Your Academic Trajectory?

[Barbarian AL he/him]

Hey everyone,

I was reading through the Stormlight Archives section when I came across This thread. In the comment section, two members go on to have an extremely interesting and enlightening discussion about linguistics, which is a specialty of @Llarimar , who started the thread. This got me thinking about other members of this community and their hidden intellectual trajectory outside of the genre of Fantasy Fiction.

I guess I'll start. I am currently in my 3rd year of a pharmacy masters degree. I will, hopefully, end up in the field of oral drug delivery research. My interest is in increasing the availability of parenteral (Injectable) formulation as oral products to Increase patient compliance and adherence to medication. For example, Insulin, now has approved oral formulations that are rapidly absorbed in the stomach without being broken down by digestion, which was the main issue with insulin as an oral drug. Many drugs, especially protein based ones, are still only available as injectables which require delicate and usually more expensive techniques of mass production. Formulating oral alternative will reduce costs of manufactor, increase patient compliance and adherence, reduce the pressure and precious time needed for healthcare staff to administer injectables and so on. It is an exiting field of research to be a part of and I hope to snatch my degree soon and dive right in. 

Would love to hear about you all . Cheers.

[Elandera she/her]

Is there any research into making Epinepherin an oral-based drug in response to allergies? Would that even be a viable option?

As my my intellectual trajectory, I have a Bachelor of Science in Communications with a focus on video production. I used it for a few years as a producer for a local news station, but left that business for emergency services. My goal is to eventually become a Public Information Officer (liaison between an agency and news) for either a law enforcement or fire service. Some of my favorite things to study in my own time are history and etymology. I think there's a lot that can be learned about words and language by knowing how it was formed.

[Barbarian AL he/him]

17 minutes ago, Elandera said:

Is there any research into making Epinepherin an oral-based drug in response to allergies? Would that even be a viable option?

As my my intellectual trajectory, I have a Bachelor of Science in Communications with a focus on video production. I used it for a few years as a producer for a local news station, but left that business for emergency services. My goal is to eventually become a Public Information Officer (liaison between an agency and news) for either a law enforcement or fire service. Some of my favorite things to study in my own time are history and etymology. I think there's a lot that can be learned about words and language by knowing how it was formed.

Thank you for the response Elandera, I love bouncing inspiration with other by learning about their ambitions.

I would have to look more before answering your question, but here is what I know. Epinephrine (Adrenaline) is used mostly for emergencies to produce an adronergic response (Increased cardiac output, opens your airways through bronchodilation ...) in short, a fight or flight response. I haven’t heard of studies for oral epinephrine and that is probably because the drug is most useful when delivered directly into the systemic circulation producing an immediate response. Even if an oral formulation can be produced (which would be almost impossible) the time it would take for the molecules to pass through the livers metabolism (First-pass metabolism) and into the blood would be too long. Some drugs are just not meant to be administered orally. Nowadays, there are ways to ‘coat’ the molecule with a substance that is resistant to the harsh environment within the stomach and can rapidly be absorbed. That’s how insulin can now be orally taken so I shouldn’t say it’s impossible. It just wouldn’t have a remarkable enough application. Better to stick with inhalation and injections. 

Cheers

 

[Llarimar he/him]

11 hours ago, Barbarian AL said:

I guess I'll start. I am currently in my 3rd year of a pharmacy masters degree. I will, hopefully, end up in the field of oral drug delivery research. My interest is in increasing the availability of parenteral (Injectable) formulation as oral products to Increase patient compliance and adherence to medication. For example, Insulin, now has approved oral formulations that are rapidly absorbed in the stomach without being broken down by digestion, which was the main issue with insulin as an oral drug. Many drugs, especially protein based ones, are still only available as injectables which require delicate and usually more expensive techniques of mass production. Formulating oral alternative will reduce costs of manufactor, increase patient compliance and adherence, reduce the pressure and precious time needed for healthcare staff to administer injectables and so on. It is an exiting field of research to be a part of and I hope to snatch my degree soon and dive right in. 

This sounds like interesting and important work - I don't know a ton about medicine but I think it's admirable when people go into it as a career.  When you say "oral products" do you mean like pills that you would swallow with water, or tablets that you chew, or something else?  I have a sister who takes supplements, and she always hates taking pills with water because she thinks she'll choke - she much prefers the chewable kinds.   

