ANNOUNCER: Make the choice to begin, anywhere in your life, and the journey has started.

And along the way, be inspired.

Listen to the stories by joining the president of Howard University, Dr. Wayne A.I.

Frederick on "The Journey."

In 2020, the battle against the COVID virus pandemic coincided with a reckoning of systemic racism in our country.

The cries of racial injustice took hold of our society, in part because there was data to validate them.

The fight against systemic racism leans on research to identify the problems and propose forward-thinking solutions, just as our efforts to end the pandemic depended on the medical research establishment and individual researchers.

As we work to connect healthcare disparities, economic inequality, and more, research is an essential tool that we must continue to leverage and sharpen.

Howard University students, alumni, and all play an important role in bettering our society by conducting research required to diagnose problems and prescribed much needed remedies?

Hello, my name is Dr. Wayne Frederick, and my guest today on "The Journey" are Lauren Bush, editor-in-chief of the "Howard University Undergraduate Research Journal" and Trisha Lal, the co-founder of "Howard University College of Medicine Research Digest."

Welcome to both of you.

TRISHA: Thank you.

So Lauren, you're joining us by Skype.

So I'm gonna start with you first.

Tell us about the name of the research journal and how you guys came up with that particular name.

Of course, so we wanted the name of the journal to be related to searching for truth and related to Howard University, since it is Harvard University's first undergraduate research journal, and since it has the interdisciplinary mission, and of course, we are really trying to uplift the research that students are doing, we really wanted all of the research to be done with truth in mind.

And so that comes from part of Howard's motto, which we know is, in truth and service.

And so we took that root word, and then from Swahili, we went to Swahili to go to African origins, and we came up with the word ukweli, which means in truth.

And so that really we think represents the moment at Howard University and how we hope that research is conducted by students at Howard.

So let's talk about your journey to Howard, a little bit.

Tell our audience where you're from originally.

Of course, so I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina.

And I mean, I've always known about Howard.

My parents are both from D.C. My mother is an alumni.

My grandmother is an alumni, aunt, et cetera, so it's really been a family thing in our history.

And I think that that was one of the reasons I was so interested in attending, is to continue that legacy and also to really go to the preeminent HBCU.

I knew after my senior year in high school that I wanted to attend an HBCU, because I recognized the importance of having a cohort of students who are similar to you in background, whether that be racial or in other other means.

And so I really wanted that as part of my educational process, because I saw the value that it could bring, and so that's why I'm so excited that I've been at Howard for these years.

And I'm excited now that my sister is actually considering going to Howard in the fall, so.

Okay, it sounds like I'm gonna have to make a call to convince her.

LAUREN: (laughs) Yes, mm-hmm.

So tell us what what your current major is and what are you thinking your long-term plans are gonna be, after you're finished with your undergraduate?

Of course, so I'm a chemistry and political science double major, mathematics minor, which I know is a lot.

That's always the first reaction that I get from people, seemingly diverging routes.

However, I think that I can really combine them.

It all started with a love of basic science.

I really think science is interesting.

It's how we solve problems.

It's how you move forward and create innovation, and then also how does the policy reflect that?

In order to have and ensure that innovation comes to the forefront, you need some sort of policy to back that up and to allow scientists to do their work and also spread that.

And so I think that's really why I went that route with the double majors to really hone in on both sides and hopefully come through with something that's related.

And so for my long-term goals, I'm currently interested in doing a J.D., Ph.D, 'cause I really think that that'll continue what I'm doing at Howard and compliment my academic background.

I'll learn about the legal processes which I think they're necessary in this day and age, I'll say.

And then for the Ph.D component, I'm interested in pharmacology and health diplomacy.

So how can drugs be disseminated?

Is their equity?

How are they reacting within the body?

Just anything in that nature.

And so that's really the route that I've been taking, and we'll just see what goes from there, what continues to happen.

Yeah, I guess, sleep is over-exaggerated and overemphasized.

So it sounds like you've been pretty busy anyway.

(Lauren laughs) Yes.

(both laugh) So Trisha obviously, as a graduate of the medical school here, I participated in research, and so I think it's an important component of what you can get exposed to.

