Joshua Wortzel

Joshua Wortzel (Medical Student)

Joshua Wortzel
(Medical Student)

Josh is a rising second-year medical student at Stanford University, and he is excited to work in the Bryant lab this summer. He completed his undergraduate degree in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University in 2013. During college Josh worked in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Lee where he conducted his thesis work on engineered growth factors to manipulate endothelial cell proliferation with therapeutic applications for wound healing. Josh then went to Cambridge University in the UK to do an MPhil in Clinical Science – Translational Medicine and Therapeutics. There he studied clinical trial design and statistical analysis. It was during his master’s that Josh learned more about the placebo effect, and he became fascinated by how it might work. Specifically, he is interested in placebo-induced immunomodulation, and currently he is working to obtain skills to study the molecular mechanisms underlying it. This summer, Josh is working in the Bryant lab to learn methods in mouse models of Pavlovian conditioning. He is very grateful for this opportunity.

The Science of the Placebo Effect