A Whole New World

In past couple of years, I have come to realize a lot of things about my career interests and especially my inclination and bent to do something worthwhile in the medical field of Neurology. I am super excited to be part of the coveted ISM class and been looking forward to the knowledge and mentorship that I will gain during the ISM class.  

The brain controls the body and often figuring out what is wrong with the body means finding out what is wrong with the brain. I have chosen Neurology because it represents a puzzle one must figure out in determining what part of the brain is not functioning properly to cause the body to not function. Past few weeks of research have already taught me that it is an exciting area of study especially given the technological advancements taking place in the world today. I was amazed to watch the presentation of Neuralink by Elon Musk, a chip that will be surgically implanted into the brain and be able to communicate with and control machines.

Over the past few weeks, I have gained a great amount of understanding of writing speeches, establishing my professional online presence, and importantly thinking about what I really stand for and what my mission in life is. Many a times these are areas which we tend to forget or do not give much importance and quickly move to the next topic.

Last week, I wrote about treatments for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in my research assignment. During the process I realized that I had so many questions that required an answer. Why this and not that? How did this happen? When I delved deeper into some of the answers to my questions, I gained insight into why doctors choose certain courses of action and why a problem like ALS, which is rooted in the motor neurons of our brain, poses such a great challenge to find successful treatments. I found out that there are talks of creating synthetic neurons for the brain, which, if successful, will completely revolutionize the standard of care and cures that the world has never ever seen.

In future, I wish to research a topic related to neurons, perhaps Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, since my curiosity is so piqued given the advancements taking place in the field of Neurology. As I come across more information, I know that I will have more questions, and I hope to get most of my questions answered by a mentor, that will give me firsthand knowledge from a practical world. As a next step, I will be conducting interviews with experts in Neurology, and I am thrilled at the opportunity to interact and learn from the best.

All in all, I can't wait for what I discover along my ISM journey and see where this path takes me! Fingers crossed!