Why don't you tell the audience a little bit about what was the inspiration for you and your team to bring together this idea of having a research journal put out by the medical students?

So this past summer, I'm a third-year medical student.

This past summer we were studying for our board exam, Step 1, in the middle of the pandemic, and my co-founder Alexandra Cancio-Bello, she was flipping through the pages of "First Aid," which is the book we used to study, And she decided to productively distract herself by looking into the authors of it, many of whom are medical students like us.

And she saw that at their institutions, they were a part of research journals like the one that we have now created here.

So she texted me.

She was like, "Do you think we can do this here?"

And I was like, "You know what, why not?"

We've been studying together since first year, so I knew we'd worked well, and we just felt like there was such great work going on here that we should definitely have a digest that catalogs all of it.

Where did you go to undergrad?

I went to the University of Maryland, College Park.

Okay.

Pretty local.

All right, and where are you from originally?

So originally, I was born in India, in North India.

I lived there until I was six, and then my parents and I emigrated here, and we lived in Baltimore city, then to Baltimore County, then Boston, then here in Bethesda.

So I've moved around a lot, but I'm definitely still very Indian at heart.

But recently I became a citizen too, so.

Okay, congrats.

Mm-hmm.

My great-grandfather is from India, actually.

Oh, really?

Wow.

From Delhi, so- TRISHA: Wow.

That's amazing.

I've been to India once, but didn't get to Delhi, went to Bangalore and Mysore, so pretty great place.

Cool.

I'm big love of everything curry, so- (laughs) Me too.

I certainly loved it.

Now I came to Howard because I have sickle cell anemia, and my research in medical school actually was around sickle cell.

And it was one of, I think, one of the most important things that I got to participate in, as well as that led to me then presenting my work on sickle cell.

And of all the papers that I've wrote, that still is one of the most important things, because I had a splenectomy as a result of my sickle cell, and I was one of the patients in the paper I presented, which was a little unusual but definitely very fulfilling.

When you look at your long-term career goals and so on, where do you see research fitting in, and what are your long-term goals in terms of career?

That's a really great question, something I'm asking myself every day now, as I approach fourth year and applying to residency.

I'm halfway through my third year, and right now, I think I want to pursue surgery, much like you.

Okay.

I'm keeping my mind open, but I think surgery has a really great way of applying the technical side of medicine in the OR and also clinical practice.

And I feel like research is an amazing driving force of surgery and all different kinds of research.

So now when I look into residency programs, I really try to see how much their students are gonna be involved in research.

And I noticed some of them even have whole years dedicated to research.

So I think it's gonna be a huge part of my life, going ahead.

Excellent.

So Lauren for undergrad students, I think getting exposed research, sometimes we think of science, as you are heavily involved in, but this particular journal, you were very interested in looking more broadly.

You mentioned the interdisciplinary nature and some of the areas that we don't always naturally think of, in terms of publishing research.

You've reached out to those areas.

Why don't you tell us a bit about what you foresee in terms of the interdisciplinary nature of what you're pursuing?

Definitely.

So as you mentioned, I'm heavily rooted in the science, as is my co-founder and coeditor-in-chief Alexandra.

However, we really wanted to recognize that research is not strictly a scientific discipline.

There's research done across so many ranges, and we really wanted to bring that to light, as the whole idea with this journal was to highlight student research and student endeavors.

So the goal that we were trying to do is reach out to as many students as possible, to as many different backgrounds, so then people can really have a framework for how other disciplines react.

And so some of the steps that we've been taking within the past week even is we've reached out to Fine Arts, for instance, the Department of Fine Arts, within co-ops, to really see if we can highlight some of what Fine Arts students are doing on Howard's campus and ensure that they're also involved in this publication, even though what they do might not necessarily be considered traditional research.

It's still an element of research, whether that be through a photo essay or whether that be through some sort of looking at the historical aspects of dance and who is incorporated in that and whether or not there's disparities in that.

So that's definitely one avenue we're looking towards.

Another one that we're also trying to develop further is connecting with the School of Business, because we know that School of Business students also do research, and it might not be traditionally, once again, considered research.

