So far, my time involved in my Metastatic Melanoma research project has consisted of organizing my schedule as well as creating a rubric of how I would like to be graded for this project at the end of the term. My first step in this project, because I requested it to be graded, was to create a rubric on how I wanted to be graded. The development of this rubric was not an easy task and took a lot of hard work. With this first task, I asked myself what kind of work will this project consist of, and what class is it most similar to at Beaver. I concluded that this project will consist of data collection at MGH, where I will be working with patient images, and research, which I will conduct on my own time, outside of the hospital environment. Due to the amount of research this project requires, I looked to the history department, for that is the class which we receive the most research assignments. I then took initiative and met with Ms. Gonzalez and she agreed to send me the rubric for the history class in the homework assignments, presentation, and overall research.
After I received the rubric from the history department, I was able to complete mine appropriately with different sections catered to my project and my projects needs/requirements. As well as creating a rubric, I had to organize my time and how I was going to manage the workload. So, Ms.Shah, my project advisor, and I decided that a daily log (short paragraph) as well as a weekly summary which will be a longer paragraph, summarizing a bigger picture about what I’ve been up to.
Aside from organizing the project as a whole, I have begun to conduct research on the topic on my own time. I met with ms. Wolf a few times to discuss the Beaver database and how to use it in order to search for scientific articles and journals in order to narrow down the articles which are relevant to this topic. The main question which I am focusing my research around at first are about basic MRI acquisition--how is an MRI acquired? why do we use it?--Metastatic Melanoma--biology and why it spreads to the brain?--Genomics--how do we look for genetic mutations in tumors vs. normal cells?--and how does the metastasis get to the brain? I began researching these topics as well as reading and taking notes on one of three articles sent to me by Dr. Gerster called Genomic characterization of brain metastases reveals branched evolution and potential therapeutic targets. After I found 4 sources from the database, I met with Ms. Wolf who helped direct me to some keywords to use during my further search.
As well as sending me the research papers to look at, Dr. Gerster sent me a like to a website called IMAIOS, the interactive learning website. I made an account for this website and began the online training in the first subject. I met with Dr. Gerster for the second time at her office in the MGH research facility called Simches. During our meeting, she shared with me the dropbox used to store anonymous patient data and showed me how to use it. We went over the first task of mine, which is to organize the patient data in a spreadsheet in the drop box in order to make the image reading easier. Essentially, I will be taking the documented spreadsheet labeled Clinical%20info%20Summary and transferring the data from that to another spreadsheet labeled Melanoma_Pre_v_Pre. The data I will be transferring is the patient’s surgery dates and type of surgery. Dr. Gerster informed me that she received the images from BWH, however, there was a virus in the program so she had to send the images back and wait for the new image set. However, while there may be a week or so delay on the images, I will be able to complete the spreadsheet as well as continue my personal research.
This week I learned a lot about managing my time through this independent project and balancing this work with my everyday school work. Given my Junior Year work piling up, I created a new and improved organizing system for my independent project. This has so far helped me keep up with my tasks as well as create new ones for myself. As I continued to use this throughout the week, I noticed myself becoming more organized with my time and what needed to be done.
Unfortunately, this week was less research-heavy, and more data heavy. I was able to work on the spreadsheet every day and clear up confusions with Dr. Gerstner about which files I should be using. Communication was also a big learning experience this week. I emailed Dr. Gerstner a couple times to clear up confusions/ask minor questions throughout the process of putting in data in the spreadsheet. As well as this, I was able to use my father as a reference if I had any other minor questions about which Dx (diagnosis) was the correct one to correspond with the correct date.
On Friday, the beginning of the new week (log wise), I met with Ms. Shah for our weekly meeting. She taught me more about spreadsheets and how to use them as well as features I will be able to apply to this project when I begin to do more data logging. I am looking forward to receiving the images next week on a hard drive as well as continuing my personal research.
