Features

Below are the features written by members of the Print NURJ team. Together, they showcase the research ongoing in various departments across Northwestern and provide a valuable resource to students.

Table of Contents

Putting the Brain on Trial: Diving into the Genesis of Crime with Dr. Robert Hanlon

Rebecca Chen

With the rise of mass shootings and horrifically incomprehensible crimes in recent years that have burdened the hearts of many students today, whether it be at Michigan State University, or in a closer case, Highland Park in Illinois, the question that we often ask is “why?” Forensic psychology puts the brain on trial, using a scientific approach in answering this question. 

Dr. Robert Hanlon, a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and co-director of forensic psychology at Northwestern Medicine, speaks about his work on the interaction between neurocognition, emotion processing, personality traits, and socioecological factors in the genesis of violent behavior, raising ethical questions that pave the way for a jurisprudence and legal theory that is more biologically informed.

Creating a Musical Narrative: A Look Into Eighteenth-Century Music and Society with Dr. Andrew Talle

Ben Kim

Dr. Andrew Talle is an Associate Professor of Musicology at the Bienen School of Music of Northwestern University (N.U.). In 1995, he earned a B.M. in cello performance and a B.A./M.A. in linguistics from N.U., and went on to acquire a Ph.D. in musicology from Harvard University. Dr. Talle’s research interests cover musical culture at the time of Johann Sebastian Bach. Fluent in German, he has published articles in German musicological journals as well as his 2017 book Beyond Bach: Music and Everyday Life in the Eighteenth Century. Dr. Talle’s current projects include a monograph about Bach’s music for solo violin and solo cello and a collection of accounts of the city of Leipzig written by eighteenth-century travelers. 

Demystifying Northwestern University Libraries: A Guide on Utilizing Resources to Their Full Capacity

Stephanie Kim

Rewiring Cardiology: How Technology has Transformed Patient Care in Medicine

Angeli Mittal

Dr. Benjamin Bryner is an assistant professor of surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine (hereafter referred to as Feinberg), as well as an adult cardiac surgeon at the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. He also serves as the institute’s associate director of heart transplantation and mechanical support. 

Dr. Esther Vorovich is an associate professor medicine in cardiology at Feinberg, as well as the medical director of the Mechanical Circulatory Support Program and also works at the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. She routinely works as a heart failure transplant cardiologist, treating patients with malfunctioning hearts.

As an aspiring physician-scientist interested in the intersection between medicine and engineering, I spoke to Dr. Bryner and Dr. Vorovich on the technologies utilized in resuscitating patients with heart failure, connecting a mechanic’s workshop to a physician’s clinic.