However, we still believe that it's important to highlight what students are doing on campus, specifically undergraduates, which is the entire premise of the journal, which is why we're so interested in ensuring that we're meeting our goal of being interdisciplinary.

Yeah, that's absolutely fascinating.

Debbie Allen, one of our alum who actually was just named for Kennedy Center Honors, actually when she was doing the movie "Amistad," she came to Howard to research a lot of the history behind that, and so that documentation of the history is extremely important.

How difficult has it been to get submissions?

So that is one thing that we have been struggling with, because I think, this is our inaugural year end, so we have received submissions of course, from a lot of students within the College of Arts and Sciences.

It is, I guess, our home base, you might call it.

However, we've been trying to branch out beyond that.

So we've been lucky enough to work with SOC and get some submissions from them as well.

However, we have not, as I've already mentioned, tapped into SOB students or the Fine Arts students, or even the College of Engineering and Architecture.

We haven't tapped into those students as well.

So that's really what our goal is, seeing as this is our second semester on campus, is trying to increase the submissions from those other disciplines for our next publication that we're hoping to put out in the fall, since we're looking for submissions right now for them.

Excellent.

And I guess, Trisha, when I look at the medical school, you have a limited number of medical students who always seem to be extremely busy.

How was it going in terms of getting submissions from the medical students, and is it only limited to the medical students, or are you looking at other disciplines as well?

Yeah, so what we tried to do was bridge our experience in our preclinical years with the staff at the College of Medicine, some of our basic science professors, and in our clinical years with the staff at the hospital.

So we actually got submissions from molecular biologists, histologists, and also surgeons and orthopedic surgeons too.

So some of it is research solely done by the faculty and others are projects done by students involved in specific research groups, like urology.

So it's a very diverse group that we got, and we're really thrilled to be able to show all of that.

Okay, are you considering expanding it to other students, like in the dental school, et cetera?

That would be really great actually, because medicine itself is so interdisciplinary.

So that's a great idea.

We'll definitely keep that in mind.

All right, I'm gonna take credit for that, Lauren.

You heard it right here.

We have the tape.

I guess, the other aspect of this is, as I look at resume building, et cetera, you both are coming to an education system that's rapidly changing.

There's so much information available online.

When I came to, especially as a faculty member, there was a publish-or-perish type of culture, which means you had to be publishing actively to be promoted, et cetera, for obvious reasons.

But the real reason for the research is to document and to question what we're doing so that we can rewrite some of what were the old facts that we thought we held there so that we can put new information out and do things better.

Are you encountering any resistance in terms of when you do talk to some students who may not be involved in research, who may not see the value of it?

I haven't seen resistance.

I think what we have noticed the most is lack of exposure so that in making this digest, our mission was to increase exposure to research.

So as much as we want to use it to highlight the research, we also just want to create a stronger research culture from the start for the students.

So I don't personally encounter any resistance.

I think, in fact, more people would realize how much they love research if they were exposed to it sooner.

So we're hoping that with this digest available for students to see everything going on, they'll be exposed to it earlier and want to participate and incorporate it into their careers, from a very early point.

Now, Lauren, last summer, obviously, we had a reckoning in our society around systemic racism.

And one of the things that's obvious to me is that we have to put more data out so that people could be aware.

We don't need to have people killed or murdered and caught on video for our society to have consciousness, as it were, awoken.

What types of things have you seen research do, in terms of good, in terms of highlighting issues and potentially solving problems around it?

Of course.

So I think the research has so many applications, and as you've mentioned, it can be vital, in terms of finding about some of the disparities that communities of color face, people of color face, in comparison to their White counterparts and also finding how there's some sort of bias, an implicit bias that people hold, especially for people within the police force who might have a bias that they might not recognize, and having increased training.

So I think that research definitely has the ability to help with the systemic racism component that you're mentioning, because it can teach people in government or teach people who are just everyday layman, if you will, about some of the things that are already current in society that they might not be aware of.

And then that can then be used to really go after change and how to change a system to make it more face forward for equality And now that you you're getting into this, some institutions, especially institutions where the academic rigor is very, very strong, and that's exactly where Howard is today, they required that undergrad students write a thesis as part of the graduation requirement.

