Doctor of Medicine | MD Program Since coming to Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in 2016, Dr. Piper said he has experienced something unique to his new student body. “Geisinger Commonwealth students are motivated and prepared,” he said. “It may sound cliché, but they’re also nice — and that’s not a euphemism, it’s accurate.”
Research synergy There is an apocryphal tale about Michelangelo describing sculpture as simply removing parts of the stone that aren’t statue. The story may be false, but the process it illustrates — patient acceptance of uncertainty until a form emerges from the fog of infinite possibilities — is a good metaphor for scientific discovery. Whatever the term, Dr. Piper says it’s how he thrives. He prefers to focus on areas where competing or even contradictory facts make a single answer unlikely. “Our society likes extremes, blackand-whites,” he said. “But there are shades of gray. I like the ambiguity. For example, I conduct research concerning opioids,
which have both medical benefits and potential for misuse. I also research ethical questions, particularly conflicts of interest not revealed in scientific journals. I find it interesting because, on one hand, we get products with great promise to improve evidence-based medical care, but there’s a downside when industry doesn’t report its financial incentives.” Dr. Piper’s interest in the gray areas of opioid research was sparked during his undergrad days as a psychology major studying children whose mothers “used” during pregnancy. The experience persuaded him to switch to neuroscience, and he’s been studying neuro chemicals ever since. However, coming to Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and embracing its community-focused mission has allowed his research to branch out in new ways. For example, he’s lending his expertise to a unique project to discover the health needs of the Scranton area’s Latino population led by Ida Castro, JD, Geisinger Commonwealth’s vice president for Community Engagement and chief
diversity officer. The population health project involves Geisinger Commonwealth medical students leading teams of REACH-HEI participants (those who participate in the Regional Education Academy for Careers in Health – Higher Education Initiative), armed with iPads and fanning out into various neighborhoods to conduct a survey Dr. Piper designed. The survey will delve into issues with health, nutrition and substance abuse that affect this “hidden population” in northeast Pennsylvania. Dr. Piper has another unusual summer project. He and a team of Geisinger Commonwealth students have a grant to analyze Scranton’s wastewater and look for opioid “signatures.” These varying chemical compositions will reveal how much of the area’s opioid use comes from prescribed versus illicit sources. For this connoisseur of gray, the study will reveal welcome bits of black and white. “Right now, we are relying on self-reported information,” Dr. Piper said. “The analysis will give us actual data.”
9
MD-Booklet.indd 9
8/16/19 9:14 AM