About this site:
I’m a student with an interest in disorders of the central nervous system and a goal of becoming a physician scientist. Find here information related to my professional interests including medicine, surgery, research, biotechnology, and physiology. In addition to keeping a cache of my professional output and interests, I plan on regularly updating the blog component of this website with articles detailing interesting papers I come across, tools and tricks for R, data visualization, and overviews of physiological mechanisms, though it is entirely possible that the content evolves over time. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email me. I love engaging and collaborating with others!
To look at my current research topics, professional interests, and skills scroll below. To stay up to date on all developments on my website, subscribe to my blog.
To connect with me via email, please write me at: ben@benjaminheifetz.com
While perusing the site in its current state you may encounter typos, errors, and sparse data. I’m working to get all of this fixed! Thank you for your understanding, the site should be ready for full release in the coming weeks
Research Objectives
I am interested in exploring the neurophysiological basis of central nervous system disorders and investigating surgical and non-surgical interventions for such disorders.
Current research topics:
Stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG):
Analysis of cortico-cortical evoked potentials in patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy and applications of SEEG in surgical planning.
Clinical Research in Spine Surgery:
Analysis of the efficacy of the use of combination bone scintigraphy and computed tomography scan in indicating patients for spinal fusion surgery.
Occupational and research skills
Laboratory: Western, northern, and southern blotting, SDS PAGE, Bioassays, PCR, bacterial indicator testing, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA): direct and indirect, MTT cell proliferation assays, FPLC, FRET spectroscopy, basic organic synthesis, distillation, spectral interpretation, mass spectrometry, maintenance of mammalian cell lines, HPLC, UPLC, NMR (H and ¹³C), IR, IC, AA, TLC, GCMS, Pymol models, scientific writing and communication, cGMP, controlled substance protocol, SOP review and critique, writing SOPs, processing and generating reports, familiar with searching and navigating pharmacopeia of the United States, People’s Republic of China, and European Union
Technical: Use of Labware software and LIMS, electronic lab notebooks, proficient in Empower, ChemStation, Chromeleon 7, VisionSecurity, and Tiamo software, proficient in Microsoft Excel, Troubleshooting for: Agilent, Waters, GE, Thermo-Fisher analytical testing devices, Proficient in navigating and using Epic EMR and Allscripts EMR, using REDCap, programming languages: R, basic Javascript, basic HTML/CSS, spoken languages: English (first language), French (conversational), Russian (basic conversation), Hebrew (basic conversation)
Occupational: collaboration, working within a time limit, creativity, adaptability, HIPAA certified, CPR, first aid, and bloodbourne pathogens certified (red cross), Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) coursework includes: Advanced topics in Vulnerable populations, Advanced Topics in Informed Consent, Biomedical Responsible Conduct of Research, Health Information Privacy and Security for Clinical Investigators, Essentials of Grant Proposal Development, Essentials of IACUC, Essentials of Public Health Research, Advanced Topics in Data, IRB Essentials, Human Gene Transfer, Nanotechnology, Working with Mice in Research, (certificates of completion for each course provided upon request)
Augmented Reality demo:
New applications of augmented reality (AR) in clinical and in academic settings have the potential to elucidate topics in medicine that are difficult to succinctly communicate via text. This may help physicians and surgeons better explain certain topics with their patients. Additionally, it may provide a new avenue for students to learn concepts in anatomy and physiology that are more difficult to grasp from 2D book pages. In the future, I plan on further exploring this topic including its use-cases, development, and deployment, which I will cover in my blog.
Demo:
Find below a 3D preview of an anatomical model that can be explored and manipulated in-browser and may be rendered and explored as an physical object in your surroundings using AR.Click and drag to move and scroll to zoom. To bring it into your surroundings using AR, follow the instructions below the preview:
- Use a phone or tablet to scan the following QR code: If you’re reading my website on mobile, just follow this link.
- Wait for the model to load, then tap this icon:
You should be brought to a new page where you’re given the choice to view the 3d model in AR or in its own environment. It should default to AR, though if it doesnt, just press the “AR” text at the top of your screen. Follow the instructions on the screen until the object is placed.
Enjoy! You can pinch to make the model larger, walk around, and explore this model of the skeleton, spine, and peripheral nerves!
PDB file explorer:
This is a molstar widget that can be used to explore molecular structures.
Really this is just here to make sure it’s integrating into my site properly. It will be removed/replaced in future updates
Pictured in the window is the GLUT1 transport protein. GLUT1 is expressed in nearly every single tissue in the body and is expressed in especially high numbers in erythrocytes and the endothelial cells of the blood-brain-barrier.