New to Tulane: October 2019

Monday, October 7, 2019

Autonomic Nervous System ANS Module & Infectious Diseases Module - October 2019

Autonomic Nervous System ANS Module

Unlike the previous two modules, the first week of the ANS module did not commence with the naming of numerous drugs and their mechanisms of action. Instead, it was a review of the nervous system physiology. How does the body know how to osmoregulate for you, keep you beating, keep your heart breathing, without your conscious input? ANS.

I was surprised to learn that the receptors of cannabinoid metabolites inhibit appetite by inhibiting the GABA receptor. Really? But pop culture depicts that the usage of cannabis leads to the classic “munchies.” Is pop culture wrong ... again? Two types of receptors were discussed: one for the immune and one pertaining to the nervous system.

He discussed the genius of Boltzmann who gave us another constant for students to memorize .

“Looks like a genius,” he said, showing a bearded figure. According to Dr. Li, Boltzmann had a unique personality like Isaac Newton, “he couldn’t take criticism.”

“You have to take criticism,” especially in science, he continued. You submit drafts of your research, a product of your blood, sweat, tears to a journal. Then, you get the editorial criticism, “telling you how stupid you are.”

“He suicide himself,” he said. Boltzmann felt misunderstood.

Infectious Diseases Module

Reminded of the documentary Surviving R. Kelly, if R. Kelly was your patient, do you what to e-prescribe for him?

Valacyclovir , of course, an improvement of Acyclovir, for his genital herpes.

Given his habit of cigar smoking, and considering that tobacco is a known inhibitor of cytochrome P450 enzymes, his dose of Valacyclovir may have sub-therapeutic effects than the comparative doses given to his live-in girlfriends.

Reading the syllabus, this module seemed simple. But it’s not. Within a short period of time, one has to memorize what seems like zillions of drugs and side effects. I think all drugs will affect the liver with a large dosage, of course. But you have to know more than that. Some affect graying of teeth and yellowing of eyes.

Post Word Count: 300+

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine 9/26/19 - October 2019

Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine

9/26/19

Hours: + 4 hours

Cumulative Hours: 10.25 hours

Community Service Activities

The student chefs present their dishes at the end of the cooking session. They describe the techniques and ingredients used.

Rite of Passage

Finally, I arrived at the unofficial rite of passage held for the master’s students of the Tulane Pharmacology Department: the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine.

I heard about this opportunity at the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine from reading the blogs from last year’s cohort members. The organization teaches community members how to cook healthy meals. Most of us living in the post-industrial revolution have to resort to fast food, which has led to chronic diseases and high health insurance premiums. Cooking has become an exotic, vestigial tradition because of our hectic lives. Therefore, the Center addresses how affordable, healthy meals can be made even with our work and life schedules. More healthy people are needed to reduce the cost of healthcare. I participated in supporting the cooking classes held for community members. I was supposed to perform regular kitchen rounds, pick up used utensils and drop them off at the dish washing station, and help with the washing and cleaning. Whenever there was a question about the recipe, I relayed the question to the Chef/Registered Dietitian to the specific station.

I was to support the cooking students’ activities. I stood near their stations. Sometimes they asked me questions about the recipe. I honestly didn’t know. I am not a culinary expert at all.

“Am I supposed to chop this chicken before seasoning?”

I don’t know. I went to the Chef.

Ms. J held up a piece of leftover celery, “Compost or Treasure?”

“Treasure,” I answered, feeling so proud to be useful.

Compost or Treasure?

I watched Station 7 make chicken salad sandwich. The Station next to it made hummus sandwiches. This station browned the chicken which added a nice umami flavor to the chicken. The student added chopped almonds not to the green bean salad but to the chicken, so I had to look for more chopped almonds. I searched in the pantry. But I found nothing. So I went to S, who is a student at the Tulane SOM, who told me that they were in the fridge.

At the end of the evening, the students presented their dishes, explaining the techniques and read out loud the ingredients. The Chef explained how the mayo was reduced by using Greek yogurt. This reminded me of a feature story of how a dietitian went to a pediatric patient’s home to teach the family how to cook Cuban food in a healthy way by substituting ground beef for ground turkey.

Goldring runs on a grassroots style. No one will tell you what to do. You look around to make yourself to be useful. I swept the floors. I wiped the counters. I took the dirty dishes to the dishwasher. I would like to learn and observe how to make healthy versions of steamed vegetable buns or kimchi fried rice, because I long for the dishes of my hometown.

I learned:

Green beans are delicious. Chicken salad with raisins and sliced green apples are delicious.

The yogurt salad dressing was so good that I wanted to drink it.