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A relaxed fit episode this week! Instead of the usual interview on a specific topic with an interviewee, Dean talks to Post-Baccalaureate Society President and personal friend, Daniela Schmulevich. Together, they discuss their feelings about family influences, backgrounds, and future plans in medicine. They go on to speak about staying positive and bring up the concept of "imposter syndrome". Dani closes the episode out with the beautiful quote, "Write your passions in pen and your path in pencil".

Penn Pals is hosted and edited by Dean Wertz. Podcast artwork by Ava Cruz and Alec Druggan. Music by Bo Hwan Wang.

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This week, we introduce Goodwell Nzou. Dr. Goodwell takes us on his journey from Zimbabwe to researching the blood-brain barrier here in our beautiful city of Philadelphia. Born and raised in a village in rural Zimbabwe, Goodwill found interest in the natural sciences and music. Goodwill would sneak into the chemical supply closet of his school and perform experiments with old chemicals. He then traveled the world with a band playing marimba. Eventually, Goodwell moved to the states to pursue research. He also touched upon his experience of moving to a new country and absorbing and displaying different cultures.

Penn Pals is hosted and edited by Dean Wertz. Podcast artwork by Ava Cruz and Alec Druggan. Music by Bo Hwan Wang.

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This week, after a long hiatus, we have the absolute pleasure of introducing Aeri Kim. Aeri has been an instructor at Kaplan for MCAT prep for 5 years now with a background in the biological sciences and a PhD in Structural Biochemistry. Aeri begins with a small history lesson on the MCAT's founding, the purpose of the exam, and how Kaplan plays a role in teaching students. Aeri finishes the interview by explaining common timelines and recommendations for students coming into MCAT studying.

Penn Pals is hosted and edited by Dean Wertz. Podcast artwork by Ava Cruz and Alec Druggan. Music by Bo Hwan Wang.

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On this week's episode of Penn Pals we have the pleasure of talking with University of Pennsylvania's own, Dr. Sukulpa Basu. Dr. Basu received her bachelor's degree from Saint Xavier's College in India and her Masters of Science at the University of Calcutta, India. She moved to the United States to receive her Ph.D. in Philadelphia at Temple University in 2002. Since then she has been both researching and teaching courses in Physics. In the interview we trace her love of physics to tutoring her younger brother as a high schooler, as well as physics being so applicable to our lives. She states that physics is everywhere, and people should not be intimidated by the subject purely because of the math. We go further to define Dr. Basu's research, mainly theoretical condensed matter physics. We discuss theory in the scope of physics, and the properties that define matter as condensed. Although the topics were complex, Dr. Basu did a great job of breaking things down for us. Enjoy!

Penn Pals is hosted by Dean Wertz and edited by Nicky Belgrad. Podcast artwork by Ava Cruz and Alec Druggan. Music by Bo Hwan Wang.

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In this week's episode we interview Dr. Morgan Philbin, a social and behavioral scientist whose work at Columbia University explores how social-structural factors impact the health outcomes for vulnerable populations. We discussed HIV risk in the modern era, pre and post-COVID-19 outbreak. Dr. Philbin went into how legalization of marijuana will likely lower transmission rates of HIV due to prisons being hotspots for the disease. We also discussed safe habits when it came to drugs, how to get help if needed, and where to find your information. Dr. Philbin put a realistic view on what it will take to integrate healthy conversations about drugs and sex into our society.

Penn Pals is hosted by Dean Wertz and edited by Nicky Belgrad. Podcast artwork by Ava Cruz and Alec Druggan. Music by Bo Hwan Wang.

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In this episode of Penn Pals We speak with Taylor Linaburg and Samantha Ellison, two fourth year medical students at The Perelman School of Medicine. Both career-changing individuals, Taylor comes from a background of business and finance, while Sam turned to medicine from environmental policy. They discuss what it means to be a fourth year medical student, and how COVID19 has affected this. We talk about how their different paths have led these medical students to a similar place. They dive into ideas of what a doctor is and how it's okay to be unsure about what you want to do. They also stress that it is okay to "pigeon hole yourself" in some cases.

Penn Pals is hosted by Dean Wertz and edited by Nicky Belgrad. Podcast artwork by Ava Cruz and Alec Druggan. Music by Bo Hwan Wang.

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This week we were honored to welcome Dr. Daniel Corwin to the show. Having both an MD and MSCE, Dr. Corwin is a CIRP Scholar, Associate director of research for the division of emergency medicine at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In his day to day, Dr. Corwin works as an emergency medicine attending physician at CHOP.

In our interview, he explains the ins and out of what a concussion is and the various ways it can be identified. He talks about the current transition we are going through in the world of recovery. We are now moving from a closed off, dark room approach to a more physical, light exercise based one. We look at head injury from the perspective of sports injury, and vehicular accidents as well as others. Dr. Corwin also tells us about the changing environment of child head injury in the time of COVID-19. All this and more was covered in Penn Pals this week so we hope you enjoy it!

Penn Pals is hosted by Dean Wertz and edited by Nicky Belgrad. Podcast artwork by Ava Cruz and Alec Druggan. Music by Bo Hwan Wang.

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On this week's episode, Penn Pals has the pleasure of interviewing Penn's own senior lecturer and advisor, John Zimmerman. He earned his PhD from Temple University, and did his post-doctoral work here at the University of Pennsylvania. Teaching both introductory Biology and Genetics, Dr. Zimmerman peels back the layers on the fascinating genetics topic of HOX genes. Short for Homeobox genes, these segments are responsible for the placement and function of parts of our body. If it sounds complicated, it is! However, Dr. Z takes his time and simplifies the concept for us to dive in. Enjoy!

Penn Pals is hosted by Dean Wertz and edited by Nicky Belgrad. Podcast artwork by Ava Cruz and Alec Druggan. Music by Bo Hwan Wang.

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On this week's episode we bring 1st year Jefferson University medical student, Garret Largoza, to the mic. Graduating from Franklin and Marshall College in 2018 Garett received a degree in Biochemistry. Having gone through Penn's Pre-health program and now starting med school, Garret walks us through the online schooling environment. Although very important, school isn't the only thing Garret brings to the table. Using a passion for running as both a way to stand out and a way to stay sane, Garret discusses the importance of being a person not a number. He urges listeners not to be deterred from passion because the field is competitive!

Penn Pals is hosted by Dean Wertz and edited by Nicky Belgrad. Podcast artwork by Ava Cruz and Alec Druggan.

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In this week's episode, we welcome local therapist, Jacob Glickman. Mostly working with the LGBTQIA+ community, Jacob started as an intern for the Attic Youth Center in Philadelphia. He attained his masters at La Salle University in clinical counseling and is now working on his doctorate in clinical psychology. At the same time, Jacob is making progress on a master's in human sexuality. Here we discuss the grand idea of using Dungeons and Dragons as a means of group therapy! The game has the opportunity for consequence-free character experimentation and has the possibility to incorporate heavy topics in an approachable way, according to Jacob. Get ready for an edutainment experience about LGBTQIA+ with Jacob Glickman!

Penn Pals is hosted by Dean Wertz and edited by Nicky Belgrad. Podcast artwork by Ava Cruz and Alec Druggan.