Jensen @ Wisconsin

Bringing Facts to the Komen Dispute

2012-02-03T12:31:00.002-06:00

The Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation ignited a controversy when it announced that it was canceling the grants it had awarded to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screening and canceling the grants it had given to institutions that pursue embryonic stem cell research.

It was announced today that after widespread outrage from this decision, the Komen foundation was reversing its decision and renewing its grants to Planned Parenthood. I am not sure if they will be honoring their awarded grants to institutions that conduct stem cell research, nor am I sure if they will renew the grants next year.

I thought I would shed some light on just how important Planned Parenthood is. They conduct 700,000 breast exams a year. In order to save one life (and that is a full life of 67 years or whatever), you must screen 781 women (see J Medical Screening, 2001 8(3):114-5). If you do the math, that means that Planned Parenthood saves almost 1,000 lives each year by doing breast cancer screening.

The facts speak for themselves.

The World Is Getting Warmer

2012-02-02T11:30:00.004-06:00

I have lived in Wisconsin through three winters and this winter is different. It has only snowed a few times this winter, and it has been incredibly warm. It was in the high forties yesterday afternoon; normally February in Wisconsin is sub-zero and there is snow shoveled on the sidewalks up to your waist or shoulders. Here is a picture I took from the building I work at. No snow. Nobody I have asked that has lived in Wisconsin their entire life has seen anything like this.

Also take notice that the lake is not frozen over. No hockey or ice skating this season :(

An Epic Night

2012-01-29T20:15:00.005-06:00

My roommate's girlfriend came into town from Alabama and so we all celebrated by going out to the Capitol Chophouse. It's probably my favorite restaurant in Madison. The bill came to $550 and we got our own private room; no big deal.

SENATOR JOHNSON RESPONDS

2012-01-25T23:08:00.003-06:00

Dear Jeff,

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act.

These bills attempt to prevent foreign-based websites from pirating American intellectual property by allowing federal courts to issue orders against websites that are "dedicated to infringing activity." The court order can then be served on search engines, payment providers, and other third parties, thereby enlisting them to prevent transactions with the infringing website.

I understand the positions of those on both sides of this issue. The internet has been an amazing vehicle for business creation and the dissemination of information because it has provided a free-market environment with minimal regulatory burdens. On the other hand, authors, artists, and inventors should have the ownership of their creations protected, especially in the international forum of the internet. In sum, we must jealously guard the freedom of the Internet while protecting copyright holders, keeping the internet both free and prosperous.

In view of these important competing interests, I totally support the Senate's decision to take a step back from these two pieces of legislation and seek a proper balance. I do not believe that balance was struck by either piece of legislation as they are currently written. The best way to balance those interests may be to more actively enforce existing laws. Through targeted enforcement, we can shut down the worst actors using the authority of existing laws.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts. It is important for me to hear the views and concerns of the people I serve. Since taking office, I have received over 300,000 pieces of correspondence and have had over 150,000 people participate in live forums and telephone town hall meetings.

Please feel free to contact me in the future if I can further assist you or your family. It is an honor representing you and the good people of Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate.

Sincerely,

Ron Johnson
United States Senator

---------------------------------------------------------------

I haven't had a chance to respond to the senator, but I don't think its worth splitting hairs on our differences. I think there should be a constitutional amendment that restricts the government from regulating the internet in the same way that the constitution restricts the government from restricting the freedom of the press. During my personal reflections on these bills, Yash Somnay and I had an *intensely* fascinating discussion about whether intellectual "property" constitutes real property and what the role of the government should be in protecting it.

I also just watched the state of the union address and WOW. The Navy Seal story at the end really sealed it. Mitch Daniel's response was basically more baseless fear-mongering that reminded me of the Republican push for war in Iraq on the basis of weapons of mass destruction.

Dear Senator Johnson (Take 3)

2012-01-18T21:42:00.003-06:00

I have realized that one of the problems with my twitter account is that I tweet about politics, sports, and science. I think it is rare that somebody wants to follow me on all three of these issues. Successful twitter accounts, as in followed twitter accounts, have an emphasis. In all honesty I don't really care because this blog and my twitter account are more about recording my personal thoughts and history on a public and permanent forum. I'm going to segment this post into three subjects and see how it goes.

Science: I have my hands in several projects. The dominant project I worked on during my first semester of graduate school was a mouse model for mantle cell lymphoma. That project has kind of fallen through; now I am working on using an existing mouse model for a hematological cancer called multiple myeloma and am trying to use it to figure out which genes are important in allowing the disease to progress. I am collaborating with a professor in Vienna. Trip to Europe in my future? Hope so!

Since blogging about cloning my first gene, I have cloned several more. Now I am making retroviruses to carry those genes into the targeted cells.

Sports: I am afraid that I am stuck rooting not for the 49ers but for Jim Harbaugh in the NFL playoffs. I have been thoroughly crushed by this football season seeing the badgers lose the Rose Bowl, Stanford lose the Fiesta Bowl, and the Greenbay Packers lose to the Giants in the first game of the playoffs.

Politics: Still no responses from Senator Johnson from any of my writings but I'll keep trying! Google and Wikipedia are doing an excellent job in raising public awareness about just how damaging congress can be if it passes the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act. These pieces of legislation are just more giveaways to corporate interests.

Senator Johnson,
Your tenure in the senate has been a disaster, and it is no wonder that congress now has an approval rating of 8%. The Republican Party has been, in one word, disgraceful.

Thus far, you have exclusively represented the interests of corporations and the wealthiest americans. If you want to turn your ship around, you can start by representing every American and voting against SOPA and PIPA. If you truly value freedom and limited government then you cannot support these bills.

Back In Madison

2012-01-08T13:42:00.004-06:00

I haven't been blogging as much as I should. I touched down in Madison on Wednesday. My Christmas break was filled with rock climbing, Mexican Food at Luche Libre (a gourmet taco shop featured on Man vs Food), Christmas, Biking, and Starcraft II with Brad and Reilly.
I saw the movie The Descendants last night. IT WAS EXCELLENT.
I was surprised to hear that Mitt Romney endorsed a constitutional personhood amendment this morning. Really, Mitt? Do you really want a personhood amendment or are you just trying to chip away at Rick Santorum's social conservative block? Even the far right, immensely pro-life voting block in Mississippi rejected a state personhood amendment. Of course, if Mitt thinks that corporations are people then I am not surprised to hear him say that a fertilized egg is a person.

Snowing in Madison -> Fleeing to Southern California

2011-12-17T12:21:00.002-06:00

It snowed for the first time this season last night; now the buildings around my apartment complex are topped with white. I'm flying out of Madison airport on Monday night with my girlfriend to celebrate Christmas with my family; I can't wait!

This weekend I am finishing up my work in lab trying to clone a few more genes before I leave. I had two big events this last week in lab. The first was that a few flow cytometry experiments I did with my thesis adviser basically prove that the mouse model I have been working on is not going to turn out the way we expected. Kind of a bummer, but that's how science (usually) goes.

Secondly, I finally cloned my first gene. It's a complicated clone that has a control hairpin in a retroviral vector. Finding out that I had cloned it was pretty exciting.

The goal of cloning is to get bacteria producing your gene encapsulated in a plasmid (a circular piece of DNA). To check to see if you have cloned your gene, you usually use restriction enzymes (enzymes that cut DNA at specific sequences) and run the results on an agarose gel. You can then tell depending on the pattern on the gel if you have cloned your gene. When I did this I was expecting to see a 100 base pair fragment on the gel if I had cloned the hairpin. However, there was no band. I sequenced the DNA in the plasmid anyways and, to my surprise, the gene was there. It turns out that smaller fragments show up faintly because of the way ethidium bromide interacts with DNA and that this was causing a false negative on the gel. When I read the sequence and saw the hairpin was there I just about jumped out of my chair.

Me and Ryan Evans of UW Basketball

2011-12-11T13:32:00.001-06:00

Really cool guy. They shut down UNLV yesterday.

After medical school

2011-12-02T01:07:00.000-06:00

Everything else seems so easy.

Almost Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T12:12:00.002-06:00

It's that time of the year again and I will be eating turkey away from my family in California for the third year in a row. Kind of a bummer, especially considering my aunt's family is going to San Diego. I would make the trip if I could afford it, but alas...

In the lab I am cloning my first gene. I have tried several times already but haven't quite gotten it to work. The goal of cloning is to use bacterial cells as a factory to churn out a bunch of your designed DNA. I am also using genetically engineered retroviruses to infect mouse primary cells, and am then transplanting these cells into healthy mice to see if they develop tumors. I am also trying to use qRT-PCR to look at pri-miRNA expression in some cell lines. So, lots to do.

The weather in Wisconsin is definitely driving towards winter, just like the Green Bay Packers are driving to be 2x super bowl champions. I have acquired the seasonal cold and am becoming nocturnal as I hibernate through the day.

Something is Wrong with that Boy

2011-11-07T23:01:00.002-06:00

My brother Reilly had to come up with an advertisement as an assignment for high school and this is what he came up with.

