Project Title: Preserving Future Generations of Veterans
BASIS Advisor: Jeff Loomis
Internship Location: Uniformed Service, University of Health and Sciences
Onsite Mentor: Dr. Kevin Chung
Hundreds, if not thousands, of battlefield wounds happen to US soldiers every day. With soldiers deployed in hostile countries all over the world, conflict and violence are inevitable. One of the most common and effective ways to treat fatal battlefield wounds is using a tourniquet, which prevents the patient from bleeding out but could also cause complications. Though the method is highly effective, when the blood flow is restricted for a long period of time, harmful enzymes are released throughout the body via ischemia and rhabdomyolysis, causing harmful long term complications in essential organs. My Senior Project study will focus on the effect of the tourniquet on acute kidney injury, which is currently untreatable under battle conditions, as well as recovery methods. The research will be achieved using comprehensive animal testing and research at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD. More specifically, experiments on cell culture, qPCR, regular PCR, and Western Blot analysis will be conducted in various labs within the Department of Medicine. Finally, I will also be exploring the difficulties of conducting research during COVID-19.
My Posts
Week 9: Final Presentation/Product Progress
Jun 01, 2020
Hi all! This week, I have been working on my final presentation and my final product. For my final product, I decided to write a short paper about everything that I learned and my reflections on my short experience. Stay tuned!
Weeks 7-8: Quarantine
Jun 01, 2020
Hi everyone, today will be a shorter post than usual. I just want to keep you updated on what work I’ve been doing over quarantine. I have mainly been working on reading research papers that Dr. Zhou has been forwarding to me. I have been learning a lot more about why acute kidney injury happens […]
Week 6: Early Reflections
May 26, 2020
Hi everyone! Today I will be going over my reflections on my short tenure at USUHS. First of all, I am very grateful to have worked so closely with researchers in the lab. Though I have worked with doctors before during internships, I have never worked so closely with experts like I have with my […]
Week 5: Next Steps
May 26, 2020
Hi everyone! Today I will be explaining what my research project will look like going forward. As I said last week, I will be unable to go into the lab and conduct any experiments due to the urgent nature of the virus. Therefore, the only viable solution that I have to continue my senior project […]
Week 4: COVID Updates
May 26, 2020
Hi everyone, I’m following up on last week’s blog post regarding the possible closure of USUHS. Over the past week, there has been an extremely high influx of COVID-19 cases in Maryland. As a result, all medical students and researchers that aren’t studying the virus have been sent home. USUHS is on nearly complete lockdown […]
Week 3: Spring Breaking
May 26, 2020
Aloha from Hawaii! This blog post will be short and sweet because of Spring Break, but I have an important update to share with you guys. Unfortunately, I am unsure if I will continue to go on campus to USUHS to conduct research because of the increasing prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have gone […]
Week 2: Diving into Experiments
May 26, 2020
Hi everyone! Not only have experiments started up, but I have been introduced to a lot of different opportunities. Here’s been my experience so far: On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to attend the 9th International DoD State-of-the-Science Meeting, with the topic being burn injuries on the battlefield. One of my on-site mentors, Colonel […]
Week 1: Back to the Basics
Mar 25, 2020
Hi all, Welcome to the first week of my blog! This week has consisted mainly of getting up to speed with the specifics of my project, as well as some safety training before I go into the lab next week. Over the past couple of days, I have brushed up on lab safety techniques and […]
Introduction: Preserving Future Generations of Veterans
Mar 02, 2020
Hi everyone, welcome to my first blog post! My name is Nathan and I’m a senior BASIS Independent McLean. As I mentioned in my abstract, the goal of my project is to experiment different treatments for wounded soldiers. Too often, the “wounded” stat when looking at battlefield casualties is overshadowed by the number of fatalities. […]