Week 1 - An Eventful Start to the Immersion Program

Our first week of the immersion term has wrapped up quickly, and I can already I say that I’ve had some unique experiences at Weill Cornell! For the summer, I’ll be working with  Dr. Lars Westblade. In his lab, I’ll be able to synthesize and test the preliminary components of an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) that I’m developing with my PI, Dr. Christopher Alabi. However, I’ll also be immersed in clinical events by shadowing Dr. Jason Spector. 

My immersion experience began on Tuesday, when I was able to meet Dr. Spector and view a surgery he performed alongside a team of other doctors. I was given scrubs and lead into the operating room to observe the surgery as soon as our meeting concluded. During this procedure, a section of the patient's fibula was isolated and attached to a titanium mold matching a section of the mandible that was also being removed (as a result of tumor growth). This mold was made by accurately modeling the portion of mandible taken from the patient. Due to the complexity of the surgery, the procedure in itself occurred over the course of ten hours and required a large amount of hospital staff. 

The following day, I was able to sit in on a breast reduction surgery that proceeded for about 4 hours. It was interesting to see the preparation required to perform the operation as well as the inner workings of the OR, from the initial time out to surgery completion. Hospital rounds started early in the morning on Thursday; I was able to accompany a group of residents and doctors to check on the patients we’d seen in the OR earlier on in the week, in addition to a few others. During the rounds, patients' blood flow post-op was measured to insure that the tissue was not ischemic and that the recovery process was going well. 

The remainder of my week I dedicated to observing some of the clinical techniques used by laboratory microbiologists in the Westblade Lab. I began by doing bench rotations. Each of the benches in the lab is organized by specimen collection method. First, I was seated at the Urines bench. At this bench, I was able to observe how different bacterial strains are categorized and sorted from those samples. This process varied by suspected strain and required different biochemical testing methods to complete (Ex. by measuring catalase activity or latex agglutination). In addition, I learned about how infections are diagnosed, identified and relayed to clinicians who can prescribe the necessary treatment to their patients. All in all, I look forward to the rest of the program as it progresses, and I hope I can learn more about clinical microbiology as well as modern surgical procedures!