NYC Chronicle (Week 7): Bye? But the Party Just Started!

Although this summer came and went, I don’t think my time here is finished just yet. This week, I continued to work on my project regarding seminal vesicle dilatation in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. I finally finished measuring the seminal vesicle volume and lumen diameter of the 90 patients in our PKD study, and met with our collaborators Dr. Jon Blumenfeld, a nephrologist, and Stephanie Donahue, a nurse practitioner, at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital to collect the renal, hepatic, biochemical, and genetic information on each patient. By obtaining this information, I can now start the statistical analysis that is necessary to determine if there is a significant correlation between ADPKD patients with a specific pathogenic mutation and seminal vesicle size. Apart from compiling the quantitative data for my project, I also spent a lot of time selecting and formatting figures for my research paper, which is probably one of my favorite parts of research (Figure 1. Axial SSFSE T2-weighted images of the pelvis). Since there is still more work for me to do, I’m going to spend the next few weeks tying up the loose ends of my project.
In addition to spending many hours on my project, I also managed to take a trip to West Village to have dinner at the Little Owl, also known as Central Perk, the very popular coffee shop on the television show, FRIENDS. In my spare time, I’ve been watching the series of FRIENDS again. Perhaps living in the city has influenced this decision since I normally start watching it in late September.  Needless to say, I felt like kid in a candy store the entire time I was having dinner. 
Although my immersion experience has ended, I know my relationship with Dr. Prince has not. I started this program knowing absolutely nothing about radiology; and now I’m leaving with greater knowledge in MRI and a new mentor. As I move on to begin my graduate school journey in Ithaca, I hope to continue to receive mentorship and support from Dr. Prince and potentially work with him on a new project in the future.

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