I Have Rediscovered Myself

2011-10-31T00:55:00.003-05:00

First of all, me and some friends went to Freakfest on State St to celebrate Halloween. I was Joe Dirt. And yes, that is a REAL packers trucker hat and a REAL beard. We saw All Time Low; the show wasn't bad but it definitely wasn't great. Nobody at Freakfest has been able to top Third Eye Blind.

Since shaving said beard I have rediscovered myself in the process. Yes, I have a mustache. It's actually a decent mustache but the hair comes in blonde there so you can't see it. Yeah... that's why.

Riding to New Glarus

2011-10-24T12:25:00.003-05:00

A few days ago I did the Swiss Scenic ride to New Glarus from Madison. The highlight of the ride is the New Glarus Bakery which features all kinds of amazing pastries. It is getting cold here in Wisconsin; I took off at 6AM and it was 37 F all the way to New Glarus.

I am starting a new project in lab now that involves short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs). These hairpins use complimentary base pairs and an endogenous pathway to match the hairpin to its target to knockdown a gene of interest. It is a natural pathway that evolved over millions of years that now gets taken advantage of by scientists just like how Michigan State took advantage of Wisconsin's defensive line on Saturday.

My sister Emma is applying to Stanford early action. Her app is due on November 1st. Wouldn't it be crazy if she got in? Fingers crossed!

Dear Senator Ron Johnson

2011-10-12T18:25:00.001-05:00

Dear Senator Johnson,

I was distressed to see you join the Republicans' filibuster movement to prevent a vote on the American Jobs Act. I called your office before hand to urge you, as a Wisconsin resident, to vote in favor of the American Jobs Act.

Your party's refusal to use government spending to correct the lack of aggregate demand in the american economy is causing immense human suffering in our country, and I hope that you realize the unconscionable consequences of your choices sooner rather than later. Regards,

Jeff Jensen

Medical Scientist Training Program

University of Wisconsin-Madison

what's up dog

2011-10-12T02:18:00.000-05:00

An Unexpected Gift and Continuing To PhD

2011-10-11T00:47:00.007-05:00

As per the usual let me begin by ruining the ending: I have had not one but two unexpected surprises. The first is a T-shirt for the University of Wisconsin MD/PhD program that was designed by our brilliant program president. I don't have the shirt yet but you can bet my order will be the first one placed. See the bottom.

The second surprise has been an Indian Summer in Wisconsin. It got cold for a bit and I expected my days of biking into the sunrise on my Trek 6.2 to come to the screeching halt. Low and behold Global Warming has done me a big favor and brought the temperature into the 80s during the day.

I took the pictures below on my iPhone 4 on the Madison Iron Man Biking Loop. I've done it 3 times in the last week. It's about a 65 mile ride from Madison to the loop, around the loop, and home. It is packed with rolling hills through farmland and is a truly beautiful ride.

In graduate student land, I have a biostatistics midterm tomorrow. For my research I have been working on the experiments necessary to knock-in a bunch of microRNAs into cell lines. Looking for targets; we have our theories.

To Steve.

2011-10-05T22:37:00.000-05:00

'Remembering That You Are Going To Die Is The Best Way I Know To Avoid The Trap Of Thinking You Have Something To Lose'

Petosi Brewery Century Bike Ride

2011-09-27T16:37:00.002-05:00

On Saturday I did the potosi century ride on my new madone trek 6.2. People on the ride included myself, Bultman, and the gf. It was the second century ride I have done on it thus far. The route started in potosi, took us along the Wisconsin River, over to the Mississippi River, and then back to potosi.

The route was much hillier than I expected (the ride summary they gave us says 11,000 ft of elevation gain) and it was cold. We started riding at about 50 F with wind and the daily high was somewhere around 65 F but we didn't see much of that. My socks were wet from the damp air by the end of the ride. Of ~500 riders, only 37 opted to do the century ride. After all the shorter routes peeled off of ours we got pretty lonely.

Overall it was a great experience and has inspired me to try the horribly hilly bike ride next summer: 150k total distance with 10,800 feet of elevation gain.

Funding Etc

2011-09-16T15:10:00.003-05:00

I am currently funded by the University of Wisconsin's Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR). As part of the program I am earning a PhD minor in Clinical Investigation.
The ICTR is part of a push by the National Institutes of Health to translate all of the basic science done by researchers into clinical application. The research I am doing right now could potentially lead to screening tests, new drugs, and personalized therapy. The ICTR newsletter just came out and I was on the front page.

Too Busy To Blog and Yes, The Rumors are True.

2011-09-12T09:54:00.010-05:00

Between research and classes I've been pretty busy working in lab for long hours, late into the night. Probing the mechanisms of cancer using experimentation and fortitude. Incomplete sentences are a grammatical tool, not a liability.

But on weekends I've more or less enjoyed a freedom I have become ill-acquainted with: free time. My weekends have been filled with long bike rides, camping trips, MSTP retreats, etc. Hence the too busy to blog.

Now let me return to the rumors. Yes, they are true. Me and Travis Schmidt sold our tickets for a particular campus event for $450 (purchased for ~$25/each).

Allow me to now recount what you have been missing in my life as I have spent my time biking into the rolling farm land of Wisconsin. Me and my girlfriend of one year took off into the woods. We drove into Northern Minnesota to visit Gooseberry Falls. We saw Lake Superior. A lake so big that it resembles an ocean with a surface area comparable to the entire state of Wisconsin.

Yesterday was the MSTP retreat. We took off to Lake Geneva to have one long bonfire that extended late, late into the night. Plenty of shenanigans. I swam in Lake Geneva and the word to describe it is... pristine. At the retreat we celebrated our program director, Deane Mosher who is retiring. Deane was an incredible director and our program is stronger than ever. Our institution grant was awarded 2 additional slots at a time when the stimulus money is fading and other programs are being scaled back. On, Wisconsin!

I have been biking incessantly. Me and the gf rode the Spring Valley century ride. A whole click of MD/PhD students took off yesterday to ride around Devil's Lake for some pretty intense hill climbing. About 2500 feet of elevation gain in 40 miles. Pretty brutal. In two weekends I am doing the Potosi Brewery century ride with the same crew of MD/PhDs. A t-shirt, mug, lunch, century ride and beverages for $55? Deal.

Last night I went to see the iron man finish. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen and my new sight is placed squarely on finishing the Madison Iron Man. I will be an iron man. I will be an iron man. I am going to start training for half iron mans this winter, and I will set my sites on the 2013 iron man.

Blink 182 in Milwaukee

2011-08-24T11:30:00.002-05:00

I saw Blink 182 and My Chemical Romance with Travis, Jim, Dan, and some associated girl friends last night in Milwaukee. Wow, what a crazy show. Definitely recommended.

Madison Open Water Swim + Dear Mr Huntsman

2011-08-20T13:07:00.003-05:00

I just finished swimming the 2.4 mile Madison Open Water Swim. I finished in 1:32:56, first in my age division (luckily there were no competitors), and 25th/30 for people doing it without a wet suit. I lost by 2 seconds to the guy that came in 24th because I was unclear about where the finish line was. Bah.

I would have done a lot better except for my sighting is awful so I swam the laps in zig-zags. I also cramped up about 0.3 miles from the finish. Bilateral calf cramps; I thought I was finished. Luckily I just back floated and stretched out a lot until I was good to go.

The morning started off with rain and thunderstorms but luckily the sun eventually came out. The event was delayed for this reason.

Overall, what an awesome event. Truly memorable and I will definitely do it again next year.

and secondly another e-mail I have composed to a conservative politician regarding his twitter post:

Dear Mr Huntsman,

Thank you for trying to speak reason to American conservatives on the issues of climate change and evolution. These prolonged, fruitless, and faith/ignorance-oriented debates have become shamefully childish. Good luck on the campaign trail -- as long as you maintain your position on these issues you will have truth on your side. Best regards,

Jeff Jensen

Medical Scientist Training Program

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Forgot to add

2011-08-18T18:37:00.002-05:00

I am swimming the Madison Open Water Swim on Saturday morning. 2.4 miles in Lake Menona, no wet suit.

Jon Huntsman on Climate Change and Evolution

2011-08-18T18:30:00.004-05:00

Wow. Earlier this month I found myself in complete agreement with Senator John McCain, and now Jon Huntsman has me too:

@JonHuntsman: To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.

My New Madone

2011-08-18T08:02:00.002-05:00

Is so incredibly awesome. I rode the Madison iron man loop Tuesday morning and it was so sweet. I was bolting up hills at about 12-13mph when on my old aluminum hog I would have been struggling to maintain 8mph. Definitely a world of difference. Very very stiff and very light for a 64 cm frame.

My conclusion is that everybody I have ridden with or raced against that had a bike of this caliber has been cheating.

Regarding the sad, sad state of politics in America today, see Rick Perry call Ben Bernanke's actions at the federal reserve "treason" and then personally threaten him to a round of applause from lunatic americans. The sad irony in this situation is that what the American economy needs is more inflation and more printed money to bail out the over-mortgaged middle class but people like Perry who have prescriptions for the US economy that are emotional rather than logical are gaining political power.

Lab Lab Lab... Lab.

