Paul Laurence Dunbar. I actually was born in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to Dayton when I was two or three years old which is where I grew up.
My answer to the question, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ was always, ‘a Doctor,’ even as a toddler. I didn’t have any doctors in my family and to be honest, we didn’t see doctors regularly. It was only on an ‘as needed’ basis – i.e. if we were injured or got really sick. I’m not really sure where the thought came from, but I now assume God planted that seed in my heart and mind, as I truly feel I was ‘called’ to this profession.
AD: What is your family’s background?
QC: Though I was born and raised in Ohio, my parents and both sets of grandparents are from Talladega, Alabama. My parents moved to Cleveland, Ohio before I was born, and as stated earlier, we relocated to Dayton before my third birthday. My father is a retired police officer and my mother is a retired postal worker. They divorced when I was very young, and my mother raised my sister and myself. My sister and I were the first in our family to attend college.
AD: Are you the first medical doctor in your family? If not, who inspired you?
QC: Yes I am, but I have a cousin who was studying Pre-Med at the Tuskegee Institute when I was in elementary school. We spent many hours talking about our shared dream of being physicians, and she was always very loving and encouraging. She is now a successful Physician Assistant in New York City.
AD: Describe your educational path.
QC: I attended public schools in Dayton, Ohio on the city’s west side – the ‘black’ side of town. I was always enamored with Black History and read voraciously about black heroes. Because of this, I knew I wanted to attend a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). I wanted to be taught by professors that were making Black History and I wanted to be in the same buildings, on the same campus, walking the same path as so many of the black intellectuals, artists, and revolutionaries that I had read about.
I chose Howard University in Washington, DC for my undergraduate studies – one of the best decisions I made in my life. For medical school I returned to my home state to attend the Ohio State University College of Medicine. Since I had attended predominantly black schools from K-12 and then Howard, medical school was my first time stepping foot into a Predominantly White Educational Institution (PWI). People have asked me if being at a PWI after having been cradled in majority black institutions my whole life led to my feeling out of place, or ‘inferior’, or if it gave me an ‘impostor syndrome’. No, it was actually just the opposite. Because I had seen so much black excellence, I felt invincible. After medical school, my residency and fellowship training in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases and interventional cardiology, took place at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
AD: Were there any particular challenges for you on the road to becoming a medical doctor?
QC: There weren’t any big challenges that stand out other than the need to prioritize studying, not over partying, and delaying gratification. Many of my friends were enjoying being finished with school, buying their first car, first house, and essentially living their lives while I was still in school and/or training. But since the opportunity to work towards an MD was a dream come true for me, none of it seemed like an inordinate challenge.
QC: I am an ‘Interventional Cardiologist’, which is a heart specialist who specializes in opening blocked arteries and repairing heart abnormalities or defects with ‘catheter-based’ approaches. We repair the heart by accessing the circulation through an artery in the arm or leg, and then threading tubes and high-tech catheters, balloons, stents, and lasers to the heart.
QC: After spending the first eight years of my career in a private cardiology practice, I missed teaching and the academic environment, so I sought a position at my medical school alma mater. In private practice, nearly 100% of a physician’s time is spent taking care of patients. In what we call ‘academic medicine’, doctors work at medical schools and university teaching hospitals and have three responsibilities: caring for patients, teaching medical students and young doctors, and performing research. I thus left private practice to go into academic medicine.
After a short period of time I won several teaching awards from the students. When the Associate Dean of Admissions position opened, a colleague encouraged me to apply for it. My initial response was, ‘No that isn’t a part of my plan,’ which was to impact healthcare and improve people’s lives as the best interventional cardiologist and medical educator I could be. After giving it some thought, I realized that overseeing the admissions process at one of the country’s largest medical schools would allow me to have an even greater impact on healthcare than direct patient care. So, I decided to apply for the position and the rest is history. Now I perform both roles – Interventional Cardiologist and Associate Dean of Admissions, allocating approximately half of my time to each role.
AD: Let’s go back to #BlackMenInMedicine? Where did the hashtag come from?
QC: There are many black male physicians on Twitter. One day in 2017 some of us were having an online discussion about the landmark 2015 Association of American Medical Colleges publication entitled Altering the Course: Black Males in Medicine, which details the current severe shortage of Black males entering the medical profession. According to this publication, there were fewer Black males applying to medical school in 2014 than in the late 1970s and the downward trend continues. This portends a severe lack of Black male physicians in the future.
