Early Reflections on Graduate School and Life in New Orleans

 My experiences so far in the Masters of Pharmacology program here at Tulane have been great. While the subject material comes at us quickly and at a large quantity, our professors are always looking out for our best interests and give us every opportunity to do well. 

The coursework itself has been interesting, engaging and something that I do not dread having to learn. In particular, I was very interested by our first module when learning about the Cytochrome P-450 metabolism system that humans have predominantly in their liver. I have always seen the 'drug interaction' labels on various pharmaceutical products but had no idea the mechanism by which this happens. Finding out that one family of enzymes is responsible for the majority of these interactions, the drugs that will cause induction (increased activity) or inhibition of those enzymes and how to mitigate these problems has been informative and a lot of fun. Learning material which has an obvious clinical application is a nice contrast to most other classes I have taken in my academic career. 

This week I also have a research presentation which is about Beta blockers being used to treat heart failure. I am excited to dive into this topic and the upcoming neuromuscular & cardiovascular physiology module that will supplement my understanding for the presentation. 

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not discuss my experiences so far in the city of New Orleans. First of all, I must mention that one thing no one will ever say about New Orleans is that it does not have personality. This place has got it and then some. One of the best parts of the city (and I am sure for anyone else who is new) is the delicious food EVERYWHERE. I cannot believe how many outstanding restaurants are here, and almost all of them are locally owned which makes it even cooler. During my short time here in the city I have been able to go to the city park to run and even go down to Grand Isle for labor day weekend to visit family. It is safe to say that I am enjoying myself in the classroom as much as out of it.

I am looking forward to starting some community service soon, although this will be challenging with the limitations of COVID-19. Nevertheless, I plan to be a pen-pal to a nursing home resident and continue to look for places which I can make an impact. Hopefully in my next blog post I will have some good work to write about and show pictures of. Until next time!

-Patrick