disease – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine & the New Human

By Scott J. Pearson | March 4, 2023March 4, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Siddhartha Mukherjee, one of our age’s most brilliant medical writers, is a cancer doctor with research interests in the basic sciences of cell biology and genetics. He is also an engaging writer with a deep knowledge of the history of science. His books, one of which has won a Pulitzer Prize, combine all these crosscurrents to convey a compelling narrative. He’s done it for both genetics and cancer, and here, he hits another home run…

The Gene: An Intimate History

By Scott J. Pearson | July 4, 2022July 4, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Genetics is a field of biomedical research that is both in motion and influential over our daily lives. It promises to help millions afflicted with horrific disease, yet it could be poised to change (or unravel?) human life as we seek to write our own destinies in DNA. Real action in this field has only occurred in the last 200 years, starting with Gregor Mendel and accelerating in the early twentieth century. Mukherjee, an oncologist…

Healthcare Research-Education Science

Gordis Epidemiology, 6th Edition

By Scott J. Pearson | May 19, 2021May 19, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Now in a sixth edition, this textbook is the seminal introduction to the field of epidemiology, or the study of disease in populations. It stands in the historical stream of Dr. Gordis, a leader of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins. Replete with diagrams, cartoons, case studies, and in-depth analysis, this work paints a comprehensive picture of the field in the 21st century. In the first section, the authors provide an introduction to epidemiology as it relates…

Healthcare HIV/AIDS

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…

Healthcare History

Review: The Emperor of All Maladies

By Scott J. Pearson | July 7, 2019July 7, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

This highly acclaimed work (winning a Pulitzer Prize) deserves every one of its adulations. It is not only personal, erudite, and interesting; it is also inspiring and well-written. Mukherjee attempts to present “a biography of cancer,” starting from its first mention in the historical record (a Queen of Persia). A practicing oncologist, he also ties in patient stories to advance the narrative in appropriate places. Generally, he tells the tale of how humanity and science…