We discussed strategies to combat this trend and collectively came up with the idea of an online campaign to flood social media with images of Black male physicians at work, at play, and simply living their lives. The primary goal is to be role models for and inspire young men (and anyone) to pursue medicine. Other goals include changing the narrative about Black males – i.e. that not all are ‘dangerous’, but that many are physicians saving lives and serving humanity. We also wanted to speak out about injustice in any form against any group. The name of the campaign is thus ‘#BlackMenInMedicine’.
AD: This is an optional question, but based upon today’s climate, have you gotten any pushback because it acknowledges just men and not women?
QC: Very little that has been openly stated, but we are sensitive to the fact that there are likely some who feel it’s divisive and not promoting unity. We think that it’s possible to promote Black men in medicine while supporting many other groups. Many of us also tweet using other hashtags that preceded #BlackMenInMedicine, such as #WomenInMedicine, #ILookLikeASurgeon (which promotes images of women in surgery), and others. We took this on because the low numbers of Black men in medicine, in academic medicine, in leadership roles, and amongst medical school applicants has reached a crisis. I should also point out that we, the original creators of this campaign, do not feel that use of the hashtag is proprietary. Anyone who wants to promote diversity in medicine, and particularly encourage Black men to pursue medicine, is welcome to use the hashtag. In fact, we encourage it.
QC: Yes. At the Ohio State University College of Medicine we believe that diversity drives excellence in healthcare, and we have several strategies to recruit and support diverse students and women. We’re proud to be leaders in educating women and underrepresented minority physicians. The last four entering classes have been predominantly women, and according to 2017-2018 AAMC statistics, OSU ranks sixth of nearly 150 medical schools for the number of enrolled black medical students. We also have a post baccalaureate program called ‘MEDPATH’ that is focused on increasing the number of underrepresented and/or disadvantaged students entering medical school.
AD: When I was an undergraduate at Johnson C. Smith University in the late-1990s, many of us pondered practicing medicine, but few of us understood what it took to get into medical school – something a particular professor reminded us of regularly. Aside from the necessary academic credentials, what are some of the personal qualities aspiring medical students need to be successful?
QC: Today, most medical schools judge applicants using the Association of American Medical College’s ‘holistic review’ framework, which recommends balancing the applicant’s: experiences, personal attributes, and academic metrics (MCAT and GPA) when making a decision about their candidacy. While the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test) and GPA are self-explanatory, it’s important that aspiring physicians understand the importance that past experiences and personal attributes will play when your application is being reviewed. You will need to have a track record of compassionate community service, healthcare-related experience (shadowing or volunteering/working in a healthcare setting), leadership, and often research.
Regarding personal attributes, medical schools desire students who are: compassionate, collegial, curious, and who are self-directed learners. While the exact attributes and experiences may vary by school, medical school hopefuls need to ensure that their experience portfolio is full and that their recommenders can speak to the attributes mentioned. Often the difference between the applicant who gets accepted to medical school and the one who doesn’t is not their MCAT score or GPA, but more so a matter of which applicant had the better strategy. Gaining acceptance to medical school is very competitive and applicants should have a well-thought out strategy. Some examples of strategic questions that students should think through include:
• Will I take a “gap year”?
• If I plan to take the MCAT in spring of my junior year, when should I take Physics?
• Which leisure-time activity will demonstrate the attributes that medical schools seek?
• Should I apply before my MCAT scores return?
• If my undergraduate grades are low, should I plan on graduate school? If so, what discipline? MPH or Masters Degree in a biomedical science?
AD: Describe the landscape today in terms of getting into medical school versus when you were aspiring to study medicine yourself.
QC: I applied to medical school in 1986. At that time, the weight of academic metrics was definitely more than 1/3 of a candidate’s application. Community service was almost ‘optional’ at that time. Academic achievement is still very important, and always will be when evaluating medical school applicants. However, it is very unlikely that a student will be accepted to medical school today without a record of compassionate community service and healthcare-related experience. Also, many medical school curricula employ both group-based learning and independent learning, so schools look for evidence of collegiality and self-directed learning to provide evidence that a student will be successful.
AD: Okay, Dr. Capers, that’s all I’ve got. Thank you again for this opportunity to interview you, and also for providing the pictures to go along with this interview. I understand that your time is very valuable. Perhaps we can do follow up interviews at some point. Do you have any other parting comments or thoughts?
QC: No. Thank you again for giving me this opportunity, Dr. Dunbar. I’d be delighted to do this again, or even to make it a recurring feature. Good luck to all of your readers!
