A Note from the Editors

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the second edition of The Lumen – an art & literary magazine of the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences. 

The Lumen is an initiative of the Medical Humanities Club, which focuses on bringing the humanities—ranging from history, literature, and the social sciences to art and music—into conversation with our medical education.

As editors, we are acutely aware of the power we hold as future physicians. We are humbled by the honor of being present as life begins and ends, of listening to those most vulnerable, and instigating positive change. Part of such change comes from acknowledging that the humanities are not separate from, nor are they simply ancillaries, to medicine. We hope The Lumen can bridge our academic experiences with those more personal, and illuminate the various experiences, challenges, and creative expressions our community has to offer, while reaffirming the value of the arts and humanities in our field.

In medicine and biology, a lumen, as our colleagues very well know, is the innermost part of something. A lumen may house blood or bile, may carry or absorb, may empty and fill. We at the Medical Humanities Club and The Lumen editorial board see the arts and humanities as occupying a central, luminal position in the world of medicine. 

Thus, The Lumen offers us a central space: to come together, to share, and to create.

We encourage you to submit your own work to future editions and to check out our website at www.lumenmag.org. Please reach out to us at utcomls.lumen@gmail.com with any feedback or thoughts—we’d love to hear from you!

We are infinitely grateful to our exceptional contributors, who took the time to create poignant, powerful pieces that will be valued for generations to come. We are thankful for the support we’ve received from our mentors, professors, donors, and College—to Dr. Hussain, our faculty advisor, to Dr. Matus, for her guidance and commitment to The Lumen and Medical Humanities Club, and to Dean Cooper for his generous and unwavering support.

The Lumen Editorial Board

Kanya Dayananth, MS1

Andrew Fausey, MS1

Harsh Agrawal, MS2

David Chu, MS2

Hedyeh Elahinia, MS3

Kate Girdhar, MS3