Eight Years
Date: (winter 2005-now)
Lester Leung struck me as very odd the first time I met him. The odd dash of color in his hair. The strange look in his eyes whenever he talked about “pirates”. And the paranoid side of me was always a bit uneasy around someone who seemed to be nice all the time and yet was pre-med — I thought he was going to stab me in the back sometime…
Of course, he was good friends with Eric (who had gone to high school with him) and he and I happened to run into each other pretty often as a result of sharing meals or because he and I were interested in similar biomedical things. That, and he plays Starcraft.
It was through these interactions that I discovered that Lester was not only a Kung-Fu pirate-crazy colorful hair premed, but that he had started an online publication — the Next Generation MD — a site made with the editors of the famed New England Journal of Medicine directed at providing information for pre-medical students around the country.
And, although I was skeptical, Lester reached out and recruited me. At the time, I was committed to dropping my work at the Harvard International Review and was unsure if I wanted to join up with yet another publication. But, Lester got me very excited very quickly. My first assignment — interview Professor Doug Melton, former Bush administration advisor and renowned scientist, regarding his views on stem cells. To say I was nervous is a bit understated. But, I pushed hard, and although Melton’s schedule proved dodgy, I finally was able to interview the man and we talked — or more correctly, I stammered while Melton delivered in his very cool deadpan a brief primer on stem cell science and the state of policy regarding embryonic stem cell research.
I followed this up with a much more difficult interview with Frederick Hayden, a big honcho in the world of avian influenza epidemic control, and Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Prevention, on the threat of bird flu. It was difficult for a number of reasons. First, the structure of the interview was a great deal more challenging as not only did I had to perform a great deal more research on both the policy and the scientific aspects of avian influenza, I also had to specifically research what both Hayden and Osterholm had done to best utilize them in my interviews. Secondly, scheduling, if I recall correctly, was very difficult, with me juggling two very busy and very different people. Finally, the interview was conceptually difficult because both Hayden and Osterholm had very different ideas and different interviewing styles for me to negotiate. While I think the article is one of the most substantive pieces that I’ve ever written for a general audience, I was somewhat daunted after the fact at the prospect of setting another interview.
Which brings us to this year. I’ll admit, I slacked a bit in first semester. I had crafted a very grandiose idea about interviewing politicians and public health professors about medical malpractice reform, but I found that my doubts from the Hayden/Osterholm interview and the sheer scope of the issue scared me away from actually writing one. However, when Eric, I believe, came up with the idea that I interview the Medical Consultant for Scrubs, one Dr. Jon Doris (namesake for Zach Braff’s character “JD”), I immediately jumped at the opportunity. The interview was a lot of fun to “do research for” (read: watch Scrubs until I feel sick) and even more fun to do as Doris was one of the most congenial people I’ve ever had the privilege of talking to.
Through NextGen, I’ve also been treated out, on the NEJM’s dollar, to Henrietta’s Table, I’ve also gotten to talk with some of the top editorial staff for the NEJM, meet some very interesting people, both undergrads and intervewees, but most importantly, I’ve contributed to what I think is a very worthwhile endeavor.
