Week 3 – Amy

Clinical Observation: Knowing I was shadowing a pediatric oncologist, I had tried to mentally prepare myself before the program began. One can imagine all that might come with a child’s cancer diagnosis. But there are a lot of details, information, and emotions that you cannot imagine unless you have experienced it. Although it may seem obvious, this is one of the biggest lessons I learned this week. I witnessed several emotional situations in the past few days, with what I would consider a wide range of severity. Many young children cry and/or are visibly distraught by routine evaluations, as they fear something will be done that causes them more pain. Other children undergoing in-patient therapies suffered from panic attacks that prevented their ability to sleep or eat. Teenagers were told that they would never be able to have children due to the radiation and/or chemotherapy they were undergoing. A couple children contracted COVID while on immunosuppressants and their condition turned from positive to life-threatening within days. For one patient, doctors were discussing how to best keep the patient’s end of life wishes while navigating parents’ emotions and new COVID regulations. Researchers are well-aware of the short-term and long-term physical side effects of various cancer therapies. I think it is critical to also be aware that there are emotional and mental side effects that will never go away for many patients and their families.

Research: This week I was more independent in the lab. Dr. Scheinberg’s graduate students have spent the last couple weeks training me on various concepts and protocols. This week I tested those skills by applying what I learned to express a new SynNotch receptor on T-cells. I performed PCR and Gibson cloning to produce the vector of interest. I transfected the vector into LentiX cells to produce lentivirus containing the vector. We then transformed T-cells so that they would express the new SynNotch receptor and tested its targeting capacity using cells that expressed our target protein. Flow cytometry showed T-cell targeting capabilities. I will work in the coming weeks to increase the efficiency of the transductions.

NYC Activities: Last week we went to a Yankee game which was a fun changeup to the work week. Over the weekend, we went to The Met, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and watched fireworks for the 4^th of July!