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Neuroscience graduate Jessie Porro ’03 (Ridgewood, N.J.) will pursue an advanced degree in the M.D. program at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia this August.
Porro graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in neuroscience on May 24. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Psi Chi, the national psychology honors society.
Porro, who will likely enter the pediatrics field, says she’s excited about medical school because she’ll “be doing what I really love. And I feel very fortunate to be able to attend a good school that puts a strong emphasis on patient care. I firmly believe that is the most important thing in treating patients, not just being able to diagnose or prescribe the right drug.”
On campus, she was vice president of Lafayette Society for Neuroscience, a peer tutor, and a volunteer at Via, a center for people with mental and physical disabilities. She says she entered college without a clear idea of what she wanted to do, but getting involved in various activities and academic opportunities helped her decide on a career in medicine.
“Each experience I had made me love the field more and more,” she says.
Last spring, Porro completed an intensive research project on autism under the guidance of Wendy Hill, Rappolt Professor and chair of neuroscience. The study entailed an in depth comparison of the neurological abnormalities of autistic people to normal individuals as well as an observation of autistic behavior first-hand.
“You need to understand such topics as the structure of the brain and the role of neurotransmitters,” says Porro. “I found it very interesting to be able to learn about a disease in such detail and learn all of the different components that it deals with.”
“[Jessie has] an exceptional ability to see the crux of an issue,” says Hill. “We had some really wonderful discussions not just about the results of a particular study, but also about more general issues such as how the research findings might influence parenting an autistic child or being a teacher in a special program for autistic children.”
Porro, a Trustee Scholarship recipient, says that everyone involved with the neuroscience department was very close. “We were almost like a family, so if anyone ever had a question or problem or just needed some advice, there were always people willing to help.”
Throughout her Lafayette experience, Porro took advantage of local and alumni resources to learn more about her potential career field.
During her sophomore year, she volunteered at Warren Hospital in Phillipsburg, N.J., where she visited and transported patients and occasionally assisted in administering various tests.
In January of her junior year, Porro participated in Lafayette’s alumni externship program, during which students spend two to five days shadowing alumni at their workplaces, learning about careers they may consider entering after college, developing professional networking contacts, and building their resumes. She shadowed Dr. Robert Siegel ’77, an oncologist (tumor specialist) with Oncology Associates, P.C., a subdivision of Hartford Hospital’s Helen and Harry Gray Cancer Center in Hartford, Conn. Porro observed Siegel in both hospital and private practice settings.
“I sat in on patient visits and followed him during his daily duties,” she explains. “I learned so much from him: the basics of oncology, how to talk to patients about a very difficult subject, how to establish good relationships with them, and how to discuss all options with them clearly. He’s an amazing doctor and he really inspired me.”
Porro’s hands-on experience continued that summer through an internship with Dr. Steven Kane, a pediatric neuro-opthamologist at Colombia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. She sat in on patient visits and surgeries, researched the field, and assisted in patient care. Kane’s clients included children from birth to adolescence and some adults.
“I really enjoyed this experience because it allowed me to see what it was like to work with children as opposed to adults,” says Porro. “I had already taken my MCATs and started the application process [for medical school] at this point, but this experience made my decision to attend medical school definite.”
This past January, Porro completed another alumni externship, this time shadowing Dr. Carmela Videtti Pane ’78, a neonatologist at Valley Hospital in her hometown of Ridgewood. Porro shadowed Pane as she cared for and examined newborn, premature infants and also observed deliveries and baby exams.
Although Porro had already been accepted into medical school at this point, she says she wanted to take advantage of every opportunity she had to learn about the field, especially a subspecialty such as neonatology.
“This experience was truly amazing,” she says. “Some of these children were only a few pounds at birth. A few years ago they would never have been able to survive, but with all the advancements in medicine, now they can with little or no long-term problems.”
“I was very fortunate that all the doctors I worked with were very kind and caring,” Porro adds. “They really helped me learn a lot about each one of their respective fields as well as how to go about giving good patient care.”
Porro says everything about the medical field interests her. “Learning about the body and how it works, learning about diseases and how to treat them, being able to apply all the knowledge I learn and actually treat people, and being able to have a positive effect on people’s lives” are all things she is looking forward to experiencing in her career.