I don't want to get you in trouble with your peers, but what are your thoughts about having a requirement for every undergrad student to write a thesis, or for that matter, to participate in research as a requirement for graduation?

Well, I think it's a twofold sword.

On the one hand, I know in high school, when I was looking at colleges, I knew that I did not want to do a research thesis.

That was my thought process in mind.

However, upon coming to Howard, of course, I'm a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program, and that is one of the requirements, is that we write an honors thesis.

And so I think that it definitely has some benefit, because you can find a niche that you're very comfortable with, something that you're interested in, and do your own personal research, and of course, find a faculty member who is readily available.

He can help you go towards that.

And so I think it definitely has some benefits, in terms of having a required thesis paper, because it can broaden your scope and teach you more.

However, on the other side, (chuckles) some students are definitively aware that they do not want research on their life, I will say.

And I guess that could be something that can be changed.

That's changed for me.

And I'm sure if there was a requirement, perhaps while some students were going through that process, they might understand the benefits of being involved in doing research and completing a project that is wholly theirs.

And I'm gonna pose the same question to you.

Do you think it should be a requirement for medical students, especially at Howard University, given where healthcare disparities are, to participate in research as a graduation requirement?

Yeah, I think that we should probably go in that direction, especially with what we're seeing with this pandemic.

I think research really drives medicine, with the vaccine and everything, so as medical students, I think it's really important to see that translate, to go from bench to bedside, because that really is how it works.

So I think having a summer requirement, or maybe eventually a semester requirement, I think it would really enhance our journey, just to have, again, that exposure.

Let's talk a little bit about the pandemic and, again, the medical center experience, because it would be great, especially because of the unique nature of Howard's medical school, to get a sense of what students are thinking, and this is, to be quite honest, a research project.

Yeah, and I guess just taking that a step further, how difficult has it been to try to stand this up in a pandemic environment where you've been virtual?

Obviously, you can meet by Zoom, et cetera, but a lot of students express that you you tend to lose something with that.

Has it been more difficult trying to stand this effort up, being socially distant and literally being at home while taking classes?

It definitely is more difficult.

I think many students originally thought online classes would be amazing or the heyday.

However, it is difficult, because you don't have the social outlet anymore.

And that's something that I think Howard really brings to students, is it has its own culture.

And for the freshmen and for some of the sophomores who might've just been on campus for their first semester, they definitely lost some of that opportunity.

However, this is the best option, right?

Like ensuring that student safety comes first.

I think that is the priority.

And so we have to realize that the virtual environment is what is necessary at this moment, and although there isn't necessarily the full-fledged experience of Howard culture, I know that through some of the organizations I'm doing, for instance, tonight, I have two mixers, so hopefully an opportunity to still connect with students that I might not necessarily know and also talk to those who I do already know and see what they've been doing and how the beginning of the semester has impacted them.

Excellent.

And obviously, the medical students are coming for your clinical rotation, so you've been seeing your colleagues.

I would assume that that has given you a bit of an advantage, in terms of organizing and getting this off the ground.

But having said that, what are some of the things that you think would increase and enhance student participation in research in our medical complex?

I think having this digest, for example, would be great, because we get to see what kind of work every group is doing, especially for the younger students.

I think this is more important for people in their preclinical years, because they haven't had the chance like us to go into a surgery or to go to clinic and see actual patients, so they might not know what something like urology really means.

But by going through the digest, by being introduced to the faculty and attendings at the hospital who are doing this work and reading about it, I think they might get a better chance of understanding how they fit into it, and then they can explore that through research and maybe nurture some of those interests early on.

So the first two years of medical school, especially in the pre-clinical environment, we've gone virtual.

We could potentially expand our medical school by having it stay virtual in the preclinical environment.

What do you think that that may do in terms of impacting on research in particular, or research exposure?

I think being there in person, for example, in class, going to a lecture that you just really enjoyed and then talking to that professor afterwards, something so simple as that, it would be hard to do, but then again, maybe it would be a little bit easier virtually.

