Internship
Project Summary
Breast cancer is common and affects 1 in 8 women. One third of patients who undergo axillary lymph node removal as part of the treatment of breast cancer experience lymphedema. It is estimated that lymphedema affects 5 million Americans. Lymphedema is characterized by progressive arm swelling that hinders quality of life, reduces mobility, and increases risk for infections. There is no cure for lymphedema and current treatments are variably effective. Therefore, the goal of this laboratory is to study novel prevention and management strategies for lymphedema. The current study is to evaluate the effect of dermal lymphatic preservation in the development of lymphedema.
About the Internship
Workplace
General Description: While chronic lymphedema is a known issue that can occur from birth, begin after surgery, or develop over time, there is little that can be done to cure it once it begins, and patients are often stuck only being able to treat the symptoms. Dr. Hassanein's research focuses on what kind of surgeries and techniques patients may be able to utilize to prevent or treat chronic lymphedema.
Elevator Pitch: I am interning with Dr. Al Hassanein in a lab focused on treating and preventing chronic lymphedema, which can occur after breast cancer surgical treatment. Lymphedema involves the inflammation of the lymphatic tissue in the body, usually caused by the disruption of lymphatic channels that can occur during unrelated surgeries. This research will help mostly by preventing the onset of lymphedema following a surgery where chronic lymphedema has historically been an issue. In the lab, we work with live mice, inducing lymphedema and observing the outcome. I often work with the mice, caring for their day to day needs, which can sometimes be difficult.
204 lymphoedema images, stock photos, 3D objects, & vectors. Shutterstock. (n.d.). https://www.shutterstock.com/search/lymphoedema
This image depicts the different stages and severities of lymphedema. As disruption of lymphatics increases, as does the associated inflammation.
Strengths
I believe that some of my strengths when working in the lab are my strong work-ethic and my determination to succeed. These strengths allow me to keep pursuing my goals, and they motivate me to become better at the skills I need to develop in the lab.
A strength that I have developed throughout this year is teamwork. I'm always a student who dreads group projects and would rather work alone. However, in a research or clinical setting, it is vital to be a team player and work with others to accomplish goals. I have worked with a number of people, this year, all with varying levels of experience and knowledge. I have learned a lot about basic lab techniques, but I have also received advice on my future and my path to medical school. All of this information will be invaluable as I continue to grow and move towards my future.
Where I still need to grow
In the fall, I had trouble communicating in a professional environment. While I knew that asking questions was an important part of learning and developing my skills in the lab, it was sometimes intimidating to ask when everyone else in the lab worked much more efficiently than I did.
Another thing that I lacked in the fall was confidence. While some of this stemmed from inexperience, I would occasionally ask about every little thing to make sure I was doing a task correctly. While in one sense, this was being careful and thorough, in another sense, it was slowing me down, as well as the work that I did.
Now that it is spring, and my internship is nearing its conclusion, I realize that I could never have become as efficient as the other people in the lab if I refused to ask questions. In addition, I feel much more comfortable talking with my supervisor, as well as my other peers at the lab. My efforts have made the work that my peers do for the larger projects much more efficient, accomplishing work faster together than we could do alone.
In addition, I feel much more confident at my tasks around the lab. For example, just today, I accomplished two tasks individually that I would have needed to have been walked through at the beginning of the year. While some of this came from experience, I believe that a major part of this came from the confidence that I developed throughout the year.
Successes and Challenges
Successes
One success that I had is when I was able to perform a measurement without constant supervision from my supervisor. While it felt good to do well with somebody watching, there was a specific day where my immediate supervisor was not at the lab. She left me with a list of tasks to accomplish on my own. There was something fulfilling about being trusted to complete the tasks on my own without constant supervision, and being capable enough to follow through.
Another success that I've had is my increased efficiency and productivity throughout the year. I have mentioned that in the past that I felt like I was behind when compared to my peers in the lab, particularly in terms of speed and efficiency when working on projects. Even if I could produce similar or the same results as my peers, it might take me double the amount of time to accomplish something. Now that it is the spring, I find myself in a much better position in terms of my efficiency in the lab. While I once felt like I was slowing my peers down, as they had to explain things to me along the way, I recently received a comment that my peer's work goes much faster when I am assisting. This was a great success for me, and it made me realize how far I had come this year.
Challenges
The most challenging experience that I've had happened when I was putting a mouse under anesthesia. As I've said, we often work with live mice, and need to put them under anesthesia to perform measurements or other tasks. However, I once put a mouse under anesthesia for too long, and it ended up never waking up. My supervisor reassured me that this was not uncommon and that it wasn't necessarily my fault, but it still made me feel sad and embarrassed for a little while. I haven't had another case of this happening since then, but I still remember that as the most challenging moment I've had at the internship.
Recently I have been looking into staying at my lab after my LHSI internship has finished. However, doing so required that I take the first step in talking with my supervisor about staying. Even though I have talked to my supervisor many times, I was nervous because of what his response could be. Luckily, once I brought up the topic, my supervisor was interested in keeping me at the lab. I even received my compliments on the work I had done in the lab, and some advice on what I could be doing outside the lab to prepare for medical school. While this experience began as a bit of a challenge, I was able to work through it and gain a lot of knowledge and experience.