Jonathan Vandenberg Email & Phone Number

United States

spinal cord injury medicine

United States

Chicago, Illinois

I have worked with the Grand Rapids wheelchair tennis team since I was a junior in high school. After college, I have been able to reconnect with the wheelchair tennis team and have been playing with the team and individuals a few times a month. I was asked to be the head coach during the summer of 2009 and 2010. I also traveled with players to clinics and tournaments in Baton Rouge and Tucson. I roomed with players and observed and learned more about their everyday challenges. These trips have further enhanced my respect and friendship with the players. It made me realize that with determination and perseverance you can overcome what seem like overwhelming obstacles.

For Rockford Ambulance, I work as an EMT basic on an ambulance alongside a paramedic. I am currently working 36 to 48 hours a week treating and caring for patients as an EMT basic. I successfully completed the field Intern training program. Working as an EMT I have been able to take an accurate and complete medical history and assess patients. I have also acquired skills like splinting open and closed fractures, using a traction splint and cervical spinal immobilization techniques. The myriad health issues I encounter at work inspire me to research deeper into patients’ health. Overall, the rewarding nature of my job at Rockford Ambulance has confirmed my interest in health-care and lifelong learning.

Working with the kids of a rural area of Huancayo, Peru, teaching English, mathematics, and chess was a lot of fun. The area has electricity and running water just three hours a day. This group of kids came from poor families around the area. Many of the kids have either lost parents or have dysfunctional families. It is important to be sensitive to these issues, and I made sure I know each child's story so I can better understand and relate to them. I brought five chess boards to Peru for the Carismaperu.org volunteering program of Huancayo. I was happy to learn I would be working with seven to thirteen year old kids, because this was the age range when I began learning chess. There are not many activities or supplies for the kids and they have really taken to playing chess. Whether it is hitting the books, playing chess, or taking an overflowing bus to the lagoon for a field trip with the kids, I enjoyed every second at Urpachancha annex.

During my time in the Neubig lab, I was able to learn about the scientific process through experimentation with G proteins and regulators of G protein signaling (RGS). I used advanced techniques such as high throughput flow cytometry, and methods of enzymology, for the production and subsequent extraction of the GaO protein from Escherichia coli. I worked many late nights growing bacteria to harvest the protein we used for our experiments. In addition to the lab experience, the ASPET fellowship allowed me to participate in weekly seminars with other research fellows and professors. These seminars provided perspectives from the different labs in the pharmacology department. Overall, I participated in cutting edge pharmacological research.

Carried heavy loads

D.O., Medicine

Ba, Biology, Neuroscience

Education record