This week was a great, independent week. Up until today, I had primarily assignments which I assigned to myself regarding research on my given subject. This was the case because the images of Dr. Gerstner's had not come in yet, therefore I had to improvise with the time I had. I believe I accomplished filling my time with useful and relevant research.
Personally, I have become very interested in genetics, mostly due to the brief moments we learn about it in Biology class. However, a new interest of mine has spiked from the research which I have doing for the past week or so on genomics and the study of Metastatic Melanoma. As well as discovering a new interest of mine, I also became very comfortable looking terms and phrases, which I could not immediately define, online or the dictionary.
Lately, however, since I have received a new assignments regarding spreadsheeting or imaging, I will be filling my time with quite the opposite of independently run assignments, so I will be spending the next week on very structured assignments such as data input and imaging editing through a program called slicer, commonly used in Mass General.
This week was an excellent learning experience for my work with Dr. Gerstner. As I completed the spreadsheet and launched the image portion of my project I learned an extreme amount of trial and error regarding the images. I learned about how to look at the images given and how to pull them up in the slicer program. Given that this was my second week working on spreadsheet work, I learned a lot more about the organization of data.
This week I completed the given spreadsheet and image drawings. After much confusion about the saving process, I learned the complexities of the site “slicer” and how important it is to exit out of the program every time an image drawing is finished, that way the image will not stay in the program and overlap with the new image and will save properly.
This week I have learned a lot about images and the importance of images for measuring and the tumors progressed post contrast presurgical.
This week I worked heavily on the images sent to me by Dr. Gerstner. She sent me a large set of images which were taken at MGH of the patient’s MRI, presurgical, post contrast images. She gave me them to draw the images where I successfully completed the majority this week. The ones which I did not complete, I had questions on which I asked Dr. Gerstner today. This week I learned a lot more about drawing images and what is important to look for in an image. I learned how important it is to carefully follow the data on the spreadsheets because all is relevant when it comes to imaging.
This week was an excellent experience with imaging and organization of the images on my part. I was taught skills about new techniques for drawing the images as well as teaching myself some key parts about DNA and mutations through my own personal research. Through my own research as well as the answers given to me by Dr. Gerster on the questions I had, I feel as though I learned a lot this week regarding the science of the subject as well as taking the initiative to create a spreadsheet of the images which need to be drawn and the ones which I have already drawn. This helped me stay organized and focused throughout the week on the task at hand.
This week was quite eventful due to the balance of work given to me by Dr. Gerstner as well as the research work I have started. As I have revisited my research work I have also been working on drawing ROIs for a group of new images which were sent to me. I faced a new challenge in organization this week where I went back through the old images I drew and color coded them according to the type of tumor. This was specifically helpful because as well as learning new organizational techniques, I also learned about different types of tumors in this disease. As I went through the images, I was able to notice specific details which I hadn’t noticed before, such as the size, shape, or specific contrast of the tumor.
As well as this I was able to improve my organizational skills as well due to the creation of several spreadsheets which I made. As well as this, I was able to dive much deeper in the research portion of my project. As I met with Ms. Shah last Friday, we briefly went over genetics and how a mutation can form within the gene. With this intro, I had enough information to be able to research this on my own. I learned a lot about genetics, mutations, and how this acts/reacts in the body. Also, we are learning about most of this in my biology class currently. This has been extremely helpful for what I have been learning and I am finding that somehow, it all relates.
As I continue my research I am looking to find how my research relates to the disease of Metastatic Melanoma as the next step in this project will consist of dealing with the mutation rates of the patients. Overall I feel as though I learned a great deal this week about balancing my MGH work with my personal research and I am excited to start seeing a great connection between the two.
This week has been very productive in regards to my final project for this term. I accomplished a lot with this project this week and was able to even extend this project through the winter term as well! As the end of this term get closer, I have begun to switch gears into my “mid-term” final project of the website which I will create in website format. I learned how to organize myself in terms of wrapping up all the material I have covered over the past few months and organizing it in a way that I understand, and Ms. Shah understands as well. Also, I realized how important it is for others to understand my work as well, so I took my original outline for the website and simplified it in a way that someone who has never seen this work before would understand.
