NYC Chronicles (Week 2): Medicine is a Team Sport

This week at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), I  joined Dr. Prince at his weekly meeting with Dr. Graham Barr, an associate medical professor and a specialist in respiratory epidemiology, and other collaborating members to discuss the use helium-3 diffusion weighted imaging (3He-DWI) to calculate the size of alveoli in patients with emphysema. As I mentioned before in my previous post, DWI is a form of MR imaging that relies on the Brownian motion of protons in tissues to obtain images, displaying intensified regions of restricted proton diffusion, which typically occurs in pathological areas. 3He-DWI can be used as an alternative or a supplement to traditional MR imaging to scan regions of the body with low proton density, such as the lungs, to further characterize the healthy and diseased tissues of patients. By attending this meeting, I noticed that there were subtle differences in problem-solving and critical thinking, as well as diverse preferences in experimental design, data acquisition and analysis between clinicians and scientists. The physicians were more concerned with the direct application of this research to their practice and patient care, while the scientists were more interested in increasing the knowledge and understanding of emphysema and lung pathology. Although this was the case, both perspectives had their strengths in addressing a scientific question and are necessary to influence clinical innovation and drive the field of medical research forward.


Dr. Prince and I also attended the weekly liver transplantation conference hosted by the CUMC Center of Liver Disease and Transplantation surgical team. This forum allows physicians from CUMC and New York Presbyterian Hospital to discuss their equivocal cases with colleagues, fellows, and residents, in order to make an appropriate diagnosis and to determine a suitable treatment plan for their patients. After a week of interpreting MR images of the abdominal and pelvic anatomy with Dr. Prince and CUMC radiology residents, I had an easier time understanding the complexities of each case presented by the physicians and distinguishing the different organs of the body on the MRI and CT scans. As usual, there were many interesting cases presented at this meeting, ranging from less severe conditions, such as jaundice, to more life-threatening diseases, such as hepatic tumor growth and metastasis. Although I am learning so much about different hepatic and renal conditions, and how to use radiology to diagnose patients, I couldn’t help but be invigorated by the collaborative nature that exists between the physicians, which is a critical aspect in medicine. Everyone’s opinion was considered when diagnosing a patient and each person was given the opportunity to present their case, ask questions, interject, and make suggestions on treatment options. As a pre-med graduate student, I was excited to be in the room full of doctors who are so intelligent, personable, and respectful to one another, reassuring my decision to pursue medicine and research as a physician scientist.

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