In this episode of Why I Teach, Provost Kimberly D. McCorkle sits down with Dr. Aaron Polichnowski, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at ETSU’s Quillen College of Medicine and recipient of the university’s 2025 Distinguished Faculty Award in Research. A nationally recognized expert in hypertension and chronic kidney disease, Dr. Polichnowski shares how curiosity-driven research, teaching medical students, and mentoring future scientists are deeply interconnected—and why helping students ask the right questions is at the heart of his work.Listen to more episodes of “Why I Teach,” where Dr. Kimberly D. McCorkle explores stories of impact and success of ETSU faculty. Subscribe at https://why-i-teach-conversation-with-etsu-faculty.podbean.com/. ETSU College of Medicine: https://www.etsu.edu/com/Department of Biomedical Sciences: https://www.etsu.edu/com/dbms/ETSU Health: www.etsuhealth.orgPodcast transcript:Dr. Aaron PolichnowskiI like explaining how it is rewarding to be able to ask a question that no one else has asked, to design an experiment, collect interpret data, and maybe shed some light on some pathophysiological process that we didn't have a clue about before. So that is a really rewarding process.Dr. Kimberly D. McCorkleHi, I'm Kimberly McCorkle, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at East Tennessee State University.From the moment I arrived on this campus, I have been inspired by our faculty, their passion for what they do, their belief in the power of higher education, and the way they are transforming the lives of their students. This podcast is dedicated to them, our incredible faculty at ETSU. Hear their stories as they tell us "Why I Teach."In this episode, we will talk with Dr. Aaron Polichnowski. Dr. Polichnowski is an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at ETSU's Quillen College of Medicine and the recipient of the university's 2025 Distinguished Faculty Award in Research.Dr. Polichnowski is nationally recognized for his work on hypertension and chronic kidney disease. His studies have advanced understanding of how blood pressure, genetics, and environmental factors influence kidney injury and disease progression. In addition to securing nearly $2 million in external research funding, Dr. Polichnowski is deeply committed to mentoring future scientists and physicians and has directed ETSU's Medical Student Summer Research Program since 2017.Today, he joins us to share not only what he studies, but why he teaches. Enjoy the show.Dr. Polichnowski, welcome to the show. I start my podcast with the same question for every guest. Take me back to your first day of teaching at ETSU as a faculty member. And looking back on that day, what is one piece of advice that you would have given yourself?Dr. Aaron PolichnowskiWell, first, Provost McCorkle, thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.I would actually tell myself two things if I had to go back to my first day of teaching medical students here at Quillen.One, I'm not going to know the answer to every question they ask, and it's not going to be perfect. One of the things that I've really appreciated with the opportunity to teach medical students is they ask really good questions that push me, that push my boundaries of knowledge. I learn something new every year from the questions they ask, and I don't know the answer to all of them. So that's something I would tell myself is to relax and just let that happen.And not being perfect -- I think a lot of us in research tend to be a little bit of a perfectionist. And like everything else, teaching is a learning process. You get better at it each year. And so I would just tell myself again, relax, just enjoy the process.Dr. Kimberly D. McCorkleThank you. Great advice. You built a nationally recognized research program in kidney physiology and disease. What originally drew you to teaching alongside research, and how d