Thank you for taking the time to read this interview. If you enjoyed it, check out my 2019 interview with Dr. Capers. If you’ve found value here and think it would benefit others, please share it and or leave a comment. Please visit my YouTube channel entitled, Big Discussions76. To receive all of the most up to date content from the Big Words Blog Site, subscribe using the subscription box in the right hand column in this post and throughout the site. Lastly follow me on the Big Words Blog Site Facebook page, on Twitter at @BWArePowerful, and on Instagram at @anwaryusef76. While my main areas of focus are Education, STEM and Financial Literacy, there are other blogs/sites I endorse which can be found on that particular page of my site.
Two of the principles of my blog are “Creating Ecosystems of Success” and “Long-Term Thought”. While my scientific background is in the biomedical sciences Pharmacology and Toxicology, it’s imperative for me to keep my eyes on what’s happening in the other Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-fields. This allows me to use my platform to help guide others career-wise, and also for investment purposes (see my Facebook and Bitcoin post). In this post I want to discuss both STEM and careers, and the impacts of the new tax bill on the ‘Tech’ sector, as well as others.
My goal is to keep this post short. I actually have another post in the works regarding the new controversial ‘Tax Reform and Jobs Act’, but a recent development involving the company Apple prompted me to craft of this piece. I’ll start with a recent purchase involving one of the other ‘Four Horseman of Technology Stocks’, Amazon. Shortly after the holiday season, I ordered a copy of economist Dr. Thomas Sowell’s“Trickle Down” Theory and “Tax Cuts For The Rich”. I didn’t buy the book strictly because the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was recently signed into law, but because I had an Amazon gift card and thought it would be an educational read. I’m also admittedly one of Dr. Sowell’s biggest fans as he embodies most of the principles of my blog. He empowers his readers with the economic laws and theories, and historical facts to interpret current events, government policies and political discussions with a more complete perspective, independent of your political affiliation or background.
The very short book discusses the famous ‘Trickle Down Theory’ which is a hotly debated topic among economists, media pundits, and politicians. Coincidentally, according to Dr. Sowell, it isn’t a formal economic law and never has been. Instead it is a term used to demonize any cutting of taxes which have historically sparked economic growth in our country, as opposed being a means of making the rich richer and ignoring the needs of those on ‘Main Street’ – the way tax cuts are typically depicted by their opposition. As expected, leading up to its passing, the Tax Reform and Jobs Act was accused of solely being a tax break for the wealthy by its opposition. Recently however, numerous sources are now reporting that it’s actually going to benefit people on Main Street as well. But what will the new law do for the national economy itself on a macro level? On January 17, 2018, Yahoo published an article titled Apple says it will invest $350 billion and hire 20,000 workers in the U.S. over the next five years.
While this is an opportunity for some to boast to the opposition that they had the bill all wrong, my focus is on who will benefit from Apple’s repatriation of its earnings, and its $350 billion investment in the United States. It seems to me that those who are trained in the technologies Apple is working on, and currently has in its pipeline, stand to benefit significantly in terms of career, earning potential, and upward mobility. Those skills may involve things like writing applications for ‘Blockchain Technology’, and/or ‘Quantum’ computers among others. Those who are not trained in those areas will only benefit from the products Apple produces, for the most part, solely as consumers.
As a STEM professional and advocate myself, this is a very appropriate time to discuss some data I recently found published by US News & World Report in 2016 titled Report: Black Students Underrepresented in High-Paying STEM Majors. The article cited data from a Georgetown University Study titled African Americans: Colleges Majors and Earnings, which discussed how black students tend to cluster in fields like social work leading to lower paying careers. The data in the Georgetown study showed that 20% of degree holders in human services and community organizing were black, and earned a median salary of about $40,000 per year. By contrast, only 7% of degree holders who received STEM-related bachelor’s degrees, and earned a median annual salary of $84,000 or more, were black – a very low number considering that blacks are only 12% of the total population in the United States.
This low percentage of participation in STEM, in addition to Apple’s repatriation of earnings, and its investment back into the United States, underscores the importance of having the necessary skill sets at critical times to take advantage of environmental changes imposed by laws like the Tax Reform and Jobs Act. Malcolm Gladwell covered this phenomenon extensively in Outliers. Right now in the United States there is considerable debate about discrepancies in wages based upon race and sex. The question has to be asked though, do those discrepancies exist due to discrimination, or is it majors chosen leading to the acquisition of skill sets for which there is high or low demand from the economy at that particular time? Are we essentially running up against the ‘Law of Supply and Demand’ as we often do? After all, the economy typically dictates what’s needed at a given time, and how much individuals in the workforce should be compensated.
