vesicular transport

Ceili hamill

MD class of 2025

“Two steps forward, one step back” the professor says “COPII vesicles move anterograde and COPI vesicles move retrograde.”

For me, two weeks into medical school, this is more than a helpful mnemonic for classes of coated vesicles. It is everything I am feeling.

I step around the hardwood floors of my new apartment that still does not feel like home, repeating the words with every footfall. After about ten minutes, I realize I have moved sideways from my desk to the center of the room.

I rush back to my notes, put a red star next to the slide. Feeling the information click into place, I grin.