Matt Kraus
Word count: 1,175
I Could One Day Save Your Life
To whom it may concern,
I have recently come to understand that the UC Board of Regents has proposed a budget that
would eliminate the Neuroscience, Physiology, and Behavior department (NPB). My initial reaction was
of course, “WHAT COULD THEY POSSIBLY BE THINKING?” While I understand that money has gotten
much tighter in the past decade, I must insist that you think very carefully about the repercussions of
such a disastrous decision. One such example, is that few professions offer the opportunity to help
others as directly as a doctor can. With expertise in such a field as neurology, exercise physiology, or
cognitive behavioral development, doctors are poised to handle any problem a patient can have. A large
majority of NPB majors apply to medical school because of the strong foundation NPB can provide in the
medical sciences. By eliminating the department you abandon the potential of thousands of future
doctors. The doctors that may very well one day save your life.
NPB majors can specialize in many areas of medicine, NPB majors can also apply to any variety
of graduate programs. Although it is not unique to NPB, this department contains very difficult classes
with extensive memorization. These difficult classes prepare students for the equally as difficult, if not
more difficult classes to come in medical school. With such a high degree of difficulty the NPB
curriculum gives NPB majors a sturdy foundation when entering graduate school. NPB majors are
equipped to connect their abilities after graduation to the skills they developed while taking the major.
Studying human anatomy, human behavior, neuroscience, as well as cellular biology and more broadly,
the biological sciences, are all fields of study which provide a great foundation for graduate school.
These studies help put Davis on the map by showing our dedication to providing the next generation of
doctors. As proof recently seen in Davis headlines: “Nearly half of the 107 medical students graduating
from UC Davis in June will enter primary-care medicine residency programs, the highest percentage in
more than a decade, demonstrating the school’s ongoing commitment to alleviating the nationwide
shortage of providers in the specialty” (UCD). Studies in NPB foster growth and development in many
areas of medicine. Examples include: neurosurgeons safe guarding our memories, to exercise
physiologists finding newer and safer ways for us to push our bodies.
Today neuroscience is one of the leading fields of study for new young minds, offering a wide
array of specializations. More importantly, deaths attributed to neurological disorders or neurological
related problems are a sizable portion of deaths around the world. The CDC has reported that in 2010
nearly 83,500 people died from Alzheimer's disease alone (Deaths and Mortality, CDC).NPB majors
and specialists have made leaps and bounds in understanding neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and
developing new life changing treatments to prolong the lives of patients while also helping prevent the
loss of precious memories. The World Health Organization also reports that worldwide neurological
problems are attributed to 14 percent of deaths worldwide (WHO). It will be the studies in NPB that will
produce medications and treatments that will bring about tremendous advancement in our
understanding of the problems that face the control center of our bodies. Studies in neuroscience go far
beyond simply treating neurological disorders. Included in neurological studies, are spinal cord injuries,
or SCI’s. Today, 260,000 Americans are living with SCI’s and around 12,000 new cases are reported every
year (Spinal Cord injury). Neuroscience offers a hope that our friends, colleagues, and relatives may one
day have hope to walk again, hug again, and move again.
Opponents to the restoration of NPB might claim that other science majors can provide the
opportunity to attend medical school, as well as maintain that the high number of medical school
graduates indicates a lack in need for new doctors. This would be a gross mistake and disservice to the
thousands of people without proper medical care around the world. History has proven that people, no
matter their demographic, ethnic, and even economic status cannot escape the possibility of developing
such debilitating diseases. Primarily, because all demographics aside, most, if not all neurological
disorders develop because of genetic or other predispositions. As many evolutionary biologists argue,
diseases of all kinds have evolved right alongside mankind, and find way to adapt to the new pressures
we place on them in attempts to kill them off. There is no such thing as having too many doctors,
because there will always be a need for them to taken care of the countless sick around the world.
While other majors do provide equal opportunities for students to enter medical school after college,
few offer the specialization that NPB offers for those who know more specifically which field of medicine
they would like to study. Students like myself, completely infatuated with the mysteries of neurobiology.
Without such an opportunity young minds may not be give the time and tools necessary to solve some
of the most pressing problems to human health.
In today’s day and age many of the medical problems that face the human body today aren’t
harbored by bacteria or viruses, because a large portion of diseases are the fault of the body itself.
Today cancer kills as many people as cigarettes, and immune diseases along with neurological disorders
kill as many as 600,000 people every year (CDC). As the medical field has advanced neuroscience has still
remained a field clouded in mystery. As many have tried, and failed to discover the absolutely nature of
the human central nervous system and the extent to which it influences our emotions, health, cognitive
abilities, and memory. NPB provides courses that focus on the neurological sciences getting young and
upcoming doctors early exposure and experience in this field in order to fuel the curiosity of the next
generation. It is my belief that this field of science holds the key to curing cancer, immunological
disorders, neurological disorders, and finally allowing for the restoration of walking and feeling to those
who previously lost mobility due to a central nervous system injury. Imagine, if we could crack the
puzzle that is the human brain how many mysteries we could solve and what we could do to improve
ourselves as well as the species with which we interact. Cutting the funding for this department is simply
outrageous. For no other reason than the sheer weight of human suffering that could be alleviated
should the right student find himself in the right class here in Davis.
Works Cited
"Deaths and Mortality." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, 05 Apr. 2013. Web. 3 May 2013.
"Highest Percentage of UC Davis School of Medicine Graduates in a Decade Pursue Primary-care
Residencies." UC Davis Health System. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2013.
<http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/publish/news/newsroom/7615>.
"Spinal Cord Injury Statistics." Spinal Cord Injury Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2013.
<http://www.brainandspinalcord.org/spinal-cord-injury/statistics.htm>.
World Health Organization:Global Burden of Neurological Disorders. Publication. WHO, n.d.
Web. 3 May 2013.
<http://www.who.int/mental_health/neurology/chapter_2_neuro_disorders_public_h_
challenges.pdf>.