How many more companies will return to the U.S. to repatriate their earnings, invest in research and development here in the U.S., and subsequently hire U.S. workers? Right now it’s unknown. But if other technology giants like Apple return, clearly some groups of people will benefit more than others. The question is will the beneficiaries strictly be based upon to race, sex and class, or will the skill sets possessed by certain well positioned individuals have something do with it? And who will possess those necessary skills once there is an increased demand for them?
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you enjoyed it, you might also enjoy:
If you’ve found value here and think it would benefit others, please share it and or leave a comment. To receive all of the most up to date content from the Big Words Blog Site, subscribe using the subscription box in the right hand column in this post and throughout the site. Lastly follow me on the Big Words Blog Site Facebook page, on Twitter at @BWArePowerful, and on Instagram at @anwaryusef76. While my main areas of focus are Education, STEM and Financial Literacy, there are other blogs/sites I endorse which can be found on that particular page of my site.
Two of the principles of my blog are “Creating Ecosystems of Success” and “Long-Term Thought”. While my scientific backgrounds are in the biomedical sciences Pharmacology and Toxicology, it’s imperative for me to keep my eyes on what’s happening in the other Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-fields. This allows me to use my platform to help guide others career-wise, and also for investment purposes (see my Facebook and Bitcoin post).
I was encouraged to visit and discuss a new technology called “Blockchain” which is the buzz of the investing and technology worlds right now. Blockchain is actually not new for those who are already familiar with it, though it’s still early in its implementation. Not being in the “Tech” sector, I had to do some homework to be able to discuss what blockchain technology is, and I must say that it was well worth the research as it’s going to play a huge part in our lives going forward. As a testament to just how early we are in this technology, I couldn’t find a single book on it on a recent visit to Barnes & Noble.
So what is blockchain technology? Simply put, blockchain is a “Distributed Ledger” technology. Those are the exact words from two more senior gentlemen I overheard discussing it while at a happy hour in Old Town Alexandria recently. Because my mentor had alerted me to what blockchain technology was, I perked up when I heard their discussion. I was able to follow some of what they were talking about, and I eventually butted into their conversation.
They were also discussing “Bitcoin”, the new leading “Cryptocurrency” which runs on blockchain technology, and is currently highly deliberated in investing circles. Some people are skeptical that Bitcoin is an actual investment for numerous reasons. While it’s not clear what the future holds, as of now Bitcoin has turned into a very lucrative purchase for those who were exposed to it four or five years ago.
By the way, while Bitcoin is receiving most of the press attention right now, there are other cryptocurrencies which share its similar basic attributes which I’ll highlight later in this post. They include: Litecoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Dash, Ripple, and Monero. Similar to Bitcoin, all of them run on blockchain technology. For a more in depth discussion of how Bitcoin runs on blockchain technology, I recommend reading What Is Bitcoin? Here’s What You Need To Know by Julian Goldie. Also, to learn about how Bitcoin can be used in business transactions, I recommend reading Can You Use Bitcoin To Pay For Travel?
Let’s start with a short discussion of how blockchain technology actually works. Again as my background is in the biomedical sciences, this look at blockchain technology is not designed to get into the nuts and bolts of coding and developing, but instead to provide a comprehensive look at what appears to be the next major technological advance, and to give those a chance to participate in it, who otherwise wouldn’t have it. If my explanation of blockchain technology is too simplistic for you and you want a more detailed explanation of how it works, I recommend reading What is Blockchain Technology? A Beginner’s Guide published by Invest In Blockain which also goes into further depth about how the technology works in the cryptocurrency exchanges.
To understand how blockchain works, first envision a generic transaction taking place involving a group of let’s say nine participants either in one organization, or in different locations around the world – maybe even outer space one day with the way astronomy and space travel are going. The participants or members of the network are involved in the transaction through interfaces called ‘nodes’ which are simply their own individual workstations. Documentation of all transactions is captured using a ‘shared’ or ‘distributed’ ledger. This ledger is ‘decentralized’ and isn’t under the control of any one party.
All communication inside the network takes advantage of a ‘cryptography’ to securely identify the senders and the receivers. When one of the nodes wants to add facts to the shared ledger, a consensus is formed within the network to determine if they in fact should be added, and this consensus is called a “block”. A series of these blocks comprise the ‘chain’ which all participants can see, and which no one can change once it’s created.
