Marysol Chu / week 8

 It’s hard to believe that summer immersion has come to an end.  The past two months were extremely valuable in expanding my knowledge of the clinical aspect of my research. I was able to build relationships with clinicians in the field actively working on clinical trials and allowed me to interact with patients and identify needs that still exist despite all the advancements that have been made in medicine.  

I could not have asked for a better clinician to shadow throughout the summer. Dr. Gomez made sure I saw as much as I could not just within bone marrow transplant but with other clinicians in the hematology/oncology department. I remember the first couple of weeks were emotionally challenging because of the severity of the complications that some of the patients experienced. It was very difficult for me to see them and their families struggling but at the same time I could see the medical team fighting and doing everything they could for the patient. This wasn’t the full experience though. Dr. Gómez also made sure I saw the rewarding parts of her job in the clinic when patients who were years out of a successful BMT procedure came back for a yearly check up and were healthy and back to living a normal life ! 

One of the main complications that still needs to be improved is the development of GVHD in patients post transplant. There are current clinical trials in Weill Cornell but it really showed me the importance of the continued development of various therapies in the lab that could potentially either limit the severity of even avoid the development of this side effect.  Most patients I saw had skin irritations which were quickly treated however others had more severe cases which resulted in them being admitted into the ICU. It seemed like there wasn’t a straightforward answer on how to improve this condition aside from steroids which was typically the first line of treatment. If the patient didn’t respond to that there were other options that they could try but typically it required a combination of medications and just waiting to see if there would be improvement. 

Additionally the weekly meetings and workshops that were given throughout the summer exposed me to information I wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to learn. My favorite one was the imaging lecture by Dr. Prince. He really showed us that we didn’t need all the advanced medical terminology to be able to discuss cases we would see in the clinic. We practiced just breaking down each image to the type of imaging, the body part and the potentially what looks different or wrong to be able to form a potential diagnosis. It made something that previously seemed very difficult to something doable that we could talk about when looking at these types of images with our clinicians savior the patients we were seeing. 

Finally, through a conversation with Dr.Kaner, I heard about a book called left on tenth by Deli Ephron who was actually a patient in that department a few years ago and he suggested I read it. The book was great and I have been recommending it to everyone who asks what my summer was like. In the clinic I saw the discussions that occurred among the doctors about a particular patient and everything I saw was from the clinicians point of view. This book deepened my understanding by seeing the patients point of view, the concerns, questions, fears and what they are experience as they are dealing with their very scary reality of being diagnosed with leukemia.

This summer provided us with a unique experience that not many BME phd students are able to have. We were able to see the impact first hand that the advancements in a lab can have on people who are dealing with some very real diseases, Injuries and other health issues. It showed me that the work we put in in the lab with our colleagues has the potential to really advance treatments that still need to be improved. I am certain that not just for me but my classmates as well that stepping out of the lab to see real cases, and doctors who are doing all they can to help their patients has served as great motivation to push through obstacles and frustrations we may experience in the lab because  what we learn or develop has the potential to have a significant impact on patient care.