Andi Garcia-Ortiz/Dr. Carli: Week 1 (June 5th - 9th, 2023)

Monday (June 5th, 2023)

I met Carly Skudin and Dr. Kelly Gillen for the first time at our orientation meeting in Lasdon House Conference Room 300. They notified us of the deliverable for the clinical summer immersion including the weekly blog posts, presentations, term paper, poster, and termination notice. We were also assigned several online trainings including CITI, Fire Safety, ITS Phishing, and HIPAA. We also made sure to sign any invention forms and confidentially agreements. An MRI course taught by Dr. Martin Prince was also introduced to us. The class takes place this Sunday (June 11th) from 2-4pm and will include a personal MRI scan. The orientation meeting ended with a guided tour from Carly around Weill Cornell and the retrieval of our Weill Cornell Medical ID cards. At 2pm, Carlos, Salman, Ellen, Ana, and I met with Dr. Suzanne Maher at HSS. We got a tour of the entire HSS research facility, including the implant, foot, & ankle facilities. We were introduced to Melissa De La Cruz, who helped us get our HSS ID cards. 

Tuesday (June 6th, 2023)

The Prosthetic Joint Infection (PJI) research groups have their weekly meetings at 8am at HSS Research Institute on the 6th floor. The group is led by Dr. Mathias Bostrom and Dr. Alberto Carli. Directly after, I attended the online Biomechanics Meeting that includes both researchers from Cornell University and HSS. Following the biomechanics meeting is Dr. Carli's lab meeting on the 4th floor of HSS Research Institute. Christina Chao is my main point of contact in the Carli lab. After the meeting, I completed the New Investigator Orientation Module I online training using Enccompass. 

Wednesday (June 6th, 2023)

We had our first summer immersion weekly meeting with Dr. Robert Min and Dr. Ajay Gupta in Starr 8A-05 at 3pm. We discussed their unique backgrounds and introduced ourselves. 

Thursday (June 7th, 2023)

I attended the 10am online HSS Orthopedic Soft Tissue Research Meeting featuring my fellow Cornell graduate student Serafina Lopez! She shared her research on controlling proteoglycan and glycosaminoglycan content to enhance collagen fiber formation in a tissue-engineered meniscus. After the meeting, I completed several online trainings to get me prepared to work on Dr. Carli's various PJI projects. 

Friday (June 9th, 2023)

I shadowed Dr. Carli and his Physician Assistant Lexi Simon today! I saw one total hip replacement and three total knee replacements. During the hip replacement, I saw the mako surgery robot in action as it assisted Dr. Carli's placement of the new femoral head. Dr. Carli estimates the size implants he will need prior to surgery, but the sizing is flexible. The female patients today ranged from size 5-7 knee implants. After the surgeries, I got to handle the various sized implants. I also learned a lot about cement used to bind the implants to the native bone. Overall 10/10 Day.





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