My Internship
Dr. Liana Apostolova
Liana G. Apostolova, MD, MSc, FAAN joined the IU School of Medicine as the Barbara and Peer Baekgaard Professor in Alzheimer's Disease Research and Professor in Neurology, Radiology, Medical and Molecular Genetics in June of 2015. She graduated Summa cum Laude from the Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria in 1998, and completed Neurology residency training at University of Iowa and Dementia fellowship at UCLA. Dr. Apostolova is a prolific researcher. Her research focuses on the early symptomatic and pre-symptomatic stages of Alzheimer's Disease and on the development and validation of sensitive imaging and genetic biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease and other dementing disorders. Dr. Apostolova is the recipient of many NIH and industry supported grants and several research awards. She is the principal investigator of the multimodal clinical and biomarker Longitudinal Early-Onset AD Study which will recruit, characterize and follow 400 patients with definite EOAD and 100 age-matched control subjects across 19 US clinical sites. She also directs the Clinical Core of the Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Indiana University.
The button down below is a direct link to the LEADS website where you can find further more in depth information of
LEADS
The Apostolova lab is led my Dr. Liana Apostolova. The Apostolova lab is affiliated with the Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, the Center for Neuroimaging as well as other departments and school centers. The Apostolova lab works with data from different Alzheimer's disease studies.
At my internship site we do research and this matters because through this study they will be able to fill the gap in early-onset Alzheimer’s disease research. One thing I really hope to do more in my internship is to apply my previous knowledge of Alzheimer's.
Why LEADS?
I chose this internship for several reasons. One of the reasons as to why I chose this internship was because since the day I read the over view of what LEADS was about I knew it was something I would really enjoy being apart of.
As a certified nursing assistant and home health aide I have worked with several residents who are affected by Alzheimer's disease. With Alzheimer's disease not only is the person affected but the persons family members are affected too.
Alzheimer's is something that affects over three million people in the United States per year which is a very large number so being able to be a part of something that is working towards something to help those with Alzheimer's is very important to me.
What Participants can Expect
Participants with early-onset Alzheimer’s will attend three study visits over two years, and cognitively normal participants will attend two visits over one year. During study visits your patients will receive the following exams:
Clinical and cognitive assessments
Participants will undergo a series of tests and exams performed by the study physician and other study personnel. Participants will also be asked to answer various questionnaires.
Brain imaging
The study involves an MRI scan and two types of PET scans of the brain. Imaging will allow researchers to detect brain atrophy as well as amyloid or tau protein deposits. Participants will receive results from their MRI scans. Cognitively impaired participants will also receive results from their amyloid PET scans.
Biofluid collection
Researchers will collect blood from each participant to extract DNA, RNA, plasma, serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Blood will also be drawn to screen for genetic mutations associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Lumbar puncture
Participants will also be given the opportunity to undergo an optional lumbar puncture to collect cerebral spinal fluid (CSF).
Daily Tasks
Several of my task at the site consist of prepping binders, that includes cognitively impaired and normal control binders, inputting data entry in different areas for our participants that can either be on their baseline/screening visit, twelve month follow up visit or twenty-four month follow up visit, prepping blood kits, contacting participants to follow up, and now something new that is having to be done due to COVID-19 is a COVID-19 screening which I also do prior to the participants coming in .
Everyday at the site I am doing different tasks or working on something new which I really enjoy as it allows me to explore different areas of task and it also allows me to learn new things.
Shadowing
At my site I am able to shadow different cognitive test that are done by one of the site coordinators, different imaging test that are done some being MRI's and PET Scans, lumbar punctures that are done by one of the physicians, how the different different consents are read and explained to the participants which there are several different consents and they are also always changing to be best benefit and ensure safety and privacy to the participant and the clinical site. With being able to have these different shadowing experiences it has helped me explore different fields and have a better understanding of the different data entry I am doing because I am able to understand and see the bigger picture as to why they test the things they do.
Successes and Challenges
This year has been a very crazy year not just for me but for several people. There has been several challenges that I have had to overcome and I still am trying to overcome. Some of those challenges include having several of my classes being online and not being able to be in person for them. Another challenge that I have faced is staying motivated in the middle of a pandemic. There has been challenges I have faced but there have also been success. Some of the things I feel as though I have succeeded in are making sure to communicate effectively with my supervisor and also other staff to ensure everything runs as smooth as possible. I feel as this with the time I have spent at my site as of now I feel a growth in my confidence and what I can offer. I used to hardly ever ask questions and now when I simply have the slightest doubt in something I ask a question regarding it as there is also no room to make careless mistakes in a study like this.
Expectations vs Reality
Before going into my internship I was not quite sure what to expect for the day-to-day life of this work. After being there for several months I learned that there is a lot of work that is put in behind the scenes from everybody that is involved in the research. The experience was different from what I expected because in our site everybody tries to help each other so that everything can flow easier and so that the research is done in a timely manner. I really enjoyed being able to work alongside such professional people. Although there were some challenges I believe there were entirely more successes. Success is something that can look different for every body but to me I feel like I was successful in the task I was set to do. When I did come across challenges I made sure to ask some body in office for help since there is no room to make mistakes in such research.
Fall Reflection
Being an intern and being apart of LHSI during a pandemic was not ideal but my internship has taught me several things. One of which is learning how to work as a team to get things done, especially during a pandemic. Being behind the scenes and being able to what all goes on when a research is being conducted it is clear that team work is one of the most importants things. I have even been given the responsibility to conduct COVD-19 pre-screenings to ensure the safety of everybody. This semster has been full of adapting to new things, learning how to manage my time more wisely, and also learning how to communicate effectively.
Spring Reflection
This semester flew by. I can not believe that I am done being an intern through LHSI but I am very grateful that I will be staying as an intern with LEADS through Dr. Apostolova. I was able to shadow several different things that are conducted with the study such as a lumbar puncture, Tau PET Scan, and several different neurological test. I was also able to be trained on how to properly prep blood kits and also be trained on how to properly prep the binders for the study since the format of the binders changed so that it could be more easy to understand and follow through with each of the participants visits.
Check this very informative video of Dr. Liana Apostolova at the NIH AD Research Summit 2018.
LEADS principal investigator Liana Apostolova, MD, spoke about LEADS at the 2018 National Institutes on Aging Alzheimer’s Disease Research Summit.
Interested in learning more about Alzheimer's and different ways you can get involved? Check out the link below!