In terms of concept, an example of how a blockchain would work is the “SharePoint” web-based collaborative platform that ingrates with Microsoft Office. Document sharing technology allows multiple permissioned individuals to craft and edit the same document simultaneously on the same platform in real-time. This technology removes the need to circulate drafts of a document to the members of the team via email making production less cumbersome and giving the authors absolute control over the drafts. Those who have permission to work on the document can also see who else is making edits thereby giving the collaboration transparency. Overall, this leads to increased efficiency, and the saving of both time and resources.
At this point, I’ll summarize the three advantages of blockchain technology. I’ve pulled them from a very informative video by IBM about ‘Hyper-Ledger Blockchain’ technology. Most descriptions of the technology involve these three core attributes:
• Creation of a distributed record: All parties involved in a particular transaction or business activity have a shared record of those activities. No one person or organization has ownership of the system.
• Addition to the chain is permissioned: All parties must agree on a new record or block being added to the chain. This adds trust to the transactions making them tamper resistant and highly secure.
• Transactions are secured: No one can change or delete a record from the chain making it permanent and eliminating the opportunity for fraud. A hacker for example cannot corrupt the records once it’s created.
It’s important to consider how blockchain will affect all of our lives, and it will do so in multiple ways. Let’s start in the context of banking/business. Anyone who checks their bank accounts as regularly as I do understands that many transactions don’t post/reconcile immediately – checking deposits for example. Money deposited from checks typically doesn’t transfer from one account to the other until the next businesses day – the check has to ‘clear’.
In a blockchain transaction, the transfer of funds is instant once it is approved by all parties. Currently in many business transactions, a third party intermediary is necessary which adds costs and additional levels of complexity to the transactions in addition to the potential for fraud. Blockchain technology eliminates the need for these intermediaries, and in addition to making the most mundane banking transactions more efficient, blockchain will also impact more complex transactions like the buying and selling of publicly traded securities like stocks.
My first example involved banking but blockchain’s application potential spans far beyond that. The other major impact will be in industries where it’s important to track ‘supply chains’ for products of all kinds. The IBM video described above highlights blockchains’s application in the supply chains of diamonds.
However the most important supply chains it could impact could be those involving agricultural commodities and other food sources. In instances where there is an E. coli contamination for example, such as the one experienced by Chipotle recently or Burger King before that, blockchain technology would make it much easier to track the sources of those contaminations and pull them out of the market. With my backgrounds in Pharmacology and Toxicology, it can also be used to accurately track supplies of drugs and other industrial chemicals. It’s also currently being implemented into federal and state government agencies to help make their functions more efficient – the distribution of welfare checks for example.
I’ve described two uses for blockchain technology, but its potential applications are vast. Industries that can be impacted by it include:
• Smart contracts
• The sharing economy
• Crowdfunding
• Governance
• Supply chain auditing
• File storage
• Prediction markets
• Protection of intellectual property
• Internet of Things (IOT)
• Neighbourhood Microgrids
• Identity management
• Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC)
Data management
• Land title registration
• Stock trading
The demand for blockchain developers is currently high and is increasingly growing. In terms of salary, many developers make over $255,000 per year. Still being in its infancy, those individuals who gain the skills to develop blockchain applications today will be on the forefront of the technology in years to come. They will work within businesses and government agencies where they will act as supervisors and directors.
In the private sector they will create and run entire firms and companies similar to how Steve Jobs and Bill Gates captained Apple and Microsoft respectively. For the younger generations, not knowing about blockchain will be particularly disadvantageous in terms of gaining employment and being able to compete in the new global and highly digital world economy.
Where can one learn to develop blockchain applications? Once again, we’re still early the technology, but some universities and companies have responded by offering a range of blockchain related courses which vary from online formats, to traditional lectures, as well as privately run boot camps. Some notable universities offering training include: MIT, Stanford, and Princeton. Companies such as IBM have courses as well. There is also an abundance of blockchain conferences scheduled in the next year in the United States and around the world.
As described above, knowing about blockchain will benefit those who learn to develop it through future employment and through working in the technology. For the lay person, it presents tremendous investing opportunities. Blockchain is only going to continue expanding in terms of its usage and application. It’s thus important to keep an eye on who is using it, and how they are implementing it, as it may lead to a similar phenomenon to what we saw with Facebook and Bitcoin. Those opportunities started off small, but those who were prepared to take advantage of them were greatly rewarded later on.
