Reshika Sai Devarajan

Health Science // Class of 2025

Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Hospitals: Why is it necessary?

Health, World / /

By the year 2050, researchers estimate that minorities will make up 50% of the United States’ total population. Demographically, the healthcare system should reflect such a distribution, yet it has dramatically fallen short. For example, although African Americans make up about 15% of the US population, they only represent 7% of all medical doctors. The […]

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Cell-ebrity avoidance: How tumors avoid immune cells

Biology, Health / /

Our immune system consists of hundreds of specialized cells dedicated solely to maintaining our well-being. This branch of our body is dedicated to fighting pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and even our own mutated cells. Fundamentally, the cells of the immune system can be categorized into two main varieties: the innate immune system and

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CRISPR’s sickle cell revolution: A key to life

Biology, Health / /

Red blood cells (RBCs) are the single-most important factor in gas exchange with the environment and the key to sustaining life. With approximately 70-80 trillion red blood cells present in human bodies at any given time, these cells constitute 70% of all the cells in the body. RBCs are flat and disk-like, featuring indentations on

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Mind over medicine: The placebo effect

Health, Psychology / /

The placebo effect is a phenomenon observed in many experiments, most often medical. This peculiar occurrence is when patients are given a control treatment, such as a sugar pill rather than the true medication being tested, yet have considerable positive gains in their condition. In other words, patients’ conditions are improving despite not receiving any

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Redlining’s reach: Disparities in bird data

Culture, Environment, World / /

Redlining, a historical practice of discrimination, has had lasting effects on racial inequities that remain persistent today. However, recent analysis of ecological diversity has revealed that the effects of redlining reach far beyond impacting humans. Specifically, bird diversity and population experienced a marked decline in areas subject to redlining. This means that though one street

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When dreams become nightmares: How acting out dreams can predict brain disease

Health / /

Punching, kicking, throwing — not just daytime activities anymore. For some sleepers, these actions accompany their dream states. When a sleeper reflects what they are doing in their dream in real-time, despite being asleep, it’s referred to as “acting out dreams” or REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). So instead of punching an attacker, they might

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