2011-08-05T13:58:00.002-05:00

I'm now a full-swing graduate student studying... cancer. The hematological kind. Right now I'm working on developing/characterizing a mouse model for a certain type of cancer. If it works out, it would be a big win. I had my first promising result yesterday and I'm spending the rest of the week verifying my results.

So far in lab I have been doing a lot of nucleotide work. PCR, trizol RNA extractions, DNA isolation, agarose gels. I have also been doing some surgeries on mice -- mainly doing splenectomies and lymph node/bone marrow dissection.

I have been watching the markets carefully in my free time. I think now is a very interesting time to be an investor. I was screaming buy-buy-buy yesterday, and with the mediocre jobs report I think I am still recommending a buy although my optimism is for the long-term. As I heard it said yesterday, the United States is the cleanest shirt in a bag of dirty laundry.

The Only Sane Man In The Room

2011-07-31T14:44:00.002-05:00

Is Paul Krugman. Watch him absolutely take-down Grover Norquist in this ABC interview.

My Letter to Senator McCain

2011-07-27T22:03:00.002-05:00

Before reading this, watch this. THANK YOU SENATOR MCCAIN.

Dear Senator McCain,

Thank you for your remarks on the senate floor today regarding the Tea Party. The Tea Party is going to ruin your political party, our national credit rating, and the broader procession of commerce and trade in our nation. Again, thank you for trying to restore some sanity to American conservatives. All the best,

Jeff Jensen

Medical Scientist Training Program

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Fallacies in Boehner's Address Last Night

2011-07-26T11:38:00.002-05:00

There is one fallacy and one half truth worth recognizing in Boehner's address last night.

The first fallacy is that we have to cut government spending to save jobs. This is utter nonsense. You could make the argument that government spending costs jobs in the long, long term when paying off the debt happens, but people are out of work *now*.

The half truth is that raising taxes on individuals making >$300,000/year would cost jobs. He likes to claim these are all small business owners. This is a half truth because technically he is right, there is a loss of jobs by raising these taxes. However, the cost of government borrowing is so extreme to create such a minuscule number of jobs that it isn't a smart use of resources.

This will probably be the last thing I post about the debt ceiling, but if you are interested in learning more you should read Arianna Huffington's excellent take-down of the whole debt ceiling debacle.

My Letter to Ron Johnson

2011-07-25T22:01:00.001-05:00

Dear Senator Johnson,

I did not vote for you but you still represent me as Wisconsin's senator. I am writing to you to express my frustration with the Republican-controlled house of representatives for refusing to agree to revenue increases.

Nobody wants anybody's taxes to go up. But in the country's current fiscal circumstance, taxing the rich is the best of a set of bad options.

Will you join the President of the United States in pushing for a comprehensive grand bargain to cut the deficit by $4 trillion using both spending cuts and revenue increases? This seems to be the only way to avoid losing our AAA credit rating.

I may not have voted for you last time, but if you make the right play here maybe I can move towards the right. I hope you will work with the Democrats to pass a balanced set of compromises that will serve this country well.

Best,

Jeff Jensen

Medical Scientist Training Program

University of Wisconsin-Madison

More Despair on Debt Ceiling

2011-07-25T17:22:00.002-05:00

The mainstream economists I've been reading suggest that the best thing for the United States to do is to cut the deficit by about $4 trillion with spending cuts and revenues in the years ahead as unemployment hopefully trends downward.

Unfortunately, this plan is almost guaranteed not to happen due to the lack of compromise out of the Republican-controlled house. Now instead the options being debated are half-measures that will serve politicians trying to get re-elected but will certainly not be the best thing for the country. How are we going to last with leadership that fails this badly, and so obviously?

Commentary on the Debt Ceiling and Evolution in Schools

2011-07-21T12:47:00.003-05:00

My letter to Ms Cargill, Governor of Texas Rick Perry's appointee to be chairwoman of the Texas State Board of Education:

Hello Ms. Cargill,

First of all I hope this message finds you well. I am a 3rd year MD/PhD student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; I am writing to you because of how distressed I was to read that the Texas State Board of Education might be bringing up the topic of evolution and intelligent design at the next committee meeting. I'm sure you've heard both sides of this argument plenty of times so let me share with you why this debate is so important, and personal, to me.

[...]

Luckily for me I had one positive influence that made all of the difference for me: public schools and the teachers there. I went to a great high school that should be a model for all other schools, public and private, across the country.

My high school biology teacher taught us a lot about evolution and why it is entirely probable, in fact almost certain, that we evolved from apes in a process taking many millions of years. We were encouraged to question the theory but the focus of the material was definitely evolution. We learned that the evidence for this theory in the fossil record is overwhelming, and that there are many instances of evolution in the modern day: such as why penicillin no longer works on most bacterial infections, whereas it use to work for many more bacterial infections when it was first synthesized.

In the end, I aced my science classes, rocked the SAT, and went on to study at Stanford University where I graduated with honors in Chemistry. Now I am training to be both a medical doctor and a scientist at one of the best medical schools in the country.

I think that many of the people fighting the teaching of evolution think they are fighting for the best interests of the students, but they just aren't. I hope that you will do what is right for the kids in Texas, and right for America, and make sure they continue learning true science, and keep learning evolution. All the best,

--
Jeff Jensen

Medical Scientist Training Program

University of Wisconsin-Madison

And for fun, I have also composed a letter to John Boehner urging him to compromise with the President on the issue of the debt ceiling.

Dear Mr. Boehner,

First of all I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to you to urge you to compromise with President Obama and to pass a comprehensive deal that includes revenue increases and spending cuts.

Whether you know it or not, your party is in danger. You became a tarnished brand when you pushed for war in Iraq and then continued to insist we stay with unlimited commitments. Now, the policies you are pushing onto the American people by holding the credit rating hostage will do immense short term damage to the economy. My hope is that if you go through with this plan, your party will appropriately be blamed.

This country benefits from having a rational conservative wing that contains the growth of government. What it doesn't benefit from is a radical anarchist wing that tries to dissolve any and all government with no regard for the consequences.

Will you please raise the debt ceiling and join the President in passing a comprehensive package of spending cuts and revenue increases that will come into effect in the years ahead?

Sincerely,

An independent voter.

Commentary on this Morning's Tour Stage

2011-07-19T12:09:00.002-05:00

Wow -- this morning was another gripping tour de france stage with the 6 elite riders fighting for the win in the mountains: Cadel Evans, Thomas Volkier, Andy Schleck, Frank Schleck, Alberto Cantador, and Sammy Sanchez.

I was thoroughly disappointed in Andy Schleck -- he fell off of Cantador's attacks way too early. He's better than that. Cadel Evans, of course, surprised everyone and beat Cantador and Sanchez to the finish. With Andy and Frank still high in the rankings, I am hoping that they can pull something off tomorrow but after their weak performance I am not very optimistic. I would be happy with a Cadel Evans tour victory, but disappointed by a Sanchez/Cantador/Volkier win.

This tour has given me two more favorite cyclists that I havn't mentioned yet: Thor Hushovd the Norwegian man of strength and Phillipe Gilbert the Belgian national champion. Thor Hushovd's stage wins in the mountains are nothing short of inspiring, given that he has always been written off as a strict sprinter/time trialist. Could he one day contend for winning the yellow jersey?

My other favorite, Phillip Gilbert, would be walking everybody else's dogs if cycling wasn't a team sport. That man has power in his legs and I am very optimistic about his future prospects. Every time he gets the jump on Cavendish, I cheer.

USMLE Recommendations and San Gregorio

2011-07-17T20:25:00.002-05:00

Over my break in early July I hiked San Gregorio, the highest mountain in Southern California, with my dad and my brother Brad. Turns out it was a death march; 7.5 miles to summit with 5,000 feet of elevation gain. Heat, elevation, no shade. Pretty exhausting. We came down in the dark without flashlights.

I've also been asked by a few first years: How do I get a high USMLE step 1 score? So I thought I would write up my recommendations having gone through the process.

1) How long should I study? I studied for 3.5 weeks and it was enough. I could have done a lot more for a really high score, but in retrospect, I also could have also done a lot less and still passed. In the words of someone involved in the MSTP program, you'll never get the weeks you waste studying for USMLE back. If you are really, really set on bolstering your residency application with a high step score then taking the full 6 weeks medical schools usually alot to USMLE Step 1 would probably be useful but not that useful.

2) What books should I use? I used three in this order: 1) Board Review Series Physiology, 2) Goljan Rapid Review Pathology/audio lecture series, and 3) First AID. My goal was to read 100 pages/day; I finished physiology in about 4 days, but then took almost 2 weeks to finish Goljan. This was probably my biggest mistake -- Goljan equipped me to slam the pathology part of the exam (which was one of the high points on my score report) but I think I spent too much time with this resource and not enough on first aid. First aid is the most important resource; a treasure trove of high yield, often tested, random factoids.

Let me clarify exactly what first aid is and isn't. Medical school teaches the concepts and the glue that holds random factoids together; first aid is a listing of the results or facts. Without the glue, you will probably do poorly even with first aid. USMLE step 1, is above all, a logical exam and if you pick up the basics in medical school you'll pass. To really get the high score, you'll need to know the framingham criteria for CHF, the most sensitive/specific tests for lupas, etc.