Understanding technologies like blockchain or just knowing they exist can be life changing. One of the recurring themes of my blog is that I had no STEM professionals in my own family, so I’m fortunate to have landed where I’ve landed career-wise. It was all predicated on someone realizing that I had the aptitude for science, and then encouraging me down that educational path. Thus just as it was important for me to do the research on blockchain to be able to prepare this post, it’s equally important if not more so, for readers to share this information with students and families who can benefit from it, or with individuals who can actively and creatively disseminate it.
A special thank you is extended to my mentor who will remain anonymous, for challenging me to learn about blockchain and also for encouraging me to craft this post on this very exciting and important emerging technology. Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you enjoyed it, you might also enjoy:
For the next phase of my writing journey, I’m starting a monthly newsletter for my writing and video content creation company, the Big Words LLC. In it, I plan to share inspirational words, pieces from this blog and my writers blog, and select videos from my four YouTube channels. Finally, I will share updates for my book project The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story. Your personal information and privacy will be protected. Click this link and register using the sign-up button at the bottom of the announcement. If there is some issue signing up using the link provided, you can also email me at bwllcnl@gmail.com . Best Regards.
Similar to the fields of Pharmacology and Toxicology, ADME/Drug Metabolism is a well-established field dating back to the nineteenth century, and it is very complex with respect to the wealth and depth of information available. It is still evolving today. The goal of this post is not to address every detail of the field, but instead to give readers a basic introductory understanding of the discipline. Further details about the many aspects of ADME/Drug Metabolism can be accessed online, or in scientific journals.
In my Pharmacology and Toxicology posts, I briefly discussed Pharmacokinetics, Toxicokinetics, and the Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion (ADME) of drugs and other xenobiotics. These areas collectively comprise the exciting field of “Drug Metabolism”. Whenever a new drug or industrial chemical is produced, several key aspects of the chemical must be characterized; how much of it gets absorbed into the body, where it goes in the body, and how long it stays there. The answers to these questions are collectively known as the molecule’s “ADME” profile, and a tremendous amount of work goes into this type of research. It’s very critical information as it helps characterize the chemical’s subsequent pharmacological or toxicological effectiveness and properties. As you read through this post keep a couple of key questions in mind. How much of the molecule gets absorbed into the body? Where does it go once absorbed? How long does it stay in the body? Is it transformed into something new? How does it leave the body?
The Liver, Kidney and Small Intestine
Before walking through the ADME acronym in greater detail lets first talk about the three organs that impact a chemical’s ADME profile the most: the Liver, the Kidneys and the Small Intestine. As described later in this post, other organs can impact a chemical’s ADME profile but these are the three major players. I will try to explain these organs in the context of this post in the simplest way possible.
“If you take a pill and it simply sits in your stomach for a brief period of time, and then passes out through your feces, then it technically wasn’t absorbed into your body,” said the same professor from my Pharmacology post who distinguished the discipline of Pharmacology from Pharmacy. This anecdote described how drugs and man-made industrial chemicals in the classic sense must be absorbed into the blood stream to actually have been absorbed into your body. There are other ways a chemical can get into the body (inhalation and dermal exposures), but for this post I’m focusing only on oral absorption.
If absorbed in the small intestine, the molecule of interest then passes through the “Hepatic Portal Vein” into the liver where any number of things can happen to it (described in greater detail below). After leaving the liver and entering the general circulation, the molecule is for the most part cleared through the kidneys via the urine, but in some cases it can be deposited back into the GI-Tract and leave the body through the feces. Molecules can also be exhaled depending upon what they’re transformed into once absorbed. Any molecule not absorbed by the small intestine leaves the body through the feces.
I can’t emphasize enough the importance of the liver and kidneys which both perform numerous critical functions in the body. For this particular context, the normal function of both, are critical to the body’s handling of both endogenous and exogenous chemicals which is why physicians, nurses and pharmacists inquire about their function early on when patients are admitted for care in clinical settings.
Breaking Down the Acronym
With that in mind, I’ll now break down the ADME acronym and why these skill sets are so valuable for scientists who gain an expertise in them:
Absorption: As described earlier, the “Absorption” aspect deals with how much of the chemical is absorbed into the body following oral ingestion, passage into the small intestine, the liver, and finally into the blood stream. The properties of the chemical itself can dictate how much of it is absorbed – particularly its size and for simplicity whether it’s charged (+ or -) or neutral. As described in my Pharmacology post, pharmaceutical companies designate molecules as either “small” or “large”, and many large molecules can only be administered by injection into the bloodstream. While there are several experiments that can help characterize a molecule’s oral absorption, “Pharmacokinetic” and “Biliary Excretion” studies (discussed below) are the most specific. Just briefly, by treating animals (usually rodents) with radio-labelled compound, the amount of compound absorbed can be determined by quantifying the amount of radioactivity in the blood, urine and feces over time telling scientists how quickly the molecule was absorbed in addition to the amount absorbed and if these two metrics change with increasing dose.
