Medical Biophysics Graduate Student Association

MBPGSA Blog

Updates, opinion pieces, and news related to the department

Posts in Blog
Top 30 Radiology Journals and Publications

Blogger Rachel Davis over at radiologydegree.com* has compiled a list of the top 30 radiology journals and publications. Even if your imaging project is not yet at the clinical stage, it is worthwhile to read up on the latest developments in clinical radiology and treatments so that we can strive to improve on the current medical technology through our research.

* A website dedicated to providing students with the information and tools they need to pursue a degree in radiology.

Check out her full article

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Blog, ResearchGuest Blogger
The Walking Dead

Ah, the zombie apocalypse, truly the escapist fantasy of our generation. For what young man has not envisioned himself walking through a barren husk of a metropolis, brandishing a shotgun in one hand and a lobotomizer in the other, wearily preparing to stand off against undead, savage, cannibalistic automatons, whilst defending what remains of humanity? Oh the repugnant joy we would feel as we claw and hack at the onslaught of mindless, decaying, and once normal humans, while they suffocate us with their numbers and brain-thirst, and shower us and our party with their blood and viscera drawn out by our shotgun blasts.

Okay, that is probably enough, but the zombie nation does seem to have a lot of appeal in our current mainstream culture. Everything, from B-movies, and comic books, to adaptations of classic literature seem to explore the possibilities of a world overrun with the undead, and there does not seem to be any end in its popularity. Perhaps it is because the zombie apocalypse is the ultimate metaphor for individuality: the lone freethinking individual must battle against waves of mindless drones unable to overcome the monotony of their lives. Or maybe it is because the unrelenting gore satisfies some primal bloodlust skulking within all of us. Regardless of the reason, we love the geek show.

Currently, AMC is airing the series “The Walking Dead,” which explores the lives of several survivors as they hobble for safety in zombie-ravaged Georgia. The show just completed its first, six-episode, season and plans on airing its second, twelve-episode, season this fall. With the longer format, the show is able to explore its characters in greater detail, rather than casting out un-compelling stock characters to be knocked off one by one, which is usually the case in zombie films. You get to know the characters a lot better, and get to feel for them. It is fascinating to explore how human beings would react when pushed to the brink. You can explore some tough facets of human nature, while preventing things from getting too grave by having this fantastic central element. You can have a scene of two sisters discussing the grief over the loss of their father, followed by a scene of a zombie getting decapitated by a shovel. This is appealing to me, because I can indulge in melodrama without being bored by the long expositions, or being depressed by the harsh realities of the real world. Nothing needs to be real except for the emotions and reactions of the characters.

There is one big drawback however. Ultimately, there is not a lot for the characters to do but to run and hide, from campsite to compound to campsite. They just sit around waiting for the zombies to attack, then the zombies attack, and they move to the next campsite. On top of that, they do not have much to do in a day other than sit around, or go fishing. There is no intriguing plot device to propel the plot forward, and no fascinating antagonist, with zombies having absolutely nothing interesting to say. All they do is shuffle forward, moan, and chew. I fear it will get very boring over time. In fact, boredom was a key theme in “Dawn of The Dead,” which was the progenitor of the zombie subgenre, and to me, it seems a daunting task for the creators and the writers to keep the show fresh and interesting. I feel like there are already signs of the writers struggling with the finale of the first season featuring a timer that comes out of nowhere counting down to an explosion from which the survivors all of a sudden have to escape (oh, and how about this for a medical device?) It seemed like a lazy plot device to move things along, and I hope twelve episodes do not prove to be too much for the writers. It would be really terrible if this punk metaphor against the mindless monotonies of developed society becomes tedious and boring.

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BlogOliverGMovies
Call For New MBP Blog Editor

Hello MBP students,

It has been a great year full of satisfactions and significant achievements. The MBP website was on life support before we took it over and generated some excitement around it, with periodic blog posts, pictures, polls, and much more.

We are now recruiting for our chief-editor position. Time commitment is minor (flexible but generally 1-2 hours per week). We are looking for motivated individuals with good communication and organizational skills.

Responsibilities (general):

  • Create blog content that will interest MBP students
  • Review and edit other bloggers' posts
  • Suggest topics to be covered by the MBP blog team
  • Recruit new bloggers and invite guest contributors on a regular basis
  • Cover MBP events (via posts or pictures)
  • Continue the vision of creating a platform for MBP students to share interesting topics and discuss relevant issues

Benefits of This Position:

  • Develop leadership and communication skills applicable to any field or career choice
  • Improve your own writing skills
  • Add value to your CV and scholarship applications with leadership and communication experience
  • Network with departmental and university personnel
  • Operate in a positive environment filled with like-minded and passionate students
  • Tremendous autonomy to pursue new goals for the MBP blog

Please send an email to webmaster@mbpgsa.ca expressing your interest for this position, by June 30.

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BlogMBPGSA
Graduate Research in MBP: Downtown vs Uptown (Sunnybrook Hospital)

by Haydn Liang

Graduate Research in Sunnybrook vs. Downtown

Almost all graduate programs in the faculty of medicine are research-based. Most of this work is carried out in hospital research centres or at research facilities on the University of Toronto campus. While most hospital laboratories are close to the university in downtown Toronto, there is also a major hub of research located uptown at Sunnybrook Research Institute. This creates considerable problems for students looking to work with a professor with a project of their interest as significant cutting edge research is conducted at Sunnybrook, notably in the field of medical imaging.

