Though it’s no Frankenstein story—where a young scientist in search of creating life creates a monstrous creature—Dr. Jessica (Flynn) Deede ’94, makes a timely visit to the Society of Skeptics the week of Halloween to reveal some of the trades secrets in her field of orthobiologics, where she makes use of naturally found biologic substances, “often from the patient’s own body,” to treat the symptoms of orthopedic conditions.

On October 28, students will have the opportunity to hear from Dr. Flynn talk about her work on platelet rich plasma (PRP), which helps treat symptoms of common sports injuries like tendonitis and osteoarthritis. 
“I was always interested in science,” Dr. Flynn shared in a pre-event interview. “But I also loved English. After Blair, I went to Amherst College where I majored in English and film studies but took premed classes because I was still interested in medicine. I was accepted to medical school in my sophomore year at Amherst, which really freed me up to continue to pursue my other nonscience interests including playing lacrosse.”
Having the freedom to pursue all of her interests early on in her career helped her to not only make the right decision when it came time to choose her path forward, but also helped her make a decision wholeheartedly, without any regret or looking back.

“From the time that I was accepted to medical school, I knew that I wanted to care for athletes.” Now more than 20 years into her career, Dr. Flynn has become a trusted veteran in her field—so much so that the NFL hired her to work at a “‘think tank’ of sorts” called The 33rd Team where she provides injury insights to a large group of NFL players, coaches, and front office executives. Additionally, she works for NBC Sports doing onfield injury analysis.
After Blair, the alum went on to study at Amherst College where she obtained her bachelor of arts degree in both English and pre-med. Within a year, she applied and was accepted to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai where she got her doctorate of medicine degree.

Looking back at her journey now, Dr. Flynn remembers her time atop the hilltop fondly:
“It’s such a gift to be invited to speak to Skeptics. I remember sitting in those seats, just thinking that I was going to go to Dartmouth and be a lawyer. And yet, fast-forward to today where I’m in a completely different field and graduated from a different school. I know that this can be a stressful time for the students, but it’s also such an exciting time. The possibilities are truly endless, so I am just so lucky to give everyone a glimpse of the career that I’ve found that brings me joy and fulfillment.” 

If she could leave one piece of advice, she says to never stop being curious. “Curiosity is what drives us to develop new technologies. But even more than that, curiosity helps you to be a more thoughtful and empathetic member of society, it makes you a fun and interesting friend and colleague, and if you tend to your curiosity, it can bring you really exciting opportunities in your life that you never expected.”
All are welcome to hear Dr. Flynn speak in the forum of the Chiang-Elghanayan Center for Innovation and Collaboration next Tuesday at 7 p.m.

History of Skeptics
 
The Society of Skeptics was established as a forum for students and faculty to discuss and debate important global issues; it has grown to become one of the premier high school lecture series in the United States. Each week, speakers from the political, social, scientific, economic and literary arenas share their unique perspectives with students, who are encouraged to engage with presenters, asking questions and debating points of view.

The program, which is funded in part by the Class of 1968 Society of Skeptics Endowment Fund, is an outgrowth of the Blair International Society, begun in 1937. Forty years later, former history department chair Elliott Trommald, PhD, Hon. ’65, established the modern Skeptics program as a regular forum for student discussion and debate; history teacher Martin Miller, PhD, took over in the mid-1980s and molded the program into a weekly lecture series, one that has since continued without interruption. Under the tutelage of Dr. Miller and his successor, history department chair Jason Beck, Skeptics has featured a wide variety of speakers who are thought-provoking, engaging, accomplished in their respective fields and often controversial. For a listing of upcoming Skeptics programs, please visit Blair’s website.