Hot off the presses! Frontiers in Ophthalmology, a departmental report that covers the achievements and advances of the Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology:

I had the honor of serving on the review committee of this report and as scientific editor of the Research & Discovery section (2.4MB PDF).

Here is an example of the reviews:

“It would be impossible to read Frontiers without achieving a sense of excitement and enthusiasm for the level of research and the educational programs underway. It was particularly gratifying to learn of the activity and achievements of so many faculty friends for whom I will always have the greatest respect and appreciation.” —George J. Rabstejnek, Chairman Emeritus, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary

Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary is the main teaching hospital for the Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology, and recently joined forces with Schepens Eye Research Institute, where I conducted my PhD dissertation research.

For more information:
www.masseyeandear.org
www.schepens.harvard.edu

Chairman Meow was featured in G1 Globo.com, a major news site in Brazil!

Here is a screen shot:

Full article here.

According to this translation, this is the title and story lead:

Disease in American cat discovers and creates campaign for the cats on the web

Wendy Chao pussy inherited by chance, a friend of his neighbor.
Today cured, ‘cat philosopher’ is site that helps rescue abandoned.

Oh my. Well, there’s nothing like having an international news site writing about your pussy…

According to a Boston Globe investigation, restaurants and markets in eastern Massachusetts mislabel their fish nearly 50% of the time (suggested by DNA analysis of 183 fish samples). In other words, if you order some fancy and/or expensive fish, there’s a good chance it’s a cheap, inferior, or even unhealthful substitute.

At least the beloved C-Mart in Chinatown is honest when the fish is of poor quality:

(Spotted several years ago; as of this writing, C-Mart no longer sells fresh crap in the seafood section)

Chapter III of The Fine Art of Raising Butterflies (by Wendy Chao and Chairman Meow) is a short film about a friendship between a cat and a caterpillar:

Starring Chairman Meow as The Cat
With Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, and Buddy as The Caterpillar

Filmed mostly over the summer of 2011 with an old Canon SD1000, a tripod, a cat, and a lot of patience.

Update 2011-10-06: See photos on Facebook!

In the spirit of promoting science through multiple channels, I’ve posted links to some science videos that I helped produce with Journal of Visualized Experiments:

JoVE is an innovative online journal that uses video to demonstrate scientific concepts. This experience introduced me to script writing, which is quite different from “normal” science writing. Things that look alright on paper can turn out to be absolute tongue-twisters that sound ridiculous; thus, scripting requires language that is ever more clear and concise than the usual obtuse scientific technobabble.

I’ve also provided voiceover narration to a number of videos, which allowed me to practice the art of elocution. I can now say things like “osseointegrated intelligent implant design” six times really fast without stumbling over the words. I also have the ability to describe good sperm (and how to distinguish it from poor-quality sperm) without cracking a smile.

Check out the videos on the SCIENCE page!