3) Question-bank. I used the USMLEWorld Qbank and some Kaplan questions. The opinion among medical students is that USMLEWorld is far more representative of the exam than Kaplan -- I completely agree with this assessment. The USMLEWorld practice exams also accurately predicted my score. I took two exams and scored midway between the two on the actual exam.

4) TIMING. I found the timing on my USMLE exam to be a little more aggressive than the USMLEWorld question bank and far more aggressive than my medical school exams. On test day, plan on this in advance and move fast. I am a slower test taker, and I was barely finishing each section on time.

USMLE Step 1 Results

2011-07-13T15:33:00.001-05:00

Just got my USMLE Step 1 score! I did well!

Break and a New Bike

2011-07-10T14:38:00.004-05:00

I am at the tail end of my vacation and will be starting my PhD on Wednesday. Over my break I bought a $4,000 Madone 6.2 road bike. It will be ridiculously awesome; carbon frame/fork/seat post, really durable wheels, and ultegra components. Best of all -- it's made in the USA. The family is generally on a spending spree; my sister just bought a brand new macbook pro for college. Check out the picture of my bike model. Further, I have been watching the tour de france every morning. Allow me to publicly iterate my distaste for Alberto Cantador and my aspirations for Andy Schleck, Cadel Evans, or anybody besides Alberto Cantador to win the tour.

Grandpa's Funeral and a Present From Emma

2011-07-04T01:47:00.009-05:00

We'll always miss you grandpa

Obama = The Man

2011-06-29T13:11:00.003-05:00

Watching Obama's press conference today; just have to comment that Obama represents my views *exactly*. This is what responsible leadership looks like. The only way to close the deficit is with spending cuts AND revenue increases. Sorry, private jet owners.

Things I want to buy

2011-06-26T14:55:00.001-05:00

A Madone 6.5 road bike. $4,500.

A Chevy Volt. ~$33,500.

done with step 1; on the wards

2011-06-21T16:53:00.005-05:00

I am 24 years old now. How did that happen?

Step 1 was a pretty gnarly experience; I spent 3 weeks studying (and that was all I spent 3 weeks doing) and then took an exam which I feel like will be largely left up to chance. From antihypertensive medications that I'd never heard of to confusing side-labeling of radiographic images, I could end up anywhere on the spectrum. I'm not sure if I failed or if I scored 250 but that is how most of medical school has gone so far. Hard to tell. My practice tests predict I'll hit 235 (good enough for most if not all medical specialties); if I actually get that I'll be thrilled. Infact, I'll be happy if I hit 220.

Now I'm doing a medicine rotation and, frankly, I really like it. Seeing patients and practicing medicine (and learning about it in the process) is a lot more fun and rewarding than cramming lists into my short-term memory bank.

Onto my political soap box. Regarding the supreme court, totally and absolutely disgusted. The conservative majority has been a disaster for american democracy from Citizens United to forcing an old lady to sell her home to Donald Trump to the latest ruling against women suing Wal Mart for gender discrimination. As I understand it, the crony Justice Roberts court, which I had nothing but the highest hopes and aspirations for, have effectively killed the class-action lawsuit and have made it impossible by all practical measures to sue Wal Mart for gender discrimination. Also with regards to the class action lawsuit, and as I understand it, the court has also made it legal for AT&T to say: "You can only use our product if you agree never to sue us even if we break this contract" despite clauses like this being against state law. It doesn't take a lawyer to know that corporations aren't people (maybe you should have learned that at Yale, Roberts). The new judicial activism is certainly a pro-corporation, pro-conservative agenda that exceeds any logical rationale for law.

And off the soap box. I'm flying home to San Diego at the end of June for my Grandpa Hedman's funeral. He was a great man and will be seriously, genuinely missed.

BIN LADEN IS DEAD

2011-05-01T23:58:00.001-05:00

GO AMERICA

Dear Friends and Family

2011-03-17T16:22:00.001-05:00

With the United States Medical Licensing Exam Step 1 approaching, I need to focus exclusively on my studies. My blog will be uneventful for a while. Wish me luck!

Awesome Trip to Boston

2011-02-28T09:28:00.022-06:00

I just went with my girlfriend from medical school to Boston to visit Aaron Kofman, Brenden, Tammy, and Nathan. Here are some pictures from the trip. Here's more-or-less what we did: we went to see the Boston symphony orchestra play Mahler's 9th symphony, we went to the Boston Museum of Fine Art, we saw protesters marching through the commons protesting in solidarity with the Wisconsin state teachers, we spent way way too much money on food, we went clubbing, we saw Tracy Morgan from 30 rock do stand up, we went to an exclusive Ivy+ event to hob-nob with other elitists, Fleegs and I swam in the Harvard pool, and we just had an awesome time. Photos.

More Political Disaster in Wisconsin

2011-02-17T10:04:00.003-06:00

Madison, WI is making headlines today because of Governor Scott Walker's plan to balance the state budget on the backs of teachers and graduate students (myself included). His plan calls for a ~10% pay cut for teachers which makes the additional ~$50/month I will have to pay for medical insurance seem trivial. It also takes the axe to the unions so that future cuts will be easier, and caps raises for teachers at the consumer price index (is this a joke? That isn't a raise it's a slight of hand).

This is all marketed under the illusion that state employees are overpaid and underworked. Teachers were paid little before. Now they should just quit.

Naturally, firefighters and policemen were exempted from the wage cuts because they supported Walker in his campaign. This exemption is absolute crap.

Scott Walker also threatened to call in the national guard to silence the protests at the state capital. Welcome to 1984?

This guy's campaign started with declining billions of dollars in federal funding for high speed rail, and I'm afraid of the damage he is going to do to this state.

Winter, Superbowl Champs, and School

2011-02-11T10:24:00.004-06:00

1) The Greenbay Packers are this year's SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS. GO PACK.
2) Winter is really here, with single digit/negative weather. See below.
3) I am in the Integrated Neurosciences class, learning about strokes, neurological deficits, and psychiatry. Pretty cool.

Lady Mountain, Hematology, AND THE PACKERS

2011-01-24T16:32:00.004-06:00

That is a picture of the Jensen's on top of Lady Mountain. Also, I just finished another hellish exam. Hematology is down. Next up, integrated neurosciences. Uh ohhhhhhh.

Finally, the GREEN BAY PACKERS HAVE DEFEATED THE CHICAGO BEARS AND ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL. My football teams have all been absolutely on fire this season.

An absolutely amazing article

2011-01-16T15:01:00.003-06:00

This is one of the most amazing articles I have ever read. It will definitely get you thinking. To quote the author, "Sometimes nature guards her secrets with the unbreakable grip of physical law. Sometimes the true nature of reality beckons from just beyond the horizon."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/opinion/16greene.html?pagewanted=2&hp

Hematology/Gabrielle Giffords

2011-01-12T12:08:00.004-06:00

I'm back in Madison starting my 4th semester of medical school. My current classes are hematology (blood), foundations of medicine 3 (virology), and PDS 4. Tomorrow I am getting my teeth cleaned, and on Friday I am going into the general internal medicine clinic for the afternoon with Dr. Sosman. Dr. Sosman has been my absolutely excellent Generalist Practitioner Partner and I have learned a lot from him over the last two years. Only three more sessions, I am afraid.

I drew blood for the first time today. The victim was Running Blonde's Kelly Egan. We also did the lab work on our blood to find our blood types. Here is the moment of truth: O+. I was hoping to be Rh(D) negative so that my offspring would not risk newborn hemolytic anemia and so that I would be the universal blood donor, but alas...

Also, Sarah Palin's response to the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords has thoroughly infuriated me. Blood libel? She has defended her political propaganda (which I think is actually innocent enough) with arguments for free speech. Sarah, nobody is questioning your right to say stupid things. People are criticizing you because you say stupid things.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-21T22:54:00.003-06:00

Three Jeffs, an Amber, and Somebody Else for Thanksgiving

2010-12-20T14:28:00.009-06:00

Flying Home To San Diego

2010-12-17T22:12:00.003-06:00

As I write this I am 35,000 feet in the air and somewhere over Nebraska. Both of these facts are anything but facts, and are merely rough approximations of the truth.

Allow me to report on the last block of my 3rd semester of medical school. We covered clinical microbiology (what bugs cause what diseases, and what antibiotics can kill which bugs), we covered nephrology (study of the kidneys), and we covered advanced techniques for physical exam (like clinically evaluating the jugular venous pressure or the hepatojugular reflex). What a wild ride. Let me share a few key points.

1) Sleep deprivation. The material in medical school is *extremely* straightforward -- the only problem is, well, there is a ton of it. There is more information provided to you than anyone could ever possibly recall. Throughout the learning block I keep up, but before each exam I have to review all of the information so that I can jog my memory. This means cram sessions. For better or for worse, I pulled an all-nighter the night before my clinical microbiology exam. Perhaps not surprisingly, this was definitely my worst test. The next night I slept for about 3 hours before my next examination on the physical exam stuff. After that test I was getting pretty exhausted, but I had to take one more exam the next day on nephrology. My tesst was at 9 AM and I went to sleep at about 2 AM planning to wake up at 4 AM. I woke up around 7 AM totally confused because my phone (which I use as my alarm) was missing and I didn't remember waking up to turn it off. I threw on some clothes and lightly jogged from my apartment to the medical school. Sleep deprivation.