Creating the outline overall helped me see from a bird’s eye view what I have accomplished so far and what I plan to accomplish next. I have done a tremendous amount of work for this project and it is very important to share that through this website in a clear way. I not only talk about the facts and content that I learned in this final website, but also the process of creating this all-encompassing independent study. As well as focusing a lot on my final project, I am having to balance the additional work of my own as well. Due to the fact that this independent study is only half way done, I have to keep up with the work I am doing for Dr. Gerstner, and the research I am doing on my own as well. This creates a new challenge for me as I play the role of both teacher and student. As this seems slightly overwhelming, I am finding myself becoming more organized, especially with the work and finals of my other classes which will be approaching soon as well. I greatly enjoyed this week as it brought me new challenges and accomplishments.
This week was different from what I was expecting. Overall, I accomplished a lot independently. I was able to expand on my own research on the genetics of this disease. I was able to research where this disease comes from and how it affects one's body. I learned more about the specific mutations, and about mutations in general. This week was very informative for the next big steps of this project, which entails fewer images and more data analyzing. I feel as though I learned a lot this week about creating some assignments for myself. As there were not many images which needed to be drawn, and I was unable to meet with Ms. Shah, I learned a lot about how much I can teach myself.
I was able to utilize many resources on the web. I was able to tell if the website I was on was a legitimate source or not, which is a skill which I have been developing since the start of this project. Without being prompted, I was able to do research on my own and organize what I felt as though was important to focus on. Now that I have done my own research on mutations and mutation rates, I feel as though I am prepared for the future step of this project which will be organizing the images with their mutation rates.
I am glad that this week I had time to reflect and understand what I need in terms of information for what comes next, and what I am generally curious about. I look forward to meeting with Ms. Shah to finally discuss the “final” as I will have approximately one week to get started.
This week consisted getting back into my independent study for this new term. Because this was the first week of the term, I had to come up with a small plan of what to do for the week before I get more direction for my Friday meeting with Ms. Shah. I started by looking over the corrections from the website and my posts which I turned in before the break. After reviewing the comments I was tasked with kicking back off my research and imaging for Dr. Gerstner. This was an interesting experience because this was the biggest challenge of the last term: finding where to start.
The last term, I had a great system of both imaging and research (imaging coming as a priority). After being sent some more images this week, I was able to find myself in a better place. I completed the images during the first part of the week and was able to meet with Dr. Gerster. Meeting with her about the images gave me a good idea about where to start. Mutations are a large part of this project, and because learning about this will be a next big step in the project at MGH, I have decided to begin my research there. Also, with the help of my DNA and genetics class, I will actually be taught this alongside my independent research.
Overall, this week I was tasked with finding where to start and much like I am learning in art class, sometimes you just have to “let the materials lead the way”. I am very excited to learn about mutations and mutation rates and believe it will be a great beginning for the second half of this project.
This week consisted a lot of refining the website as well as taking some big next steps within the project. Going back through the website, I was able to get a clearer understanding about what might have been missing from the work I had done. I began looking at it wish fresh eyes, thinking to myself “what would other people think about this? Think about my work? My time put in?”. Unlike the working on the website before it was due, I have found myself to be more calm and relaxed while working on it, with less of a deadline. I came to the conclusion that I needed to better demonstrate my dedication (both time and focus) which I put into this project on a daily basis. After organizing what needed to be done, I began working, reorganizing and refining many other components along the way.
My work on the website is progressing well. However, I must also keep up with the meat of my project, which is the science and research at MGH. This week was the real transition week between last term and this. This is because the transitioning into mutation correlation has officially begun! This has been exciting because here I see where all the imaging has really paid off.
I am very excited to start this second half of my project and know how much I will learn because of it. I will also continue working on the website while continuing to look at my own work in different ways. Given that these next two weeks Dr. Gerstner will be away, I have a lot of time to organize myself, my time, and my priorities within this project.
