Rebecca Santiago
Class of 2003
H.S. of Fashion Industries
Topic: Neovascularization through the Migration of Angioblast to the Myocardial Infarct
About:
I was granted the opportunity of working in a chemistry lab the summer of 2003. Little did I know this would be my most wonderful working experience yet. My chemistry teacher recommended me to Mrs. Susan Farenholtz who works with the American Chemical Society (ACS). I felt privileged because I was one of the two who got the scholarship-based internship, through the Harlem Children Society, from the High School of Fashion Industries, which I proudly attend. This prestigious offer would keep me busy for the entire summer up until the 2nd day of school.
Before officially having the job, in the last week of June, I had to go on an interview in the Columbia Presbyterian Center. I was extremely nervous. This is because I wasnât sure of what my title would be and I wasnât familiar with the atmosphere that I was about to enter. My mentor Dr. Sanil gave the interview. Immediately following my interview, I was introduced to my future supervisor Michael Schuster. The entire staff in the lab that I would be working in made me feel welcomed and comfortable. I would be working in the Surgery department along side, my pupil co-worker, Helen.
Working with educated people, such as Mr. Schuster, in the medical field made me feel important. This hands on experience allowed me to become familiar with certain procedures like staining for K-I67, CD34+, and apoptosis. I had to learn how to do these procedures in order to draw conclusions dealing with neovascularization. We were trying to create new blood vessels through angioblasts that way there would be a decrease in apoptosis (cell suicide) and remodeling (scaring) factors after a myocardial infarction (heart attack). New blood vessels need to be created because when a myocardial infarction occurs the cells surrounding the cardiomyocyte (heart) are being deprived of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood since there is either fatty buildup or a blood clot in one or more of the coronary arteries.
In addition, I also had the opportunity to work with the rats in the surgical room. We created tumors in the animals to see how they would react to certain drugs such as chemo because there anatomy is very similar to that of a human being. I also removed the organs such as the heart from the animals. This killed them. That procedure is known as the sham operation.
In conclusion, I had the time of my life working in the S.E.E.D. project. I met intelligent, humorous, wonderful people while working at Columbia such as Mr. Schuster and Sarah Gutman. Although it was a bit challenging, my co-workers and myself managed to make it as educationally fun as possible. I will never forget this great learning experience.