2) I guess that's the only highlight that I want to share for now. The nature of the material demands significant allocations of time, no matter how bright you are.

Three exams away

2010-12-13T22:00:00.003-06:00

From the 3/8ths of a medical doctor benchmark. I will update my blog once I get home with details about Thanksgiving with the Jeff's (and Amber as a side dish).

When Research Hits Home

2010-11-30T19:52:00.001-06:00

http://blog.autismspeaks.org/2010/11/30/science-more-mito-dysfunction-than-expected/

Finally

2010-11-21T15:09:00.002-06:00

A republican that gets what is at stake with climate change.

Football, OSCEs, and Microbiology

2010-11-19T16:01:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow is a huge day for football. Both of my teams, Wisconsin and Stanford, have only lost one game and both have a shot at the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin is projected to walk all over Michigan and Stanford is projected to walk all over Cal. I'm going to watch the Wisconsin game at home in the apartment and then head down town to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Stanford Cal game with a bunch of Stanford alums.

My OSCE went well. I forgot one or two questions but I definitely passed. Right now I am learning about gram negative infections. Last learning block we covered gram positive infections, like Staph aureus abscesses and Strep pyogenes pharynx infections ("Strep throat").

It is starting to get cold here in Madison and it looks like it is going to snow here for Thanksgiving. Should make for a great day when Jeff King, Jeff Galper, and Amber Moore show up.

About to finish up this round of exams

2010-11-17T12:29:00.003-06:00

In 45 minutes I will do whats called an OSCI. I forget what it stands for but its a video taped test of me interviewing and examining a standardized patient (an actor). This time around I am doing cardiac and pulmonary exams.

My FM 2 (clinical microbiology, basically) and Pulmonary exams went very well although I don't have the grades yet.

Its just 28 days until I head home for Christmas and I can't wait. My Christmas break will definitely include: step 1, biking, Starcraft 2 with Reilly and Brad, and hopefully a few trips to the beach. I need to decompress!!

Hail, Stanford! Hail!

2010-11-12T15:13:00.001-06:00

Closing in on 3/8ths

2010-11-11T14:00:00.001-06:00

With exams coming up and me being totally burned out from studying microbiology, all I can think about is being 3/8ths of a medical doctor. It's just a month away.

Upcoming Schedule

2010-11-07T22:18:00.002-06:00

On Friday I have an exam on clinical microbiology ("Foundations of Medicine 2"). On Monday I have my pulmonary exam, and on Wednesday I will be video taped doing something along the lines of a cardiac/pulmonary physical exam.

Halloween in Madison (Again!)

2010-10-31T20:19:00.008-05:00

and a picture of me with a beard

Lobbying For Change. Or Rather, Lack of Change

2010-10-20T17:30:00.001-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court and Jury and Fair People of Wisconsin,

I am addressing you today to explain why I and many other medical professionals are opposed to the proposed legislation which would grant PhD psychologists independent prescription rights: a right reserved for medical doctors in 48 states and in all other industrialized nations. Earning a doctorate in psychology simply does not provide adequate training in pharmacology, anatomy, or physical exam techniques to justify granting these prescription rights.

All medical doctors, including psychiatrists, are required to take at least two years of basic science before entering medical school. These years are followed by intense pharmacological and anatomical training throughout four years of medical school. Even this training is insufficient for independent prescription rights and must be followed by four years of residency before state certification. Psychologists do not need any of this training to obtain a doctoral degree. No organic chemistry, no pharmacology, and no anatomy are necessary. Producing a thesis on Sigmund Freud is not a valid substitute for this training.

As a second year medical student at the University of Wisconsin, I have seen how intense the decades-long psychiatric training is and it is so for good reason. Anti-psychotics and anti-depressants are powerful medications often with serious side-effects if abused or mal-prescribed. These side effects can include suicide, worsened depression, aggression, and hypertensive cardiovascular crises, just to name a few. The risks associated with entrusting control of these medications to ill-equipped psychologists are too great.

Proponents of this legislation may suggest that in the two states with similar legislation, tens of thousands of prescriptions have been written by psychologists without any adverse reactions. This simply cannot be true; medications always carry side effects. To me, claims like this confirm my belief that psychologists are inadequately trained and cannot notice or appropriately react to a patient’s side-effects.

The proposed legislation recognizes that PhD psychologists are inadequately trained to prescribe medication and mandates a 300-hour course to compensate. A 300-hour course, being equivalent to roughly just 1 month of medical training, is just not enough time to teach even the absolute essentials of pharmacology.

In closing, I would like to add that psychologists can already prescribe medications – right after they take and pass the Step 1, 2, and 3 board certification exams for medical training that are required of psychiatrists. Thank you for your time and consideration,

Pictures From a Past Life

2010-10-19T15:29:00.003-05:00

At the top is myself, Reilly, Emma, and Rachel Maneloveg. At the bottom is Reilly and Emma. I am unsure if this is Reilly before or after his kidney transplant.

New Bike

2010-10-17T14:27:00.003-05:00

For the past few days I've been shopping for road bikes with Aadhavi Sridharan -- a tiny Indian girl in my MD/PhD program. This is what we settled on for her. Madone 5.2 for $2400.

Crushed

2010-10-16T22:51:00.003-05:00

The Wisconsin Badgers just absolutely crushed nationally #1 ranked Ohio State. Badgers know how to get the job done. On, Wisconsin!

CV and FM1 Are Over!

2010-10-16T11:49:00.002-05:00

My last set of exams was finished on Tuesday and I can say it has been great to be free again. We had an "integrative case" for the rest of the week where we learned to testify on state legislation at the capitol building. Overall it was a fun experience. At least, I definitely had fun with it. My opening statement was "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court and Jury, along with the fair, just, and noble people of Wisconsin,"

Next up is the pulmonary block. I have also been briefly reviewing the Step 1 First Aid book's cardiovascular section and I feel like I have a pretty good handle on it. I am going to take either 4 or 6 weeks this Summer to study for step 1; I'm almost positive I'll be doing this in San Diego.

Something in the news that caught my eye was that Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey canceled a $5 billion train that would run from Northern New Jersey to Manhattan. Christie says that the state cannot afford the train, even though half of the funding was provided by the federal government through the American Economic Stimulus and Reinvestment Act, and even though New Jersey has some of the lowest gasoline taxes in the country. Politicians are in a race to see who can be the most short-sighted and the electorate seems ready to reward this. New Jersey is the densest state in the nation and the need for trains like this couldn't be more compelling.

Yesterday, the Swiss completed the world's longest tunnel. It is 35 miles long and will funnel trains underneath the Swiss Alps at 167 mph. Wow. This project cost more than double what the New Jersey train would have. Wake up, America?

Just Finished Reading the CV Module

2010-10-05T01:28:00.003-05:00

My cardiovascular test is approximately in a week (my calendar is down for some reason). WOW. Is it possible for any person to ever know all of the material in this module? This has really given me a new-found appreciation for cardiologists who have to know a lot about drugs, mechanics, etc., but also be technically proficient at listening for heart sounds and inserting catheters. I will also be taking a test for my "Foundations of Medicine 1" class that includes a lot of material on autoimmunity, pharmacology, and cancer.

The week leading up to exams is always awful. Like, awful. It's also starting to get a little chilly here in Wisconsin! I'm okay with it though; the seasons grow on you. Lots of comments recently from family and friends about seeing my blog come up in this context or that context; I'm not surprised. I put the hit counter on the side up a few months ago and I'm already looking at 5,000 page views, many unique visitors from all over the world.

Arguing with my extended family about politics consumed my time for a weekend. I have a new rule: no discussing politics until AFTER the midterm elections.

Just Saw Obama Speak

2010-09-28T21:18:00.006-05:00

"You know, when I lived in Chicago, every now and then my friends and I would drive up to Madison. We had some good times here! I can't give you all the details!" - President Barack Obama

YEAH, YA DID!

Seriously though, the republicans are obstructionists with no real plan to fix or improve anything. They talk about cutting the deficit (which Obama is just as concerned about) and cutting taxes all in the same breath with no proposed spending cuts. Easy choices in 2010...

Cardiovascular, Women's Hockey, AND OBAMA

2010-09-27T23:03:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow I am going to a rally on campus sponsored by the Democratic National Committee with President Obama! He is coming to Madison, WI because we are a swing state that could be important for keeping congress blue in 2010-2012. Ben Harper and The National are performing. Should be a blast!! Obama is the first sitting US President to visit Madison since 1950 or something like that. He also came here when he was campaigning but that was before I moved here.

Right now we are finishing up the Cardiovascular system. It has made me thoroughly worried about my cholesterol. I don't even know what my cholesterol is and I want to be prophylactically put on a statin (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors).