This week was the true beginning of the section of my project. This week I had a lot of time to myself to look at the data. After meeting with Ms. Shah, who gave me a few ideas in ways I could go forth with this project, I decided to take her advice and play around with the numbers. With this, I was able to organize myself in what I was looking at and the different patterns of numbers which I was working with. This was interesting for me to see on my own as a way for myself to understand the data. I found that this is one way, although may seem intimidating at first, which I learn: through exploring.
As I am also taking art class this term, during our double blocks, we are given little instruction with how to manage our time and it is all left up to us. With this, I have begun to explore with different art mediums, some which I have never even thought of using before, to help myself understand what I am interested in, and get inspired. This technique has been greatly helping with my time in this study. On the days where it is up to me to task myself, I must learn to explore the subject in different ways that before, breaking away from the “tunnel vision” I am so used to.
As it approaches break, and Dr.Gerstner will be out of town, I will be out of school, and will not be meeting with Ms. Shah, I will be challenged with keeping myself busy (but not too busy!). It will be interesting to see how I prefer to spend my time, and may dedicate most of it to working on the website, or keep exploring Google Sheets. I look forward to meeting with Ms. Shah and asking her for a second opinion of how/if I shall fill my time over the break.
Throughout the duration of this break, I worked more on the research portion of my project with attempts to work on the data portion. Given that I will not meet with Dr. Gerstner until the 12th, I am given a good amount of time to do both. During my break, I began to use the program called “Tableau” to process my data. I opened the application and began to explore its different functions before I input my data. Also prior to my own data input, I watched several videos on how this program works. It was really interesting to me to see a program with all the functions which it offers. As I began to input my data successfully, I began having difficulties creating charts with the program. I tried a few different ways and yet I still was unable to take both my sets of data and create one chart.
After I tried this some more, I decided to take a break from the data input and find another part of my project to work on. I decided to focus on the research portion of my project because given that I take two weeks off of school, means that I should begin to refresh my memory on DNA and Genetics. I did so by reviewing old research and then beginning some new. I mainly focused on researching the main mutation which occurs in melanoma patients which is the Braf gene. I learned a lot more about this and its functions through articles, websites, and images.
Going forward, I plan to continue with my research on the Braf gene and possibly take a look at some more scientific articles for my website. As well as this, I plan to get some help with the data processing as there is no rush for that, and I would like to do it correctly and the best I can. I greatly look forward to continuing my work!
This week was really great getting back into things! I was able to meet with a couple of my teachers and ask them about questions I had regarding my project. Meeting with Dr. Livingston was extremely helpful because of her lab background and knowledge on mutation rates when I reached a roadblock in that. I also spoke with Mr. Micari who briefly explained to me how DNA and RNA act in the presence of a genetic mutation. It was very helpful to me, not only the information which I learned from each, but to learn how to reach out to other teachers for help on my project. I learned that each teacher is willing to step out of their specific subject to help a student with separate work, which I am very appreciative of.
As well as this, I continued to come across roadblocks regarding the Tableau program on my computer. Despite this, I was able to fill my time with more research and further discussions with Mr. Micari about mutations. As this weekend I will be away, I look forward to filling my time as best as possible with some more article work and research. I also look forward to speaking with Ms. Shah about my ongoing problem with Tableau.
This week was, again, great because I was able to learn a lot more about mutations on my own. I continued with my independent research and was able to expand my knowledge on the science of this disease. As well as this, my DNA and Genetics class is beginning to cover similar concepts which I have been learning on my own. This is really helpful, especially the research project we are doing in class, because I am not only learning about science which relates to the disease I am focusing on, but I am also learning about related diseases. This week I was really able to relate the science I have been learning on my own to other diseases in science.
As well as this, I was able to reconnect with Dr. Gerstner. I got my questions answered and it was really nice getting back into that portion of my project since winter break. I am beginning to really familiarize myself/ refamiliarize myself with the data which is going to really help with my graphing.
