New student-run healthcare magazine publishes on campus

The result of more than a year’s worth of planning, the first issue of Synapse, a new student-run health care magazine, is currently circulating around campus.

Undergraduates now have the opportunity to write for a biannual healthcare magazine that is run by Penn students and written for Penn students, said College sophomore Cary Kraft, vice president of outreach and events for Synapse.

While the current science publications on campus are more research-based and not exclusively run by undergraduates, Synapse gives a voice to those students who may not have spent years in a laboratory, but who have a healthcare-related passion or experience that they want to explore in an article, Kraft explained.

Synapse already has a general body of 250 students, a general board of 30 students, an advisory board of 10 faculty members and an executive board of eight students, he added.

“People saw that this was a great opportunity and wanted to be involved,” said Kraft.

The first issue of Synapse was funded by many of the Penn departments, along with some corporate sponsorship, said College and Wharton sophomore Nicholas Wilcox, the founder of Synapse.

However, the magazine is not just for pre-med students, Wilcox explained. They are marketing and looking to have a diverse source of writers from all four schools, he added.

Since Synapse is dealing with complex medical topics, faculty members are there to play an advisory role and check the accuracy and quality of the articles, Wilcox said.

The faculty members that attended the launch party Tuesday night were impressed with the students who worked on the publication.

“I think they’re fabulous. It’s a pretty polished end product,” Biology professor Philip Rea said. “It happened because they worked well together as a team.”

Writers enjoyed their involvement in the process.

“Being a writer for Synapse is really exciting, and I got to explore a topic in medicine that I’m interested in,” College sophomore Lauren Mathias said.

Some student attendees appreciated the magazine’s quality work.

“I think it’s absolutely awesome. It looks very professional and well put together. I’m so excited to read it,” said Teresa Wang, a College and Wharton sophomore.

Other students were glad that health issues are getting recognized.

“At Penn, there’s a lot of talk about business. This magazine will create more hype about health issues that are both interesting and important,” Engineering junior Gabriel Seidner said.

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