Merom Arthur is a third-year studying Human Health with a minor in Film and Media. She conducts research with the Grady Trauma Project in the Pregnancy Study, which looks at how PTSD affects your mood and life. She has a particular interest in how negative birth/labor outcomes impact postpartum maternal health. Additionally, she is involved in genetic medicine research at Children's National Hospital in the Zohn Lab, where she studies congenital heart defects.
Merom first became involved in clinical research in December 2021 and has been a part of her lab since. In December of 2021, she applied to the Grady Trauma Project (GTP) clinical research intern program. She learned of this vast lab after a conversation with an NBB faculty member because she was interested in research and fields that connected neuroscience and psychiatry. She was privileged to receive an intern's position and soon joined the pregnancy study with her lab mentor, Dr. Michopoulos. She states it has been a blessing and an honor to be a part of this project!
Since Merom’s freshman year of high school, she has been interested in the possibility of becoming a psychiatrist. Entering college, she wanted to major in neuroscience and behavioral biology and was searching for an opportunity that combined neuroscience and psychiatry. Her summer research position in genetic medicine spurred because of her lived experiences. In 2022, her mom had a baby prematurely. Merom’s baby sister needed to stay in the NICU for 9 months to be treated for a congenital heart defect called PDA and a number of other diagnoses. She was treated at Children's National Hospital in Washington DC, and fortunately Merom was able to locate a lab at Children's National Research institute to conduct research analyzing congenital heart defects.
Merom states the benefits of research are expanding your network and connecting with people through stories and a shared love for science, as well as learning more about fields that interest you. She enjoys being in collaborative spaces where teamwork is encouraged and you teach, learn, and support each other. Additionally, it encourages productive discomfort, as you learn the most when you’re in uncomfortable situations or stages of discomfort. Those environments are typically unfamiliar territory, but you will learn about yourself and about the task at hand. This statement was said to Merom’s class by her organic chemistry professor on the first day of lecture, and she has decided to make it her motto for junior year.
After Merom graduates in 2025, she plans to apply to MD/PhD or MD programs that offer research opportunities, with intent of matriculating in 2026.
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