Darvin

In all, the summer immersion experience, though challenging at times, was incredibly unique and enriching. My medical vocabulary expanded by orders of magnitude, and I was given the privilege of seeing things that are usually exclusive to only medical students and clinicians. On top of it all, I had an interesting and useful project. I was partnered with Dr. John Kennedy, Foot and Ankle Surgeon at the hospital for special surgery.  Dr. Kennedy research interests are: osteochondral defects, cartilage regeneration using bioscaffolds, bone remodeling/fracture healing and platelet rich plasma (PRP) in Soft Tissue Injuries. Overall, I feel Dr. Kennedy was the perfect match, especially given that my thesis research involves cartilage biomechanics.

My summer project involved a long-term tissue database registry proposal, which will be submitted and reviewed by the New York clinical review panel. The conditions included in the registry will be any involving articular cartilage and soft tissue pathology of the ankle. Which includes but is not limited to, osteoarthritis of all grades, osteochondral lesions of the talus and distal tibia, degenerative joint disease, ankle arthrosis, joint and synovial inflammation, any pathology of the macro or micro environment of the joint or articular cartilage, ligamentous injuries and any associated tendinopathies. The registry aims to compile all data relevant to cartilage and soft tissue pathologies and treatments, biological state of the cartilage and related joint tissues, and the composition of biological adjuncts used to treat these pathologies and correlate this data to outcome data, mechanical studies, imaging studies, and already existing patient and surgical data currently collected in the Foot and Ankle Registry.  The data complied in this registry will allow many important research questions to be investigate that may impact clinical practice.

OVERALL, I  loved this experience. Thank you Cornell BME.