Internship
This is a documentation of my 2024-2025 internship with Dr. Schelcht and lists all my progress and learning experiences as part of the Life-Health Sciences Internship program.
About the Internship
At my internship we are looking and researching sex differences specifically females’ susceptibility to ACL injuries. We are also looking at the response to loading and injury on the ACL in terms of submaximal loading on the ligament.
In February, add multimedia to better explain your internship. This can include borrowed You tube videos or images (be sure to cite them properly), or items you created.
In April add: your elevator pitch visual (example to the right on this page). You can put it anywhere on the page, we recommend toward the top to grab the viewer’s attention.
If you attended a poster session, conference, presentation, or published as a result of LHSI, add that information here too!
Here at the IUI School of Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery our goal is to research why females are more susceptible to ACL tears than males. We hope to further the development of prevention and treatment strategies. This research is crucial because ACL injuries can have long-term impacts on athletic careers, quality of life, and healthcare costs, especially for women in high-impact sports. Did you know women are 2-8 times more prone to ACL tears than men?
In April you'll add:
your showcase project summary. Give it a heading like Project Summary or Abstract. Embed your final project file beneath this summary. If you’ve created a separate page to highlight your work, add a link or button to link to the page here to make it easier to find.
your final project. The Prezi and Powerpoint below are examples of where you could put your final project. This project is about your work and can be any of the types of files we talked about at the workshop and in the Canvas module about the showcase.
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Workplace
This is a documentation of all the skills, experiences, trainings, and collaborative tasks I gained and learned during my Life-Health Sciences Internship.
Skills and Experiences
Compassion, Bilingual, and Problem Solving Skills
In high school I peer tutored so I gained problem solving and critical thinking skills. This role helped me advance my bilingual skills as well as most of those I tutored were Spanish, French and Mandarin speakers.
Communication, Leadership, and Presentation Skills
I also have experience in administrative roles. I was a student cadet and translator in the attendance office where I took calls, reports, gave school tours, and coordinated with our Assistant Principal.
Lab Skills
My freshman year of college, I worked at the MMGE biobank lab here at IUI. I gained experience in the lab such as pipetting, relabeling, tracking and relocating biospecimen. I have experience using programs such as excel and OnCore which we used on a daily basis to relocate and submit samples into the system. I have on hands experience working with dry ice and other wet lab skills.
Tranferring My Skills to LHSI
This year during my time at LHSI and with Dr. Schelcht I want to use my lab skills and leadership skills to help his research. I think I will be an asset when it comes to problem solving or lab processes. I look forward to learning how to analyze, read imaging, and use their unique lab equipment!
In February, add what kind of team member you have been this year. How did your team role change throughout the internship? How did your contributions impact the larger project, goals, or mission of your internship team? Why did your efforts, no matter how small or routine, matter to getting the bigger job done?
Making Success
My first success at my internship was learning how to properly use and manage all the features of our high tech microscope for histology imaging. During my internship, I successfully mastered the use of a high-tech motorized microscope, the Nikon H550L. Unlike standard microscopes, this advanced device has features such as fluorescent lighting, computer connectivity for enhanced visualization, and an integrated camera for capturing detailed images of tissue histology. Learning to operate this sophisticated equipment has been a significant milestone, enabling me to analyze samples more effectively and contribute to our research on ACL injury susceptibility with greater precision. Asking my supervisors and co-interns to learn how to use it was very helpful. Having them explain the why and how of the microscope led to my successful operation of it.
Another proud moment during my internship was when I began to truly understand the anatomy of the ACL by analyzing histological images. Initially, deciphering these images felt overwhelming, as the structures seemed complex and unfamiliar. However, with guidance from my supervisor, who taught me key "landmarks" and specific features to identify, I quickly gained confidence. Now, I can easily recognize the ACL in histological images, which has deepened my understanding of its structure and importance in our research.
Overcoming Challenges
One of the biggest challenges during my internship was adjusting to the technology and computer-based tasks, as I’ve never been very tech-savvy. Learning to use new programs, such as the FIJI application for cropping and analyzing histological images, was initially frustrating. At one point, I cropped too much of the bone while thresholding the ACL area, which skewed the results and added to my frustration. However, my supervisor helped me understand how the ACL blends into the bone and showed me techniques to better distinguish the tendon from the bone in that transition area. With practice and guidance, I adapted and became more confident in using the software and refining my analysis skills
Another challenge I faced during my internship was interpreting research papers and protocols, which were initially overwhelming due to their dense, technical language. I was asked by my supervisor to research and find papers, methods, and other works to find factors that determine what populations are more prone to arthrofibrosis after and ACL surgery. As I researched I realized the detailed terminology and scientific concepts left me confused and overwhelmed. To overcome this, I actively sought clarification by asking my supervisor questions and did my own deep dive into medical terms that I was confused with. I also discussed the material with team members to help me strengthen my understanding. Additionally, I spent time reviewing the papers repeatedly and breaking them down into smaller, more manageable sections. Over time, this process helped me build confidence and proficiency in understanding complex topics, allowing me to contribute more effectively to the research.