On Friday I'm going to take some MSTP recruits out around Madison. We will get dinner at the famed Ian's Pizza and then watch the women's hockey game on Friday.

Its been a long time since I blogged but I'm just busy. OH and Jeff King, Jeff Galper, and Amber Moore might be coming to Madison to visit for Thanksgiving. We will light this town on fire.

Lake Geneva MD/PhD Retreat / THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE RAP

2010-09-11T15:36:00.002-05:00

Derm Is Over... Onto CV

2010-09-08T08:16:00.003-05:00

I have all of the dermatology training I will attain for at least the next 6 years. Now we are moving onto the cardiovascular unit and I can already tell that its a huge step up. Fatter module, more material. As I write this I am in class listening to a lecture about conflicts of interest.

Labor day was relaxing. A whole lot of nothing. Everybody went out of town except for me. This coming weekend is the MSTP retreat to Lake Geneva. Awesome.

In About 24 Hours

2010-09-02T16:23:00.003-05:00

I will be done with my first round of M2 exams. I am currently trying to procrastinate studying, hence the blogging. Pharmacology is ridiculous. Ridiculously awesome. Learning about dozens of drugs, how they act, and what they do has really turned me into a believer in modern medicine. There are still a lot of unknowns but I definitely feel a lot safer now about popping an aspirin (which functions by inhibiting the cyclooxygenase pathway for prostaglandin and thromboxane synthesis). I am also beginning to appreciate the utility of a good synthetic chemist in making these small-molecule concoctions.

First Round of M2 Exams

2010-08-28T12:06:00.003-05:00

My first round of exams is coming up on friday. This is a big event because it is the first time we will be ranked in medical school. My life has pretty much been on hold preparing for these. I will take two exams: one on dermatology and one on pathology/pharmacology. I am not too worried about doing well, but I am still stressed none-the-less.

Stem Cells

2010-08-25T22:06:00.002-05:00

I was saddened to hear that a federal judge ruled against President Obama's executive order expanding stem cell research in the United States. Researchers across the nation have been put on hold. Dollars, lives, and the advancement of human knowledge are at stake.

I also consider this to be a moral issue, but not in the way that the crazy religious zealots paint it. People's lives depend on this research. Opposing stem cell research is not far-removed from withholding antibiotics, or blood transfusions, or medical care from those who need it.

My personal prediction is that once the utility of stem cell research and transplantation is proven, and after the undeniably positive impact is fully realized, the religious opposition will eventually modify its code of "ethics" to accommodate this form of human advancement as it has done numerous times before. Do researchers a favor and lets skip to the ending.

Holy Nutsack I Drank Out of the STANLEY CUP!!

2010-08-18T18:02:00.006-05:00

From left to right: Yash, me, Travis, ADAM BURISH OF THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

From left to right: Yash, Me/Nikki, Travis, Kevin (all in my M2 class)
And this is me DRINKING FROM THE STANLEY CUP courtesy of ADAM BURISH (pouring the cup)

My medical school friend Nikki Burish is the sister of Adam Burish. Adam plays for the Chicago Blackhawks and they won the NHL championships and were correspondingly awarded the Stanley Cup.

Last night Adam took it on a whirlwind public tour of Madison. Since I am two steps removed from the Stanley Cup, I got the VIP treatment courtesy of Nikki and Adam. The same went for Travis and Yash, my new roommates. We started outside of Opa and then moved to the terrace where we got a dozen free pitchers and to sit on the stage for people to admire our crew. Wow.

I also got to meet Tom Gilbert. He won a national hockey championship for the University of Wisconsin and has a contract with the Edmonton Oilers.

The Ending of Summer

2010-08-12T22:17:00.004-05:00

My second year of medical school starts on Monday with orientation. My classes for the first three weeks are Dermatology, Foundations of Medicine (pathology), and "Patient, Doctor, and Society 3." This year is going to be more stressful than last one, which was essentially stress free, because the classes will be graded. I also have to take the much-dreaded USMLE Step 1 board exam next summer. I think that I've mentioned this several times because it is occupying a huge chunk of my focus.

Briefly, before moving forward into the next school year, I would like to list a few of my highlights from the past year of school. Here they are in no particular order:

Brittany Shutes' 23rd birthday party
Going to concerts at the rave with Travis and company. Something Corporate, All Time Low, The Maine
Seeing Third Eye Blind and Cage the Elephant at Freakfest during Halloween
Dissecting a cadaver from head to toe in anatomy
Working in Fotis Asimakopoulus' lab this summer (and committing to join it for my PhD)
Yosemite with Brad, Emma, Chris, and Eli
Having Hannah visit Madison and eating at the Capitol Chophouse
Going to a few swim meets with the Masters swimming group
Watching the collegiate cycling national championships at the capitol
Concerts on the square
23rd birthday in Northern California at Marike Wolters' house
A summer fling with an older woman
Swimming at the Nat (a lot) and with Emma at the Joan Kroc Center
Finishing my first year of medical school!
Cycling in San Diego with my mom Jeanne and her boyfriend John
Driving a jet ski around Lake Powell with Reilly. Also climbing Cowles Mountain with Reilly
Going to Dan and Jim's cabin in Northern Wisconsin
Barbecuing hamburgers, sausages, and chicken in the backyard in San Diego
Getting an iPhone4
Biochemistry taught by Paul Bertics and Robert Fillingame
Partying at Stanford with Katie G and Libby Beavis. We rocked that town.
Watching the outdoor hockey game with Julianne Adams
Going to Wisconsin football games
Watching the Greenbay Packers
Surfing at Sunset Cliffs
The annual MD/PhD retreat. WOW, who could have known that dual degree candidates were so wild (this is coming up again on September 11th)

Wow, what a year it was! You only get to live life once so you have to do it right. This is the best I can do.

The Woods of Wisconsin

2010-08-09T15:29:00.006-05:00

I got back last night from visiting a quaint town in northern Wisconsin called Saint Germain. I also visited Minocqua. Me, Travis, Jim, Dan, JT, and Abdullah crashed at Jim/Dan's cottage on the lake front. We shot guns, water skied, gambled at an Indian casino (I came out $9 ahead!), played super nintendo, watched Step Brothers, ate BBQ ribs, and just generally rocked. The word of the trip was "dog."

Going Up North

2010-08-06T12:48:00.002-05:00

This weekend I'm "going up north" to Jimmy and Dan Hausserman's Cabin in St. Germain. We're going to a pork rib festival called Pig In The Pines and we're going to cruise around the lake on their boat/jet skis. Should be an awesome time.

I can't wait to see the stars. They say that sometimes you can see the tail end of the northern lights, and satellites as they cross the sky.

The Ending of Summer

2010-08-04T17:23:00.004-05:00

Last night I went to a Something Corporate concert in Milwaukee at The Rave with Rachel Vesco, Travis Schmidt, Jimmy Hausserman, Abdullah ALsaffar, and Mary! The show was awesome. Afterwards we found somebody had spray painted Travis' car with graffiti, but Trav got it off with gasoline. Amazing.

I have officially decided to join Fotis Asimakopoulos' lab after I finish my second year of medical school. I'm super jacked. My experience in Odorico's Lab went south after a clash between me and the senior staff scientist, Victoria Browning.

Lastly, I would like to comment on Proposition 8 being overturned in California with some simple words of wisdom: if you don't like gay marriage, then don't get one.

How I Fought The California Law and Won: Getting Out of a Speeding Ticket

2010-07-24T14:22:00.004-05:00

When I was driving to Yosemite with my brother Brad, my sister Emma, and some of our mutual friends I was pulled over for speeding. So here it is, the story of how I fought the California law and won.

The officer had, supposedly, tagged my vehicle with a radar gun as going 86mph on a 70mph limit highway. I said that there was no way that was accurate. The officer was the no-nonsense type and tried to get me to admit guilt by asking how fast I had been traveling to which I quickly replied "less than 80mph." In a desperate attempt to get the officer to foul up I kept her talking. I asked her how she knew I was speeding. She said she looked through the scope of her radar gun, which is just like a sniper rifle (exactly how she described it), and that after she gets the speed of a vehicle she uses the scope to get the last three digits of the offending license plate. The key was that she then said she saw my license plate, plain as day, as 113. I realized later that my license plate ended in 118. That was the first point for my case. The officer gave me a ticket with a court appointment and made me sign a release saying I was pleading not guilty. A week later I would find out that my ticket would cost me $317 if I was found guilty.

Because I would be in Wisconsin for my appointed court date, and because the court was hundreds of miles from my home in San Diego, I settled for a trial by written declaration.

The second point in my favor for my case came with my informal discovery request. If you are fighting a California speeding ticket there are two things you have to know: you are constitutionally entitled to a quick and speedy trial (less than 45 days from the citation) and California law entitles you to maintenance and accuracy measurements for the radar gun that was used to tag your vehicle. I initiated informal discovery requests to obtain information about the radar gun and they never got back to me. Thus, I was not properly able to defend myself and had to be pronounced not guilty.

To try and help anybody in the internet void that wants to fight a California speeding ticket, I have included the key piece of my trial by declaration, the statement of facts, below.