This week was one of the most important since the beginning of the year. This week I was able to take the research I had been so invested in during the fall and see its outcome. I was able to actually use the data provided by my work and have it show me results. I was able to see some patterns in the data, some suspected patterns, and some no patterns at all. This was an interesting experience because it was my first time seeing real data used to produce (or hopefully produce) a real outcome.
I also learned this week that when doing these experimental data graphs in research, you may not always come up with the result you suspected, or any result at all. It is very likely that the mutation rates show us no pattern at all. This is something that must be accepted and not be turned into “BS data”. I am looking forward to exploring these graphs further on the program which I am using, and seeing if different features on the program show a more clear analysis of the data provided.
This week was productive in many ways. From meeting with Mr. MacDonald about learning the basics of statistics to interpret new graphs and fixing my website, I was able to learn a lot about what I need to get one before the end of this project. As this project will continue, most likely until the rest of the year, I will still have to find a way to wrap up my work so far. I began this by improving my website in various ways. I have gone through to do spelling and grammar checks, as well as beginning to add new pages about the work I have done since I visited it last.
As well as working on the website as an end piece to this project, I have also been busy with the data and data interpretation. Given the fact that this was not the first time I reached out to an outside teacher, I was comfortable discussing this project with Mr. MacDonald in order to get help with the statistics portion. At the beginning of our meeting, I found it easy to explain my project clearly, something I have learned to do by proposing this project to other teachers for help. From this meeting, as well as learning a lot about stats, I also learned my comfortability with the material and my new curiosity for the math side of it.
Going forward, I will continue to work on wrapping up my website by making spelling and grammatical changes as needed, and soon connecting with Ms. P about a possible presentation the beginning of my Spring Term for a select group of people. As well as this, I also plan on working with the new graphs which were sent to me with the mutation rates and beginning to draw some larger conclusions from my data.
This week was very productive regarding working on the website and working on the data. I was able to add much more to the website, trying to catch that up to where I am progress wise in order to get this ready for a presentation-like final. As well as the website, I was able to take the data into my own hands and really play around with it. By combining different data sets, I was able to help myself visually see a trend, even though some of the data was not directly related. I learned a lot while doing this by coming up with an idea about how to process the data, putting together the charts, and graphing it myself.
As well as learning how to independently take hold of a set of data, I also learned a lot more about how this project will wrap up, and the reality of that deadline coming soon. This week I was able to take what I’ve learned and the interests I have developed and decide what opportunities I would like to take hold of this summer as well as next year. From this experience, I realized how aware I am of my interest in medical research. With this, I have been looking into research opportunities this summer and plan to discuss my ideas with Dr. Gerster, as well as take additional suggestions.
Also, since speaking with Dr. Gerstner earlier today, I learned that this particular trend which continues to arise is one completely unexpected. I realised then, that the work which I have involved myself in is educating not only me, by doctors like Dr. Gerstner, and possibly many more in the medical field, which is extremely interesting and eye opening. As I continue to work on cleaning up the data, I look forward to wrapping up this project in the next couple of months, as the abstract deadline is coming up very soon. I look forward to finalizing this clean up in order to see clearer data to present.
This week was one of final edits and finalizations for both my portion, and my data portion of this project. From continuing to catch myself up on my website, to organizing a data sheet with the correct, clear information needed to make the graphs, it finally feels as though this project is coming to an end. However, this is still just the beginning of the end.
I look forward to sharing with the school, sooner rather than later, the entirety of the work I have done. Both on my own, and at MGH. I will begin to organize myself on how I would like to portray the importance of my project to my peers and will begin, much like I have been doing with the articles on my site, to explain things in a clear, understandable way. As this project has become so easy to understand to me, it is important for me to understand the view of everyone else.
As well as the presentation portion of the end of this project, I will also, very soon, be preparing myself for a more normal meeting in Charlestown with other doctors in order to get a second opinion. This is very exciting to me because I have yet to closely work with other doctors on this material and have only had Dr. Gerstner’s opinion on the matter. This will be a another presentation, however, will be extremely different from the one I will be giving at Beaver!