Mary Neil's Pharmacology Blog

  Total 2nd semester service hours as of 2/28: 14 Wait...tomorrow is March? Wasn’t last month March?! Following up the end of the last post - the second dose of the COVID vaccine hit me hard. Luckily after a few doses of ibuprofen, a smoothie, and some much needed rest, I was good as new in time to take our neurology module exam. I still feel extra grateful as I watch the vaccine rollout continue and more friends and family get vaccinated. This month’s modules were super interesting. A lot of the material in the neurology module brought me back to one of my favorite classes from undergrad (Neuroscience of Brain Disorders). It was really cool to circle back to the neurobiology of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s again and learn how the pathophysiological mechanisms inform drug targets. Our final module, psychopharmacology, hits close to home. While learning about drug treatment algorithms for depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, I couldn’t help but think of how many people in my life h

  Total 2nd semester service hours as of 1/31: 14 January felt like the shortest and longest month in all of the best ways. December was also pretty long - after the end of last semester I was basically counting down the days till we started classes again! I was grateful to be able to spend time with my family over the holidays, especially since I hadn’t seen my younger brother in almost a year because of COVID. Over winter break I was able to volunteer at Glass Half Full NOLA. I was equally shocked and thankful at the steady stream of people that showed up to drop off their glass for recycling. This organization is so important to one of my friends, and getting to participate in something that makes her light up was awesome. I also have continued to volunteer at the ReFresh Farmer’s Market every other Monday selling candles for Hagar’s House. The community of vendors and patrons there is amazing, and I always like being able to tell people about the mission of Hagar’s House. Last time