Shameful
This past week we had seminars and discussionson ethics and proper behavior for research. Due to my experience in a lab, I had reviewed a lot of the protocol and understood the expected behavior for a lab. I have been working in Dr. Truskey’s lab for almost three weeks under Melissa’s instruction and now I have another boss Steve Wallace who I will also be mentored by. Both of them do similar work with endothelial cell adhesion… but I digress…
This week we watched films and read articles about the ethical dilemmas of research. Although we the movie was mainly concerned with the discovery of AIDS and the many ways in which the rapid spread could have been possibly prevented, I thought of the power of money. The movie was made over ten years ago and it was very eery sitting and watching as the dreams and fears of all the characters were my reality. The millions of people with AIDS is something that I have sadly just come to accept. I have not known a society that was not in fear of such a powerful and devastating disease. I am not sure what I can do about this but I am sure that something has to be done. My acceptance of reality is shameful.
Saddened yet inspired,
Racquel