Healthcare – Page 8 – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

HIV/AIDS: A Very Short Introduction

By Scott J. Pearson | March 21, 2021March 21, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

HIV, which can lead to AIDS, continues to present a pandemic situation wherever humans live. It differentially affects marginalized communities and tends to have an associated social stigma. It has hurt people in Africa particularly hard, and Whiteside, a professor in South Africa and a global leader in AIDS health discussions, is well-poised to witness the global effects. In this short and well-written work, he extracts the biomedical, social, political, and economic implications of this…

The Origins of AIDS

By Scott J. Pearson | March 8, 2021March 20, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Understanding the origins of AIDS is important for at least three reasons. First, HIV/AIDS is an important biomedical global disease that is still not conquered. Second, much cultural rhetoric due to stigma exists in society about this disease, and blame for the AIDS pandemic have been wrongfully placed at the feet of many oppressed groups. Third, contemporary events with coronavirus have shown that humans aren’t as safe from disease and pandemic as we might imagine,…

Healthcare Research-Education Society

Introduction to Public Health

By Scott J. Pearson | March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Ironically, public health has been one of the most successful academic fields since 1900, yet still struggles to implement its agenda on the public (at least, in America). It is responsible for most of the doubling of life expectancy in America and for vast improvements in the quality of life. Schneider excellently chronicles those contributions with an eye towards the present and the future. She covers her topics in an accessible, easy-to-read manner that does…

Biostatistics Healthcare Research-Education

Biostatistics for Epidemiology and Public Health Using R

By Scott J. Pearson | February 27, 2021October 20, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

First, let me define the lay of the land for the curious reader. Biostatistics is the study of statistics relevant for biomedical applications. It combines mathematics and the bio world, which includes Public Health and Epidemiology. R is free software for a programming environment that allows researchers to perform advanced analyses of statistical questions on datasets. This volume by Chan was the first textbook that addressed R and biostatistics in depth in the same volume.…

Healthcare Research-Education

Designing Clinical Research

By Scott J. Pearson | February 8, 2021February 8, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Research methods are important to almost all graduate students in the sciences. Design in particular can make or break the funding of a project – not to mention the implementation of the project itself! The stakes are rarely higher than in clinical, biomedical research where large dollars, impactful results, and ethical aspects of live patients are constantly at play. This book, written by a collaboration of highly successful biomedical researchers, teaches how to design research…

Healthcare Kids

Neurology for Babies

By Scott J. Pearson | January 30, 2021January 30, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

This illustrated children’s book illuminates the basics of the human nervous system. It teaches kids about their bodies – specifically, about their brains and senses – in a way that intends to make such learning fun. The pictures are colorful and engaging for young learners. Even though the brain can seem like an abstract topic, this book centers on the very basics – in other words, high-yield material. This book can be helpful to just…

Biography-Memoir Healthcare History Science

Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher

By Scott J. Pearson | December 5, 2020December 5, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

The surgery of organ transplantation has taken off in the past fifty years. However, the ability to apply these gains to the nervous system has lagged behind due to the limitations of nerve regeneration. As told in this book, during this time, Robert White, MD/PhD, sought to pioneer head transplantation onto a new body. He was successful in transplanting a monkey’s head onto another’s body. However, he retired and died before his dream could come…

Biography-Memoir Healthcare History Research-Education

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

By Scott J. Pearson | November 20, 2020November 20, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

This work will stand as one of the most interesting works in the genre of the history of medicine in our era. Not only does it tell the origin in life of a famous cell line (HELA, an abbreviation of the name Henrietta Lacks, taught about in college biology classes). But it also tells the story of a humble family who was seemingly forgotten by science. Skloot tells the story of Deborah Lacks, Henrietta’s daughter,…

Healthcare

Coronavirus Updates Heading into Third Surge During the Holidays

By Scott J. Pearson | November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

I just got off a helpful call with Vanderbilt Medical Center (VUMC) leadership about COVID and the holidays. From a public-health perspective, I feel that I need to pass along the notes that I took. The presenter was Gordon Bernard. He is an Executive Vice President at VUMC and is respected worldwide both as a researcher and as a clinician. He has worked for over forty years as a Critical Care pulmonologist. This information is…

Healthcare History Research-Education

A Change of Heart: How the People of Framingham, Massachusetts, Helped Unravel the Mysteries of Cardiovascular Disease

By Scott J. Pearson | November 17, 2020November 17, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

When US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died from complications of high blood pressure in 1945, the medical community sought to discover the nature and causes of heart disease. Thus was born a multi-generational, decades-long research study into people’s health in Framingham, Massachusetts. This study found scientific evidence about heart disease and changed treatment, research, and culture. This book chronicles this history and preserves this inspiring story for future generations. At the time of writing, Levy…