I'm not sure, but I think there's just something different about in-person connection and being able to work in teams is a little bit easier that way, too, and really learn how a dynamic is.

So I think that would be really hard to establish.

Plus, a lot of research, especially clinical research, has to do with patients in real life.

So I think it would be hard sometimes to coordinate working with patients virtually, because not every patient has the same access to internet.

That's another issue that we're having.

So with that, it becomes more challenging.

So it might be a little bit more bumpy, but I can see that there are probably some pros to it, too.

As we wrap up, obviously, the effort that both of you are involved in is more than just commendable.

I think research is extremely important.

I have sickle cell anemia, and I'm a type one diabetic, and my health has been pretty good because of innovations that people have had around research and studying diseases that I myself have been afflicted with.

And so I'm very, very big on us participating in this, and that's from a science point of view, but also I think the social issues, as we discussed earlier, outlining the parameters of what those are and coming up with solutions, I think depends on people writing research, but most importantly, having young people participate and value it is important.

So with that in mind, you're a junior.

You're heading into your senior year.

There are gonna be young people listening to this who are trying to make the decision you made, looking at whether they have to write a research thesis or not.

What's your advice for why Howard and why a young undergrad applicant to the university should be coming here?

Of course, definitely.

So why Howard, is the question of all, but I think one thing that Howard can definitely tell you is that it has stellar academics.

It has a great connection within the city of D.C., that the location is unparalleled.

You're in such close proximity with a bunch of governments, some, which I mean, and as I mentioned, is why I got such a great internship.

Also the career services aspect even, connecting students with so many opportunities, I've gotten two internships through the career fair.

So that's something that students might want to look at.

And then I think, lastly, always it's the social aspect.

And I know we weren't able to have Homecoming our Springfest this year, but they will be back, I'm sure, in the future.

And that's something that is so fun to participate in.

It's something that you get to see students really thriving, whether that be students on the dance team, people from sororities/fraternities, people in Step or people in sports teams.

It's just all amazing.

You get to see people thrive from such diverse backgrounds, and that's something that other universities might not have, is when you come to Howard, you realize that there's so many different definitions to what it means to be Black, African American, a person of color.

It's just a range.

And so at Howard, you can really explore that further.

And I know once again, one other tie that I found, if students are interested in STEM, for instance, is the Carson Scholars program.

It's a great opportunity.

There's scholarship enabled through it.

And you can just have a cohort of people to meet and be around, which is also very helpful.

So I think it's a multitude of reasons as to why Howard, and it's just every student's personal choice, but I would highly suggest it for undergrad.

Homecoming '20/'21, I can see the emails already.

What about you, Trisha?

You've now been at Howard's medical school for three years.

Why Howard?

That's a great question.

So when I came in, I came to Howard because I want to be a culturally competent doctor.

As an immigrant myself, it's really important for me to be able to treat that population and to be aware of different immigrant populations and people of different backgrounds.

And coming to Howard, I knew that my class would be diverse.

Being a student here, I understand now how warm that feels.

I just feel like I can be myself, and in an environment that's so stressful, like medical school, it is so important to be able to feel like you're a part of a family, people who you can really rely on, and people who just really humble you.

Whether it's my peers, my faculty, some of our like counselors first year, they've really brought me to where I am, and I don't think I could have had this experience anywhere else.

So I don't know, it sounds cheesy, but I genuinely feel it.

And I don't think many medical students can say that.

Well, obviously, we've had a lot to celebrate in early '20/'21, with the inauguration of VP Kamala Harris.

But one of the things that I love about Howard is that it continues to reinvent itself.

And I think everybody could agree with me that between Lauren and Trisha, our future is secure.

So thanks for being here.

My guest today were Lauren Bush, editor-in-chief of the "Howard University Undergraduate Research Journal" and Trisha Lal, co-founder of "Howard University College of Medicine Research Digest."

I'm Dr. Wayne Frederick.

Please join me next time on "The Journey."

ANNOUNCER: This program was produced by WHUT and made possible by contributions from viewers like you.

For more information on this program or any other program, please visit our website at whut.org.

Thank you.