Metabolism: Once in the body, molecules can undergo “Biotransformation” – that is, classes of proteins called “Enzymes” can transform the structure of a given molecule by breaking it down into multiple pieces or adding on new “Functional Groups”, altering its properties so that it’s more readily eliminated from the body (discussed below). In some instances, this biotransformation turns the molecule into something toxic which can cause injury to the liver or other tissues in the body. The Metabolism aspect of ADME, involves a separate discipline called “Enzymology” which focuses just on the enzymes themselves; their levels in cells (Protein Expression), the rates of their reactions (Kinetics), their structures, etc. There are actually multiple classes of drug metabolizing enzymes but the most prevalent class at least as it relates to the liver, is the “Cytochrome-P450s”. Pharmaceutical companies pay particular attention to this class of enzyme (and a host of others) as they greatly impact the “Bioavailability” of the drug. The “First Pass Effect” or “First Pass Metabolism” occurs when a drug is significantly metabolized before it gets into the general circulation due to metabolism by liver enzymes. Some of the clinical aspects of metabolism will be further discussed later in this post. By the way, while Cytochrome P450s were classically associated with the liver, we now know that they are expressed throughout the human body as well as all plants and animals.
Distribution: Once in the body’s general circulation, the molecule can travel to many of the tissues of the body and can accumulate there for short- or long-periods of time depending upon the tissue and the properties of the molecule itself. If the molecule is particularly non-polar (neutral), it can accumulate in fatty tissues or for pregnant females, it can partition into breast milk and be transfered to nursing offspring. Molecules can also bind reversibly to blood plasma allowing for an increased internal dose.
Excretion: Excretion refers to how the molecule is eliminated from the body. Typically the urine and the feces are measured to determine how the molecule is eliminated. Detection in the urine indicates that the molecule was absorbed to some degree into the bloodstream as the kidneys filter out aqueous waste from the blood. Poor kidney function can actually lead to a prolonged bioavailability and subsequent toxicity which is why clinicians always inquire about it as described earlier. Not all of the absorbed chemical exits the body through the urine though. It turns out that absorbed chemicals can empty out back into the GI-Tract from the liver via the bile and then be eliminated through the feces.
Drug Transport: This aspect doesn’t traditionally fall under the ADME acronym, but it’s an important field that is now being actively researched in academia and industry. It deals with how cells may concentrate the chemical in tissues or remove the molecule from the target tissue before it can exert its function.
Pharmacogenomics/Toxicogenomics: These new and exciting fields look at the genetics unique to individuals to determine the best treatments and dosages for that individual. Genetic differences in levels in the drug metabolizing enzymes mentioned above can result in drastically different effects of treatment with a given dose of a drug depending on the individual. The same is true for an individual’s reaction to a toxicant.
The Applications for ADME
So why is all of this important? Whether in a hospital setting, a pharmacy, or in the chemical industry creating a new food additive, pesticide, or cosmetic, it’s important to have as clear an understanding as possible of where the molecule goes in the body and what its fate is following ingestion. As described above, physicians, whether in general practice or in the emergency room, have to gauge a patient’s liver and kidney function as those two organs will dictate how long the pharmaceutical stays in circulation – again, its “Bioavailability”.
Even a pharmaceutical designed to be therapeutically beneficial can be toxic if it remains in the body too long, if its levels exceed a certain dose level, if it’s transformed into something toxic, or if there is a drug-drug interaction. “Drug-Drug Interactions” are typically the result of one drug causing an increased internal dose of another drug due to inhibiting or preventing metabolism by the enzymes described in the metabolism bullet above. In graduate school we learned about the classic case of Terfenadine causing abnormal heart rhythms that could lead to death by increasing the amounts of circulating Erythromycin – both of these drug molecules normally work by with non-cardiac mechanisms. Terfenadine was removed from the market once it’s ability to cause this deadly drug-drug interaction was recognized.
Where ADME is Considered
Chemical, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical companies all have to know what happens to their molecules in the body for several reasons. A drug can be highly effective at preventing cancer cells from multiplying in a laboratory setting in dishes and flasks, but unless it is readily absorbed in the intestines and can actually get to its target tissue in the body as its untransformed structure, it’s useless. In some instances, a drug can get to its site of action, but the cells of that tissue can adapt and effectively expel the molecule before it gets a chance to exert its function as described earlier. Pesticides which are sprayed on agricultural commodities often make it to our dinner tables in low levels where we do ingest them to some degree.
