Jacquelynne Corey
Physician at Chicago Nasal and Sinus Center
“I love the variety. I love being able to make a difference in peoples lives. I love making peoples lives better. I love teaching and having students that surpass me. Students and patients challenge me intellectually and I'm lucky to work in a science environment that allows me to challenge myself to find answers and it be viewed as a strength and not as a deficiency. That's how I come up with ideas for clinical research. That's what makes science exciting.”
Read Dr. Jacquelynne’s full profile below
What do you do every day?
Each of my days are different due to the fact that I have more than one job in science. I work at a university and I'm an ear, nose & throat physician. I see patients, I teach and lecture students and I also do clinical research. I also run a laboratory that does testing for allergies. Along with seeing patients, I also do surgery. I get to do a lot of different things that involve teaching students, doctors and patients. I work in an office, lab, operating room and classroom.
Why do you love it?
I love the variety. I love being able to make a difference in peoples lives. I love making peoples lives better. I love teaching and having students that surpass me. Students and patients challenge me intellectually and I'm lucky to work in a science environment that allows me to challenge myself to find answers and it be viewed as a strength and not as a deficiency. That's how I come up with ideas for clinical research. That's what makes science exciting.
What were your moments of fear and challenges in your career?
Those moments come every day and part of the excitement of being a successful science professional is that you are able to take those challenges and do something with them. In the field I'm in, there were not many women surgeons, so I had to look around for mentors who were not women and had to specifically search for women mentors. I became a role model by sticking it out and becoming a professor. There are challenges every step of the way but what I try to do is turn them into opportunities.
What are some of the latest innovations in science that you are most excited about?
An area that is exciting right now is genetics. The ability to be able to predict peoples responses to certain types of medications or treatments based on their genetic makeup. It started with the discovery of the BRCA gene and breast cancer. We are now getting down to the genetic level to determine treatment; for example African Americans have different responses to certain medications because they metabolize differently.
Where did you grow up?
Sterling, IL. A small town with a population of 25,000 on the Rock River. 30 miles from the Iowa border.
Describe an experience where you adapted your approach to resolve a sticky situation.
When I was in college I majored in biology and had two minors in athropology and music. I used my anthropology training in both medical school and residency. I looked at the culture of what it meant to be a surgeon. It was a time when surgeons threw instruments and berated staff. I looked at this from a cultural aspect. What about this was good and something I could emulate? What parts were cultural things that I would not do because it wasn't true to my makeup. In the operating room surgeons talk to the nurses, other doctors, and the anesthesiologist. Men generally talk about sports. I learned enough about sports to be conversant. I also learned to bring up a different topic that everyone was familiar with like movies and could switch the conversation to something less sports oriented. I looked at it as a cultural exercise. I made friends with the nurses before an operation and learned peoples names.
What is your unique talent?
I am a singer and I play the piano and the flute. I continue to sing quite a bit. I sing in a church choir and I occasionally do solo work-- weddings, funerals, etc. I used to be in a rock band in medical school.
Is there a current book or book you love?
I read everything. I like mystery novels. Scandinavian noir novels. Jo Nesbo's, The Bat. Authors like Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson. I like detective and mystery novels. If the writer is good there are clues for you to pick up on which is somewhat like science. I also like cookbooks and picking up various cuisines.
What is your favorite website or fun activity?
I absolutely love opera. I'm lucky enough to live in Chicago where they have the Lyric Opera of Chicago and experimental opera. The original multimedia experience. Before music videos they had opera. A favorite is the opera Turandot with set design by David Hockney. The sets were absolutely gorgeous. It was a very moving experience.
Who inspires you?
My students, my patients, my kids and my parents. My father is a pathologist. He lost a finger tip to an infection as a child because they had minimal antibiotics when he was a kid. The amount of knowledge in medicine that became available in his lifetime is amazing and he is still learning.
What’s next for you?
I see that there are a lot of new directions in how health care is delivered and that gives us a lot of challenges and opportunities. There are a lot of different ways to have healthcare delivery evolve. I would like to be more involved in planning better ways to deliver healthcare in the future.
