Week 7:
Cryosectioning, Clinical Simulation, and Having Fun With Friends.

July 15, 2019

This week started out with a lab meeting that included me, Dr. Onifer, Mr. Sozio, and Mr. Arends. In the meeting, we went over some additional aspects of the study we are going to be looking at from this point forward. After the lab meeting, Dr. Onifer and I got together and refined what I am going to present to the lab during the Journal Club that is coming up next Monday. We decided it was best to only present one scientific article instead of the two. For the rest the day I re-read that specific article, highlighting areas of importance, and then summarizing it into a Word document.

This week, I also started cutting tissues again on the cryostat. I had to familiarize myself with how to set everything up. Once I remembered the first step, the other steps came flooding back. This time I cryosectioned brain stem, which is a new tissue to me. I figured out that is it a lot different than dorsal root ganglia tissue but similar to how spinal cord is cut. The only problem that you run into with brain stem tissue is that it gets larger as you cryosection further into the tissue block because you start cutting the brain. So, you must be aware of that and not misplace a section on the microscope slide. But after I got the hang of the tissue placement, cryosectioning became a lot easier.

When I was finished with cryosectioning, I went down to my office and prepared my PowerPoint presentation for the Journal Club. Dr. Onifer puts this on during the school year for the chiropractic students doing research in the laboratory, Mr. Sozio, Mr. Arends, and faculty to talk about relevant scientific articles. After I put together my presentation, I showed it to Dr. Onifer. He gave some suggestions and we talked about what I could say for each slide.

When that was over, I went down to the research clinic to be a simulated participant while the clinical research team conducted pre-study training. It was fun to be a simulated participant again and see how the research team works to improve their methods. In addition to playing the role of a participant, I got the chance to observe ultrasound machine in action again. I find the anatomy of the different layers of the thoracolumbar fascia, the connective tissue in the low back, to be very interesting.

When I was done on the research clinic floor, I went up to the PCCR’s conference room and had a meeting with Dr. Vining, my research clinic mentor, and Dr. Onifer, my basic science mentor They showed me how to operate the monitors and computer so I could use them to give my presentation. We also had a fun conversation about the Bix7, a famous 7-mile road race in the Quad Cities named after a Davenport jazz musician. This was very interesting to me because I run cross-country and track and I will be joining the 10,000 and more people running the Bix7 at the end of July.

Later in the week, after I refined my Journal Club presentation. I developed a script so that I could get down everything I wanted to say on paper. I then showed it to Dr. Onifer and he gave me some feedback on things to add so that I mentioned all the necessary information about the article. Then we set up a time for Friday so that I could practice my presentation.

After finalizing my script, I walked through a simulation of phase two of the clinical research teams’ study. It was a fun experience, requiring me to put on my acting hat. After we went through the simulation, I talked with the clinical research team. They asked me questions about my experience, and I provided feedback so they could improve their activities during this phase of the study. I am glad that I could help the team polish the methods and provide helpful feedback to a legitimate scientific study.

At the end of the week, I started Friday by revising my personnel statement for a chiropractic school application. Then I practiced the script for a mock presentation that I was going to give later in the day. After practicing for a couple hours, it came time to give the actual mock presentation to Dr. Onifer and Mr. Arends. I was nervous and because of that I went through the presentation too fast. They gave me some good feedback to help when I give the real thing next Monday. I plan on using their feedback and practicing over the weekend to lock down this presentation.

Over the weekend, I got a nice haircut at this barber shop close by called New Style Barber Shop, I had to wait for an hour, but in the end, I was happy with the result. I also took a day trip back down to Cornell College, to run my weekend long run with my former Cross Country and Track Coach, Dan Schofer, he recently took a new position at Macalester College and is leaving Cornell later this month. So, getting to run and talk one on one with him about life was a good chance to pick his brain one last time before I don’t get the chance to see him on a regular basis. During my day trip to Cornell, I also spent some time with some of my best friends, Julian Wilson and Julian Smith. We decided to hang out in Cedar Rapids and see the new Spiderman movie, and then later walk and talk around Mount Vernon. It was a great time and I hope I get to see them again before we get back on campus in the August.