To whom it may concern,

This is my statement of facts regarding case number 17077MJ. I declare under penalty of perjury that this statement is true and correct.

1) On May 4, 2010, I was driving with four passengers in the slow lane (right hand side) on a two lane highway when I saw a California Highway Patrol car’s flashing headlights in my rearview mirror. I checked my speedometer and saw that I was traveling at less than 70 miles per hour, the legal speed limit on said highway. The four passengers were Bradley Jensen, Emma Jensen, Chris Connell and Eli Parzen. I immediately pulled over and awaited the officer.

2) The officer asked if I knew why I had been pulled over, to which I responded no. The officer then went on to inform me that she had used a “radar gun” with a “scope” to determine my speed of 86 MPH. I immediately said there was no way that was accurate, to which I still attest today. The officer asked me how fast I thought I had been traveling to which I responded “definitely less than 80 MPH.”

3) I asked the officer how her “radar gun” worked. She went on to explain that she points it at a car, obtains the speed, and then looks through the “scope” to get the last three digits of the vehicle’s license plate. She then went on to say, in more or less this exact language, that she had seen the last three digits of my license plate, plain as day, as 113. I did not realize it at the time, but the last three digits of my license plate are not 113, they are 118. This will not be a matter of my word versus the officers because I had four passengers in my vehicle, all of whom can attest that the officer verbally identified the last three digits of my license plate incorrectly.

4) Finally, approximately two weeks after I was issued the citation I submitted four informal discovery requests. Two were verbal with the Kern County Superior Court and the appropriate California Highway Patrol Radar Divison, and two were in writing to that same radar division and to the district attorney’s office. None of my informal discovery requests, the written of which I will include with this statement of facts, have been responded to. Further, it has been 74 days since I was issued the citation. I am constitutionally entitled to a quick and speedy trial (less than 45 days since the citation) and I am legally entitled by California state law to the information which I requested in the informal discovery requests. Thus, I have not been given a fair opportunity to defend myself and my case has to be dismissed.

Sincerely,

Jeff Jensen

jensen5@wisc.edu

608 556 9551

First Piece of Data

2010-07-22T18:51:00.002-05:00

Today Fotis and I generated the first real piece of data for his lab. It has been a quick 3 weeks but we have covered a lot of ground. It seems like when I first started we were still getting established with basic cell culture protocol but now, just as I am leaving, we have everything running smoothly. My only regret now is that I have to go back to medical school this year and will miss out on a year's worth of progress in the project I have embarked on. Overall, I had an incredible experience. Fotis is a great guy and would make a personable, ambitious, and very attentive PI.

Next up is Jon Odorico's Lab which I also expect to be a great experience. Hopefully I have to make a hard choice.

The next week is Restaurant Week at Madison and I am going to make appearances at Harvest and the Capitol Chophouse. Everyone here is going nuts over Harvest and its locally grown food, so I'll have to see what all the fuss is about.

Rotations, GYN Clinic, Etc.

2010-07-19T15:19:00.003-05:00

This week I am finishing up my rotation with Fotis Asimakopoulos. It has been an exciting two weeks. I have a project that I am very enthusiastic about and have gotten much more proficient at cell culture and general molecular biology protocol. In particular, I have been doing exciting experiments with PCR that are really a unique spin on what I have used PCR for in the past. I can't go into detail without revealing confidential details about my research.

This week the medical school will be dipping into my research schedule and requiring me to go to the gynecology clinic and the male gentiourinary clinic. Should be a hoot and a half.

I went to Milwaukee last night to see The Maine at the Rave. They were legit. I went with Travis Schmidt, Yash Somnay, and Andy "Zetto."

I also have AN IPHONE4. IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE. I have wanted this phone for years and its finally mine. Antennagate is overblown but I am happy that I will be receiving a free case, courtesy of Apple. See the live twitter updates I added to the site that my iPhone have made possible. Not sure if I am going to stick with them or not.

Further, I was sad to see Andy Schleck lose the yellow jersey in the tour de france today. Down with Contador...

Be glad you weren't born with...

2010-07-13T17:11:00.002-05:00

anencephaly. Failure of the anterior neuropore to close during development leads to anencephaly, or the failure of the brain to develop. Frequency of occurrence is ~1:1,000.

Back In Madison, Wisconsin

2010-07-07T17:10:00.007-05:00

I am back in Madison, WI working for Fotis Asimkopolis at the Wisconsin Institute for Medical Research. Right now I am running experiments involving some deadly forms of cancer and microRNAs. I am surprised by how similar it is to the work I did in the Khavari Lab at Stanford. I have also laid the groundwork for my second rotation with Jon Odorico.

I had a great fourth of July. I BBQ'd some hamburgers and sausage with my mom and her lake-bike-riding-buddies (from right to left: Andy, Pete, John, and my mom Jeanne) and saw fireworks with my brother Reilly and sister Emma before being dropped off at the airport for my red-eye flight back to Madison. On the night of July 3rd I did something new and ran from Mission Beach to Ocean Beach along the boardwalk with my sister Emma. On a Saturday night it made for a really interesting dynamic running shirtless past drunks with a pink hairband around my head.

More Summer Adventures

2010-06-27T00:45:00.009-05:00

Since I blogged last I have toured the state with fellow medical student and future roommate Travis Schmidt. It was his first time in California and we went surfing, went to a Padre game downtown, went clubbing in San Diego, visited Santa Barbara, thoroughly experienced San Francisco (two world cup games/golden gate bridge/sushi/San Francisco Museum of Modern Art/California Academy of the Sciences/clubbing/Poprocks Concert), and had my 23rd birthday party at Marike Wolter's house. Wow.

Immediately after those adventures I left for Lake Powell with my dad, my step-mom's family, and Reilly. Lake Powell was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in nature. It just totally blew me away. We had a two story houseboat, a jet ski, and plenty of inter-tubes. The trip was filled with cliff-jumping, open water swimming, BBQ, and plenty of sleep. I also helped my stepbrother Daniel put on a totally legit fireworks show. This was the kind of show you should have to pay to see.

Hiking In The Snow

2010-06-08T19:34:00.004-05:00

Me and my sister Emma hiked San Jacinto mountain a few days ago. The trail was snowed in even though it was 90 degrees outside in June. That didn't stop us. However, on the way down we did follow the wrong set of footprints and lost the trail. We wandered around in the woods hopelessly for about 2 hours as the sun set, yelling for help etc. No such luck. Finally we found the wrong trail and followed it until we found a sign that directed us to the Saddle Junction. Close call. We got back to the parking lot just as it got dark. I'm also posting a video of us hiking through the snow in Yosemite. Yesterday I drove up to UC Irvine to hang out with a new friend of mine (Lindsay), Marike, and Ann. I had a great time and got to see Marike's sweet place in Newport.

Movies to share

2010-06-01T09:16:00.002-05:00

Wow, Do I Have Stories To Tell

2010-05-29T17:59:00.019-05:00

The last two weeks have been an absolute blast. I've tasted freedom and I love it. This will be my last summer, effectively marking the absolute-end of my adolescence. Let me take you on my journey. I started the summer by traveling to Stanford to visit all of the Otero freshmen, Kevin Geehr, Hannah, Aaron Kofman, and Libby. I also had the pleasure of playing frisbee again with my cousin Tim. For the first time I played without shoes, which when combined with my enhanced athleticism from swimming (an all new level of VO2 max) and my go-go-gadget long arms led to me dominating the field.

At Stanford I stayed in suites with Lauren Platt, Lena, Ariel, Carla, and Katie G. They are all some of my closest friends from Otero. We spent every night doing as we pleased, making the beautiful Stanford campus our playground. I went to a few great parties: Sigma Nu's Sunsplash and two parties at Suites including their special dinner/special party which was truly epic. I also went out to Sushi with my Uncle Clair and Aunt Lona. This was definitely some of the best sushi I've had in my entire life. Sadly I can't recall what the place was named. I always have trouble with Japanese names.

There is a picture above of me and Aaron Kofman (my sophomore roommate). We hadn't seen each other since graduation. He's been working jobs around Stanford since then and just got into Brown Medical School! The picture of us above is in our old room at Slavianskii Dom. A lot of monumental, personal moments in my life happened in that room.

I really enjoyed the company of Kevin Geehr. He was the RA on my floor at Otero. He just landed a sweet finance/trading job in New York. I'm really happy for him; I know its just what he wanted.

After visiting Stanford I drove home, grabbed some equipment from my Dad, and headed out to Yosemite with Brad, Emma, Chris, and Eli. Chris and Eli are two of Brad/Emma's closest friends. The way to Yosemite was soured by my first speeding ticket: 86mph in a 70mph zone. The cop verbally misrepresented the last 3 digits of my license plate so I am contesting the fine. We camped for four nights at Indian Flats campground.

For our first adventure we intended to hike half dome. However, yosemite has had an especially cold winter/spring and half dome was snowed in. Instead, we opted to hike from the valley floor all the way to the summit of clouds rest. This turned out to be between 21 and 23 miles with almost 6000 ft of elevation gain in a single day, and was thoroughly exausting. The top was snowed in and we had to literally crawl to the summit. All of the pictures of me in a t-shirt surrounded by snow were taken at the top of cloud's rest.

