All About Renal

       It's hard to believe its been another month in the Tulane Pharmacology Masters Program. Having the CV Block completed, we dived into the renal system. I have really enjoyed the renal system and that all of the lectures overlapped on a set of common concepts. It was very interesting and useful learning about all the different drugs to treat hypertension, BPH, ED and UTI's. These are issues that many Americans have. The other night I spent several hours talking to my uncle about what medications he was on for hypertension and was relieved when I knew all of them.
   
      In the last month we had a new class sprung on us, Molecular Cell Pharmacology. I heard how hard this class was from several students who graduated last year, so I was nervous at first. Upon having a few lectures, my nerves calmed and I found the material fascinating. We learned a lot about gene therapy and stem cells from Dr. Bunnell, who has a lab at Tulane. Dr. Beckman has recently introduced us to the techniques used in tissue culture, a practice that is essential for pretty much every lab in the country. She gave us an assignment to find a good Youtube video explaining the basics of cell culture. Unable to find a decent one, my group decided to make our own. I've spent the day working with Nick, who graduated last year and who now works in Dr. Katakam's lab, making our own video on cell splitting. Below is a picture of us in the lab working on our production!