[450] From GED to Fulbright, Spring Grad Howell's Next Challenge: Medical Research in Germany

Release date: May 3, 2010


News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu


From GED to Fulbright, Spring Grad Howell’s
Next Challenge: Medical Research in Germany


(MURFREESBORO, TN) – Kaitlen Howell, who will earn dual Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees from MTSU on Saturday, May 8, has struggled through many hard times in her life but has risen above and out of them to achieve amazing things.
More than a year ago, the foreign-languages and biology double major was approached by the University Honors College to apply to the Fulbright U.S. Scholars Program on MTSU’s behalf. The Honors College stood by her through the process, guiding and advising on the best way to apply.
Howell, who entered MTSU with a graduate equivalency degree, now is a Fulbright Scholar. The government-sponsored research program is commissioning a grant for a 10-month stay in Germany beginning in September 2011, where she’ll participate in “hands-on clinical experiments and observations of both the heart and brain to test the effects of a common heart defect and to look for a relationship between the heart condition and a certain type of stroke.”
Her stay in Germany for the Fulbright will be spent studying and researching the relationship between patent foramen ovale and vasospasm — testing to see if certain chemicals released by a heart defect cause a vasospasm and where blood vessels spasm, leading to vasoconstriction and other neurological effects such as strokes.
All of her research will be conducted at the German hospital Paracelsus Klinik in Zwickau, Saxony, under the supervision of Dr. Jan Warnke.
“My role in this research includes a continuous investigation of scientific journals for new relevant publications, organizing and overseeing the project, interviewing patients and functioning as the primary data recorder,” Howell said.
Howell has been interested in neuroscience since she began her undergraduate career. She said she’s mesmerized by the way the nervous system correlates to every part of the human body.
Howell also is extremely interested in the German language. Though she happened on the language by chance during a summer-school semester, she said she came to love it and every other part of German culture.
Her fluency in the language also has prepared her for research in the country itself, because her linguistic ability will allow Howell to interact with colleagues and patients and to study at a German university.
During six months of her junior year, Howell participated in biological research that further cemented her love for science and the excitement of inquiry.
In summer 2008, she studied in Germany under Warnke and his neuroscience team at the Paracelsus Klinik, an internship that brought together everything she loves: medicine, research and German culture.
“Through these experiences, I have only begun to discover the intricacies of our nervous system,” Howell said, “yet increasing my knowledge does not sate my thirst but only serves to whet my appetite for greater understanding.”
Outside of studying medicine and German, Howell also helps the community by volunteering with HIV-positive people, offering “nonmedical support and increasing community awareness.” She also works as a mentor at the Next Step program, which provides assistance to students who are moving from foster care into the collegiate world.
“These activities are important because I am committed to becoming a physician researcher who exemplifies not only skill but also compassion,” Howell said.
The summa cum laude graduate’s future plans include applying to medical school for a dual medical- and doctoral-degree program. She specifically wants to be a surgical physician researcher, so most of her time will be spent on patient care and researching surgical procedures.
“Operating on a patient can improve or even save his or her life, but recording the exact details of the procedure and determining what is most successful will help that one patient and affect the lives of many more to come,” Howell said.
Howell credits many of the Honors College faculty for her successes, including Dean John Vile and Laura Clippard, a coordinator for the college.
She said one MTSU professor, however, stands out as one of her most inspirational and helpful mentors. Dr. Gore Ervin, professor of biology, took time to answer her questions, made sure she knew how to correctly perform tasks and ensured that she would understand the material thoroughly.
“Dr. Ervin is probably, in my opinion, the best professor I have ever had,” Howell said.

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(Senior journalism major Elizabeth Warren of Jasper, Tenn., wrote this for the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs. She is scheduled to graduate in May 2011.)

Note: A high-resolution photo of Kaitlen Howell is available. To request, please contact Randy Weiler in MTSU News & Public Affairs by calling 615-898-5616 or e-mail jweiler@mtsu.edu.



With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.


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