Later in the trip we attempted to summit El Capitan from the valley floor via the upper yosemite falls trail. After we reached the top of the upper yosemite falls it started to snow. Also, the snow was very deep near Eagle's Peak and had thoroughly obscured the trail. This led us to turn around.

One of the best things about this trip was exposing my sister, Emma, to the outdoors. Brad and I were raised as Boy Scouts and were thus thoroughly exposed to the wondrous outdoors. However, not having a Y chromosome essentially deprived Emma of these same opportunities. I could tell she loved the experience and she handled it like an absolute pro, from the planning stages to the hikes to breaking down camp.

Whenever I've had an epic experience like I did in Yosemite, return to the real world seems so surreal. I feel like my mind is always somewhere else. I wonder about what would have happened if we had pushed forward for El Capitan through the winter snow.

Since getting home, I have returned to swimming, running, biking. The standard routine. Sometime tomorrow I will probably go surfing.

@Stanford

2010-05-19T03:06:00.002-05:00

I'm visiting Stanford for my first week of summer vacation. I just walked all over campus with my sophomore roommate, lifelong friend, and Brown-medical-school-bound Aaron Kofman. We took some pictures but I don't have the cable to download them with me. I have also reunited with Katie G, Lauren, Lena, Ariel, KEVIN GEEHR, Kyle, and Justine. Tomorrow I am meeting with Oscar Salvatierra.

I'm 1/4th of an MD

2010-05-13T17:14:00.002-05:00

Not only did I finish my neurobiology of the head and neck exam today, but I relentlessly smoked it! Heeeeey-o! Tonight I'm going out with Travis and Yash for late night sushi to celebrate Yash's birthday tomorrow. Here I come Californiaaaaaaaaaa

Later today

2010-05-13T01:40:00.002-05:00

I will take the last exam for my first year of medical school. It will have a neurobiology, anatomy of the head and neck, radiology, and practical anatomy identification sections. In about 12 hours I will be a free man for the rest of the summer.

I ordered a few books to read over the summer on the USMLE Step 1 Board Exam. This is the test that is, by far, the most important component of a residency application. I will be taking it about 1 year from now. The books I ordered cover clinical microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, and general preparation for the exam. Also of note is that I have talked my friends Travis and Yash into flying out to California for my 23rd birthday party. We're going to tour California from San Diego to San Francisco and hopefully make it out to Yosemite, too.

National Collegiate Cycling Championships at Madison

2010-05-08T21:44:00.006-05:00

I just saw the criterium race around the capitol building. Afterwards I got sushi with Travis, Yash, and Jim. I ran into my old friend from Stanford, Evan Pickett. He's a good guy and a real straight shooter. I've spent many, many hours biking behind him. That's where I always was. Behind him. Finals are next week but I know my stuff backwards and forwards, so whatever.

Mifflin Block Party

2010-05-04T11:14:00.007-05:00

I fell in love with the state of Wisconsin at a place called Mifflin street. Madison in the spring is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The wind blows warm air and the clouds stretch across the panoramic sky. My exams are next week -- then I will be 1/4th of a medical doctor.

I also met with Fotis. I came in during his first hour in his new office. He's a great guy and I look forward to working for him. He taught me that Myeloma is a cancer of antibody producing plasma cells. This is one cancer you-do-NOT-want-to-get.

I also forgot to add in that I am running with Travis Schmidt to be the co-presidents of the Medical Students Association next year. Our statement is below.

Jensen Schmidt MSA Statement

Found a 2nd rotation for the summer

2010-04-28T11:58:00.003-05:00

My 2nd rotation for the summer will be with a brand new faculty member named Fotis Asimakopoulos. He's an MD/PhD hematologist-oncologist that just finished his post-doctoral fellowship with Richard Varmus (a nobel laureate). Its funny how in academic medicine you are only three steps removed from anybody else in academic medicine -- he knows somebody who knows somebody that worked with my ex-PI Paul Khavari.

In other news, I'm 16 days away from summer freedom and bliss. To do: reunite with Otero-ans, see the ex-girlfriend, adventure in Yosemite with Brad, Emma, and Chris, and have a birthday party. Nobody likes you when you're 23!

Also of note: there is a possibility that me and some med school buddies will be driving out to the University of Michigan to see President Obama speak at the graduation ceremony. Wow.

Today I Held a Human Brain In My Hands

2010-04-19T23:08:00.002-05:00

The title of this post pretty much says it all. Let me just say that the brain is much smaller than I expected. It is also spongy like the brain nerf football I had as a kid. Today I shadowed my assigned general practitioner (whose name I have omitted to help prevent any patient confidentiality issues) at the Infectious Disease Clinic. It was a really, really eventful day with a lot of first-time exposures. Again, I can't elaborate on them in this forum because of patient confidentiality issues.

Picture above is the extent of my family life as a medical student in Wisconsin. Video chatting with the fam.

I'm almost 1/4th of a medical doctor

2010-04-17T19:46:00.003-05:00

I finish my exams on May 13th. There will be three exams. One will be a practical exam in which I'm videotaped giving a standardized patient most of a physical exam. The second one will be a physiology exam which I don't think I need to take because I've already passed the class. The last exam, and the most extensive, is a neurobiology exam on the head and neck. Lately we have been dissecting the head. I expected it to be extremely complicated; scattered incoherently with the muscles of mastication and facial expression along with the corresponding nerves and blood vessels.

Actually, the head and neck just haven't been that bad. The dissections have been completely straightforward and fast. We are learning a lot of really sweet neuroanatomy too; I just finished reading about the olfactory cortex and the limbic system. One patient, colloquially referred to as S.M. (almost as if to imitate the ever-famous H.M.), had bilateral calcification of her amygdalae and could no longer recognize fear in people's faces. She would just get confused when people were afraid in front of her. Whoa!

Also in the field of my career, I have picked a lab to rotate in this summer: Prof. Jon Odorico's Lab. They study pancreatic development and the application of embryonic stem cells to treating diabetes. This seems to be nearly a perfect fit for me because A) it is run by a surgeon (I think I want to be a surgeon), B) they study cell differentiation which is something I have experience in from Paul Khavari's Lab, and C) the lab is well funded, located in the brand new Wisconsin Institute for Medical Research building, and has several postdocs. I am also investigating a possible career in radiation oncology and want to find a cancer lab to rotate in.

Third Swim Meet / Bumming Around Milwaukee

2010-04-12T17:06:00.004-05:00

New best times:

50 Freestyle - 28s

100 Freestyle - 1:05

200 Freestyle - 2:27

First time swimming events:

500 Freestyle - 7:15

50 Breaststroke - 45s

Also included above is a picture of me in front of Lake Michigan. The great lakes are kindof like the beaches of the midwest.

Stroke Training with an Accompanying Beat!

2010-04-06T19:01:00.002-05:00

Spring Break Is Over

2010-04-04T13:10:00.007-05:00

I spent the last week in sunny San Diego chilling with the fam'. I did a lot of running (Cowles Mountain), swimming (Joan Crok Center), and biking (Mission Bay area/Mission Trails). Standard procedure. One of the highlights of my week was going up to Harvey Mudd College to visit my brother Brad. I took my sister to a party which had a theme of "Anything Goes But Clothes." See our improvised costumes above. I got a really good impression of Harvey Mudd; the students there are all very smart, dedicated, and fun (in a very particular way!). I've also put up a picture of me with Reilly on the top of Cowles and a picture of me and Kelly Egan (author of Running Blonde) in the pool. Today I learned the bones of the skull. We're dissecting the head now.

Its 7 AM

2010-03-22T06:58:00.003-05:00

And I am about to leave for the medical school to take two of my four exams for this block. I just wanted to report on the swim meet in Baraboo that I went to on Saturday. I dropped 4 seconds off of my 200 freestyle to 2:32, I dropped a tenth of a second off of my 50 freestyle (still 29s), and I gained a second on my 100 freestyle to 1:07. I'm surprised I improved at all given that I didn't swim last week. Medical school seems to be generally incompatible with extracurriculars.

Wisconsin, Spring Break

2010-03-19T16:22:00.003-05:00

Holy nutsack it was warm here yesterday! It got up to the mid fifties and so I was running around outside in shorts and a t-shirt. It felt good. Tomorrow I have my second swim meet but I haven't had time to practice so I will likely do poorly. Exams are next week; the material includes anatomy of the arm, forearm, hand, thigh, leg, and foot. Also on the list is giving a physical exam, the brachial plexus, vision, audition, the motor cortex, polycystic ovary syndrome, irregular cortisol syndromes, and some other physiology.

After Wednesday my life will be a lot more lively because that is the day of my last test. Then we have some integrated cases and then I'm heading for California for spring break. At last. I've been using my new Sony Vaio Z Series laptop and it is sexy. I get compliments when people see it. I can't believe how light/fast it is. The plane ride will be bearable, enjoyable, and maybe even productive now.

EDIT: I also wanted to add in that today Wisconsin edged out a band of nobodies in March Madness and will be rightfully advancing as the fourth seat. On, Wisconsin!