Another very important context for ADME/Drug Metabolism is actually “Food Safety” which is a key consideration for food and beverage companies like Pepsico and Quaker Oats. As a matter of fact, at a family dinner earlier this year, a discussion of about Trisodium Phosphate (TSP), a preservative used in “Cap’n Crunch” cereal which had other industrial uses, caused a stir amongst my relatives. I had to remind them that both the ADME and toxicity profiles of this preservative had already likely been characterized and cleared through extensive studies by the company and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
ADME Careers and Training
We’ve discussed what ADME/Drug Metabolism is, but where do these scientists work and where do they receive their training? ADME/Drug Metabolism scientists work in Pharmaceutical and Chemical companies, and in government performing “Regulatory” functions (visited in an upcoming post). They receive their training for the most part in academic settings in labs specializing in Pharmacology and Toxicology, both of which have ADME/Drug Metabolism as a major component. There are some labs that strictly study one of the many aspects of ADME/Drug Metabolism but they are in the minority of the research groups in the biomedical sciences.
“Scientists with training in Drug Metabolism will almost never be with jobs,” said one of the professors in my graduate department at the University of Michigan. While we know that there is no job that is 100% secure, this particular professor was stressing that ADME/Drug Metabolism scientists are critical parts of most companies. The divisions of those companies responsible for these types of studies are typically titled Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK). No matter what disease the company is interested in (Diabetes, Cancer, HIV, etc.), it is essential that they understand the chemical’s ADME/Drug Metabolism profile for their own purposes and when submitting packages for approval by the Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory agencies. The same is true for chemical companies. Depending on the degree level earned and where the scientist is employed, ADME/Drug Metabolism scientists can earn starting salaries of $60,000-$70,000.
Technologies Used in ADME Experiments
There are numerous scientific tools and technologies that ADME/Drug Metabolism scientists use, but I’ll mention two of them briefly. The first is the Mass Spectrometer also known as the “Mass-Spec”. The accompanying picture shows a Mass-Spec. Click on the image to enlarge it. Mass-Specs are not used solely in ADME/Drug Metabolism studies, but they’re very important to the field because they can detect and identify molecules in whole blood, blood plasma, tissue samples, urine, and fecal samples at very, very low levels. More importantly they can detect changes in the structure and identity of molecules once they have gone through the body and can help to predict a drug/industrial chemical’s efficacy or toxicity.
Technologies and methods are always changing and evolving but the Mass-Spec is currently a very important tool for ADME/Drug Metabolism. Currently, Pharmacology and Toxicology scientists in industry are moving towards decreasing animal usage and towards more in vitro and in silico methods which are giving rise to the use of Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Models (PBPK) where the fate of molecules can be predicted using various constants and inputs into computational models. We’re currently in the early era of these methods.
Professional Societies for ADME
If you are interested in learning more about the exciting field ADME/Drug Metabolism, I suggest that you visit the website of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). You can then click on the link titled Education & Careers. In the right hand column, there is a link titled About Pharmacology, that provides a great deal of interesting information. Speaking of ASPET, all scientific disciplines have their own professional societies with annual meetings that are held in various cities (eg. Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, San Diego, Washington,etc.) every year, and where scientists gather to show their results and network. The two major professional societies for ADME/Drug Metabolism scientists are ASPET, and the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (ISSX).
Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and I hope I was able to shed some light onto what ADME/Drug Metabolism is as a field. The next post in this series will discuss the field of Inhalation Toxicology. If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy:
A special thank you is extended to Dr. Paul Hollenberg and Dr. Chester Rodriguez for their contributions to this post. I also want to acknowledge Dr. Yoichi Osawa of the University of Michigan’s Department of Pharmacology for the picture of the Mass Spectrometer used in this post.
The Big Words LLC Newsletter
For the next phase of my writing journey, I’m starting a monthly newsletter for my writing and video content creation company, the Big Words LLC. In it, I plan to share inspirational words, pieces from this blog and my writers blog, and select videos from my four YouTube channels. Finally, I will share updates for my book project The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story. Your personal information and privacy will be protected. Click this link and register using the sign-up button at the bottom of the announcement. If there is some issue signing up using the link provided, you can also email me at bwllcnl@gmail.com . Best Regards.
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