With all these choices available to graduate students, where should you choose to do your graduate work? On one hand working in downtown puts students close to where they might want to take courses and pursue extracurricular endeavours and join student unions; on the other hand many projects at Sunnybrook are at the leading edge of scientific innovation. To make this decision more balanced, Sunnybrook also offers students a free shuttle bus between the hospital and downtown. It runs from 6am to 6pm and takes about 30 minutes to bring you Women’s College, 1 block east of Queen’s park station.

At the end of the day, it’s really all about what you feel is important though personally: the thought of working on a project that you are not really interested in for no less than a few years makes for a very painful graduate school experience.

(Haydn Liang is a PhD candidate in MBP in the biology stream who conducts his research at Sunnybrook Hospital, if you have questions for him you can contact him at Haydn.Liang at utoronto ca - Ed. Samuel Oduneye)

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Rick Mercer’s Voting 101 for Students

Rick Mercer's rant from the 2008 federal election still rings true this time around. The interests of students are once again underrepresented in federal politics. The word "tuition" wasn't even mentioned in this year's English language debate, let alone the idea of improving federal funding for graduate studies. Are you satisfied with the current level of federal government support for post-secondary education? If not, take a few minutes to call/email your local candidates and ask them what they (and their party) plan to do to make post-secondary education more accessible. Evaluate how genuine/realistic/existent their plans are and make an informed decision. VOTE on May 2!

http://www.youtube.com/v/UOWtXc2dUHw?fs=1&hl=en_US

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Blog, NewsJustin Lau
Growing PhDs Like Mushrooms

PhDMushrooms9:30 am. Coffee at hand, ready to face the last day before the long weekend. Opened inbox and among the long list of unread emails, I noticed a new Nature Alert. I subscribed to the weekly alerts about a year ago and most of the times I find it an effective tool to keep myself in the loop... not only in my particular research field of interest, but other science-related fields like Physical Sciences, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Careers & Jobs, etc.

Under the latter section I found an interesting article on the value of a PhD degree. I thought to myself, "ah, they're probably saying that there are too many out there and that they are not worth what they were worth before"... I was right.

But what caught my attention, at a first glance, was the fact that the author compared PhD's to mushrooms: "you can grow PhD's like mushrooms". Granted the author was quoting a doctor researching doctoral-education trends; nonetheless I was intrigued, so I kept reading.

This article basically states what everyone already knows, but it also suggests a couple of solutions that might target the root of the problem: the fact that PhD students are seen as cheap labour by supervisors and as source of governmental income by institutions.

Short and to the point, this article also refers to a couple of articles in Nature's latest issue that analyze the latest PhD trends and suggest further action by the government and the students themselves.

In my opinion, we are only able to sow what we harvest. So even though the number of PhD degrees is proliferating like mushrooms, it is up to us to excel in our fungi world and decidedly become the cream of the mushroom crop.

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BlogDianaM
Tales From The Zipper

Anyone who has ever seen the movie "There's Something About Mary" will surely remember the hilarious yet cringe-worthy scene at the beginning when Ben Stiller's character get his...ummm...male parts disastrously stuck in the zipper of his pants. It's basically every man's worst nightmare (aside from a knife-wielding Lorena Bobbitt).

Well, it turns out that instances of penile entrapment in zippers is fairly common in children. A fairly recent publication (Indian Pediatrics, 43: 252-254, 2006) by Dr. Satish Chandra Mishra points out that "entrapment of the unprotected penis into the zipper is the most common cause of prepuceal injury in children." Wow. But surely there's something that can be done about this, right?

Don't worry, dear reader - there most certainly is. Dr. Mishra has perfected a technique that should bring sighs of relief to young children the world over. It's a simple 2-step approach that will hopefully become a part of the medical school curriculum from now on:

Step 1: Using an ordinary wire-cutter, make two transverse cuts into the two unzipped halves of the pants just ahead of the entrapped skin. Then make cuts laterally down the cloth along the tooth lines of the zipper.

Step 2: Next, using a pair of pliers, simply grip the zip-fastener very tightly, applying strong compression. The entrapped skin should be released instantaneously.

The bonuses of this method include: (i) relatively short time scale needed to complete the procedure, (ii) no messy mineral oil need be applied the local area, and (iii) no local anaesthesia need be administered.

There ya go gentlemen. There is now no need to buy only button-up jeans, or to lay awake at night, afraid to fall asleep because nightmarish zippers haunt your dreams. Sleep easy.

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Blog, Tips & How TosGreg
Tree Planting at The Downsview Park

Every year, in April, people gather together to plant trees at Downsview park. This year the event took place on Sunday April 17th. Despite the snow, hail and strong wind, many enthusiasts showed up to take part in creating a beautiful park. I’d like to share some highlights and pictures with you.

I came with the New Acropolis School of Philosophy to practice the philosophy in action. As my teachers say: “Philosophers don’t just dream about the better world, they act to make it better!” We really had to use our will, discipline and enthusiasm to enjoy tree planting regardless of external circumstances. And it was truly a wonderful experience! Our boots and clothes were covered in mud, but we left feeling happy. I would definitely do this again!

I think it would be great if MBP could participate next year. May be, plan it as an event? I will not be a part of MBP at that time, but I will be really glad to see you guys there!

Upcoming philosophy-related events:

Machu Picchu seminar: http://toronto.newacropolis.ca/events/machu_picchu/

Wake up! Active Philosophy Workshop: http://toronto.newacropolis.ca/workshops/wakeup/

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Blog, HobbiesAnnaG