HONORS 222: Pain

This quarter, I was able to get a spot for an honors seminar I have been wanting to take since the end of my freshman year. This seminar focused on pain. Throughout the quarter we approached pain in a nuanced manner. The first few weeks we focused on the physiological mechanisms of pain followed by a psychosocial discussion of chronic pain and addiction. We were even treated with a guest-panel of different, highly-accomplished pain specialists. Even though we only met once a week, our little cohort grew quite close which contributed to our openess during discussions

Our final project required each of us to find one topic surrounding pain that interested us and write a 20 page paper. I chose to focus on OxyContin's and its creator Purdue Pharma's role in catalyzing the opioid epidemic, especially in the Appalachian region. It was quite a difficult topic to take on and required consistent, dedicated work to portray historical events in an accurate and captivating manner. There are a few legal aspects of Purdue's efforts to market OxyContin that I wish I could've had more time to delve into and research, but overall I am quite proud of the work I produced. I would recommend this class to anyone with even an inkling of interest in understanding what pain means on a deeper, interdisciplinary level.

Below is my paper. Feel free to skim or read all of it!

AN EVENING WITH NEUROSCIENCE

This spring marks my second year of participating in an "Evening with Neuroscience", hosted by Grey Matters. "An Evening with Neuroscience," is an engaging and interdisciplinary event that celebrates the wonders of the human brain. This year I had the opportunity to be even more involved than last year. I took on the important roles of pre-panel coordination and videography. During the pre-panel events, representatives from Neurotech set up booths for the public to interact with. These booths featured an electroencephalogram for anyone to try and a video game controlled by flexing your arm. We also had the privilege of presenting neuroscience-related artwork created by UW students. Many of the pieces were from Grey Matters members, but others originated from unaffiliated UW students with stunning pieces of art to share. While these attractions were displayed in the lobby, a human brain dissection occurred in the auditorium. Dr. Sam Golden walked audience members through key parts of the brain and nervous system of a real human brain! Afterward, a panel of researchers, psychologists, and clinicians from across the country came together to discuss cutting-edge research, debunk myths, and answer your burning questions about the brain. The best part of the event is that no prior knowledge of neuroscience is required – EVERYONE is welcome to participate! I had a blast working with everyone for months preparing for this event, and I am sad that this will be my last one. I can confidently say that the undergraduates within Grey Matters are some of the hardest-working people I have ever met. Everything, including the art, setup, social media, panel and pre-panel coordination, tech, and more were all executed by undergraduates at UW. It really is quite amazing to see what we can do as a team. If you haven't attended an "Evening with Neuroscience" be sure not to miss the next one, it is definitely worth it!

Below are some pictures from the event taken by me!