Week 8: Manav Surti

 This was a productive final week of immersion, which I was so grateful to experience. I took so many things away that I wouldn't have had in any other program; it was truly a one of a kind experience. This week consisted of my last trial of OCA staining for mitochondria and live/dead chondrocytes. The mitochondrial stains once again gave me tons of trouble, but the live/dead stains confirmed the patterns we had been seeing: the chondrocytes stay mostly alive even after widespread and harsh treatment such as holding and drilling the cadaveric joint. This is still surprising to see deep within the tissue, but what is not surprising is the fact that the cells may not be performing at their highest capability. 

I was also able to shadow Dr. Scott Rodeo in his arthroplasty technique. This was something I was highly looking forward to because Dr. Gomoll only conducts arthroplasties using the MAKO robotic software, whereas Dr. Rodeo typically does it the "old-school" way, using guides and acting as a manual carpenter for the bone, measuring each miniscule bone or cartilage fragment that he shaves off. We were also fortunate enough to earn patient consent in order to take the patient's old tissue that Dr. Rodeo shaved away. This tissue was shipped back to Ithaca for mechanical testing and material characterization, but I hope to keep collecting tissue from Dr. Rodeo in the years to come, to conduct more cytogenic and cellular testing, such as the types of experiments I've been doing with the cadaveric joints. 

Overall, I will never forget this experience, and I will always remember a quote from Dr. Gomoll: "Everything is relative." Dr. Gomoll told me this one of my first days in the clinic, referring to the fact that compared to engineering, everything you choose to do in day-to-day life becomes relative when there is a human life involved. Some of the patients came in very emotional about the type of surgery they would have to undergo, or after being told that they would not be able to return to everyday activities that they were previously able to complete. This is completely different than my day-to-day life, in which most of my work and thinking comes from being immersed in research. Bringing in that patient interaction into my everyday research will forever change how I conduct it. Thank you to everyone who made this collaboration and program possible. 

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