Shaunak Varma

Shaunak Varma is a graduate of Duke University. He double majored in Economics and Public Policy, and receiving a certificate in Global Health. He loves nothing more than spending time with friends and listening to music or watching sports or movies. Born in raised in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, but for some reason, he loves the Detroit Lions. He has a burgeoning interest in politics, and is particularly interested in issues that victims of psychological disorders face.

Most commented posts

  1. Be Aware. Be Kind. Save Lives. — 8 comments
  2. #OccupyWashington — 3 comments
  3. Those Grieving Alone – Seek Support — 2 comments
  4. Making Things Better — 2 comments
  5. Standing Up and Speaking Out — 2 comments

Author's posts

Jun 17

Be Aware. Be Kind. Save Lives.

I started this past Monday afternoon just like any other. I headed to the library to study for my upcoming midterm, put my stuff down at my favorite study spot, and, in spite of my best intentions, opened espn.com on my laptop. In the midst of a sea of headlines persecuting LeBron James for failing …

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Jun 14

Time to Legalize?

The Bureau of Justice Statistics recently published a report that documented the inmate population in the United States. The report showed that in 2002, 24.7% of the prison population was sentenced for drug offenses, including nearly 11% of whom have been imprisoned for possession. Drug abuse is a huge problem in the United States. This …

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Jun 13

Nurture Changing Nature – Power and Responsibility

I was so happy at 2:30 PM on Monday afternoon. I had stayed up until 3 AM the night before watching pointless youtube videos and had been exhausted all morning. The lab for my Molecular Biology course is scheduled to get out at 4 PM on Mondays, but today’s lab was short. I had completed …

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Jun 06

High and Alive

Researchers have recently published surprising findings that people who live in higher elevations are more at risk to commit suicide. Although the causal link is still unknown, the researchers used solid methods and controlled for typical suicide risk factors such as age, race, gender, and income. One potential explanation for this finding is that people …

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Jun 03

Counterintuitive, but Affordable

Since my previous post in which I brought to light Robert Bach and Peter Kocher’s proposal of eliminating tuition costs for med school students, I have had various interesting conversations with people about potential pros and cons of this plan. On the most part, people agreed with me that such a change to our medical …

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May 30

Avoid Scarcity in Psychiatric Services – Make Medical School Free

As I mentioned in a previous post, the prevalence of neuropsychiatric conditions is skyrocketing around the world. Unfortunately, this rise in incidence has not been accompanied by a rise in amount of mental health care clinicians. Demand for psychiatry is rising faster than for any other specialty, yet medical students are opting for specialties with …

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May 28

Unlock the Forgotten

A few months ago, CNN journalists David McKenzie and David Formanek covered the horrific conditions that mental patients in an asylum in Mathari, Kenya face in their documentary “Locked Up and Forgotten.” At Mathari Hospital, patients are injected by tranquilizers, raped by other patients, and locked inside the hospital. They consider themselves to be inmates …

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May 24

Gift of Life

People indisputably have contrasting views on life and how to use it. Some use life to build a loving family, whereas others use it to travel the world and savor its beauties. Some use it to amass great personal wealth, fame, and material possessions, and others dedicate their lives to serving others. I am not …

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