Like you mentioned above, I am studying linguistics.  I want to eventually specialize in Arabic and Semitic languages, although I am very interested in phonology as well (the sound systems within a language).  So, I don't know... maybe I could study the phonology of Semitic languages?  I'm still figuring it out, but I have a lot of interests within the field of linguistics.  

Just for fun, here's my profile name written in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet).

[lɑɹ̠əmɑɹ̠  liŋgwɪstspɹ̠ɛn]  (Llarimar, linguistspren)

Edit: Or maybe the double-L at the beginning of "Llarimar" is meant to be pronounced... in which case it would be [ləlɑɹ̠əmɑɹ̠].

Edited May 9, 2018 by Llarimar

[Barbarian AL he/him]

7 minutes ago, Llarimar said:

This sounds like interesting and important work - I don't know a ton about medicine but I think it's admirable when people go into it as a career.  When you say "oral products" do you mean like pills that you would swallow with water, or tablets that you chew, or something else?  I have a sister who takes supplements, and she always hates taking pills with water because she thinks she'll choke - she much prefers the chewable kinds.   

Like you mentioned above, I am studying linguistics.  I want to eventually specialize in Arabic and Semitic languages, although I am very interested in phonology as well (the sound systems within a language).  So, I don't know... maybe I could study the phonology of Semitic languages?  I'm still figuring it out, but I have a lot of interests within the field of linguistics.  

Just for fun, here's my profile name written in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet).

[lɑɹ̠əmɑɹ̠  liŋgwɪstspɹ̠ɛn]  (Llarimar, linguistspren)

Edit: Or maybe the double-L at the beginning of "Llarimar" is meant to be pronounced... in which case it would be [ləlɑɹ̠əmɑɹ̠].

Oral products are anything taken by mouth. That Includes tablets, capsules, sublingual tablets, solutions and suspensions. Those are the main ones. But yes, tablets are generally the most accepted form of medications but there are exceptions. Also, some patients, like stroke victims, can lose the ability to swallow hard tablets and so on. So tablets are definitely not perfect but really nothing is. Btw, pharmacists are part of healthcare but we are not Doctors (Medical graduates). I can’t diagnose anyone based on a symptomatic profile. Hospital pharmacists are kind of drug specialists and work to advise doctors and consultants on the best pharmacological approaches for treatment. We’re like second best lol. But yes, all disciplines are essential for a coherent system.

Btw. I grew up in the UK because my father was lecturing at a university there but I’m originally from a small country called Kuwait. So I’m an Arabic speaker. Now I’m studying in Belfast in Northern Ireland. It’s funny because when I converse with my family, at this stage of my life, I think and formulate sentences in English and then articulate them out in Arabic. Though, I’m well spoken (or so i think lol) in both languages, I am considered by many as very quick witted in English but very slow in Arabic, although I didn’t move to the UK until I was 9. It’s interesting how my personality changes at both states.

[Silverblade5 he/him]

In August I'll be starting my first year of college. I'll be going into engineering.

[SilverTiger she/her]

I'm planning on going into computer science (programming), with the occasional foray into cats, paleontology, and story-writing.

[Just a Lifetime he/him]

I've been around the block a few times.  In terms of research, I use high-performance computing to learn new and exciting things about quantum field theory, which is what you get when you combine quantum mechanics and special relativity.  In terms of 'trajectory' I'm approaching the end of an up-or-out stage of the academic career path.  Since I have not yet managed to move up, it's looking more likely that I may soon be crashing out.

[Barbarian AL he/him]

On 5/11/2018 at 5:12 PM, Silverblade5 said:

In August I'll be starting my first year of college. I'll be going into engineering.

 

On 5/11/2018 at 5:27 PM, SilverTiger said:

I'm planning on going into computer science (programming), with the occasional foray into cats, paleontology, and story-writing.

Both of those fields are kind of future proof as my father likes to say (Every profession is really but its hard for those areas to be saturated). Well done guys!

[Barbarian AL he/him]

5 minutes ago, daschaich said:

I've been around the block a few times.  In terms of research, I use high-performance computing to learn new and exciting things about quantum field theory, which is what you get when you combine quantum mechanics and special relativity.  In terms of 'trajectory' I'm approaching the end of an up-or-out stage of the academic career path.  Since I have not yet managed to move up, it's looking more likely that I may soon be crashing out.

I know what that feels like alright. I’ve always wanted to drop out of academia at some point and pursue the arts but I’m yet to develop the courage if i’m completely honest.