Week 8 - Justin Levine

 And just like that, we have reached the end of our Summer Immersion experience! The whole summer flew by, full of engaging and educational opportunities in the hospital and lab, and plenty of adventuring in our time off. 


This week was actually much lighter in terms of shadowing, as Dr. Spector was out of the office on Tuesday and Thursday, meaning we ended up having just one clinic day and one OR day. The clinic day was relatively uneventful, mostly seeing patients for pre-operative consultations. I was definitely able to notice how much I have learned this summer, as conversations about procedures that just two months ago I barely understood I was able to completely follow along and understand (I think I could probably discuss breast reconstruction and Moh’s procedures with patients if I was ever to work in a hospital). In the OR, we saw the same patient I have discussed at length in my previous two posts, with extensive facial damage from head and neck cancer-related complications. While their face was still half open wound, there was noticeable improvement in the past week, and Dr. Spector and his team performed a skin graft using skin from the patient’s thigh. This patient has had a failed skin graft in the past, but with DermiSphere laying the groundwork for healing I am optimistic that (at least the majority of) this graft will take.


In the lab, I imaged my dialysis tubing pilot for the adipose IF project, finding very blurry and off-target staining. I re-ran the experiment, lowering stain concentration slightly to mitigate off-target binding while increasing both digestion and stain application time to allow increased dispersion of the stain through the tubing and the sample. Imaging this updated attempt, I could actually visualize the adipocytes, and while the protocol could benefit from some further iteration to ensure the best possible stain, I am very happy with how far it has come over the course of this summer. We continue to wait for IRB approval for the collaborative clinical data retrospective study.


With that, I am at the end of these posts! I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to embed myself in a hospital setting, as it has been incredibly informative and will help me bridge the gaps between lab and clinic as I continue my studies. I am especially grateful for Dr. Spector’s mentorship, the welcoming environment fostered by the members in his lab, and to Kelly and Carly for coordinating this entire summer experience. 


Thank you!

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