Week 1 - Arnold Chen

 

            This is the first week of the clinical immersion experience, and my clinical mentor is Dr. Timothy Wilkin in the infectious diseases division. The topic of his work relates to Human papillomavirus (HPV), One of the things HPV can lead to is cervical cancer. My project will be focused on developing an app or efficient storage solution for images related to cervical cancer. It was fascinating to hear about the background and rationale behind this study through discussions with my mentor. Since cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women among low resource countries, the goal is to develop a screening process that is smoother and easier to implement in low-resource settings. Currently, the process requires screening for cytology, performing a biopsy (if abnormal lesions are found), then proceeding to treatment. The study aims to make this process more accessible as well as improve sensitivity and specificity of HPV tests of the cervix. It also intends to accumulate a repository of images of cervical cancer that will be helpful for future studies. It was inspiring to hear and learn about my mentor’s passion for improving a medical procedure for those in low-resource settings.

            This week, the primary focus is on introducing me to the project. This includes understanding the needs of the project, learning about the technology that is currently available, and assessing what is needed. Next week, I will be going on rounds with Dr. Simon in the infectious diseases division, observing and learning about procedures related to HPV treatment, and communicating with a radiologist on the technical aspects of handling medical images.

            Also, it was nice of Dr. Gupta to give us a tour of certain parts of the hospital. In particular, we navigated through the hospital and saw where some of the imaging facilities are located. While I may not remember where everything is from the tour, it was still helpful to get a sense of where things are. Looking forward to the coming weeks!

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