One of the things I love most about being a professor in the Biomedicine program is teaching students about research and the important role it plays in medicine and health.����

Discovering something truly new is one of life’s greatest privileges!  

I love that our students get to participate in original research projects as a part of their program – we have always prioritized research because it helps our students to develop those invaluable important to their future healthcare goals¹. �� For me, teaching the research class gives me the chance to live a little bit vicariously through our students.�� I still clearly remember the first time (wow, 20 years ago?) that I was able to pour over all the data I gathered in my first major project in graduate school.�� The was to understand how the brains of kids in southeast Africa (Malawi) were impacted by the malaria parasite.�� We catalogued forms of brain and retinal damage in those kids that no one in history had observed previously².�� The malaria parasite has been around for millions of years, and the opportunity to add to the human story in a small way was an important personal victory.��

It’s fun to watch my MS Biomedicine students pursue their own paths and gain confidence in their ability to do novel research!�� Students are both nervous and excited about taking on their thesis projects. Everything worthwhile is that way.�� Some comments from early student reflections sum it up nicely:

“I’m more nervous about this course than any of my other classes.  I’ve never taken a project from start to finish on my own!”

“I have so many interests, I don’t know where to start.”

“I’m excited to do something clinical!”

We are halfway into the class now and we are gaining momentum – we’ve picked our projects and we’re thinking about all the variables and sampling methods and controls we need to keep track of.  The statistics can be a bit of a bear, but we know that we are developing a sound selection of tools we can use to get the job done.  Students are thinking about the advisors they might choose. Faculty from across the university, in math, biology, chemistry, nursing, psychology and more, have partnered with students in the past.  Our students will work on these questions this summer and next fall.  While they are developing their questions independently, having the support they need is essential to finishing strong!   I’ve been so impressed with our students and how they’ve moved from nervous excitement towards realistic plans to develop new knowledge.  We are not there yet, but we are certainly well on our way!  

Here is a short list of just a few of the project we are planning:

• Examining land surface temperature (LST) and urban-heat-islands on incidences of COVID-19.
• Patient satisfaction among African Americans visiting the emergency room: A comparison of two sites.
• Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism to study the impact of autism-spectrum-disorder (ASD) homologous genes in innate immunity.
• Using graphic novels and visual narratives in public health education.

Wish us luck! Kris

¹“The Core Competencies of Entering Medical Students” (AAMC).�� https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/article/core-competencies/

²Dorovini-Zis K, Schmidt K, Huynh H, Fu W, Whitten RO, Milner D, Kamiza S, Molyneux M, Taylor TE. The neuropathology of fatal cerebral malaria in malawian children. Am J Pathol. 2011 May;178(5):2146-58. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2011.01.016. PMID: 21514429; PMCID: PMC3081150.

The class of 2015 defended their research dissertations on Saturday, November 8, 2014 in front of department professors and peers. The research component is an essential aspect of the Biomedicine program and is required if students wish to complete with a Master’s degree.

We were encouraged to choose topics in our individual fields of interest, design our own research, collect data, and analyze our results. The journey was tumultuous as many of us encountered obstacles along the way. But we learned from our mistakes and inspired one another to continue on. In the end, the experience was truly rewarding as each of us has had the opportunity to delve deeper into our potential fields and explore further how to conduct and design a research project.

Below are descriptions of our research, Enjoy!

J.P. Blosser: Occupational posture as a potential risk factor for running-related��overuse injuries

My research looked at the relationship between time spent sitting at work and incidence of overuse injuries in runners. In my sample, participants who sat for longer periods of time at work experienced higher incidence of overuse injuries. It was interesting to see how little every day decisions not related to running can affect an athlete’s performance.”

Wally Al-Kakhan:The impact of sugared, caffeinated, and alcoholic beverages on the oral health of undergraduate and graduate students at ��ݮ����

“Oral health behaviors of college aged students can vary tremendously. My study focuses on risk factors that may correlate to the number of cavities present in students since their enrollment at EMU. It is thought that students develop bad consumption behaviors that increase the number of cavities since the start of their time at the university. However, despite the risk factor my study shows that the true indicator of good oral health is dependent upon oral hygiene behaviors of the student.��”

Matthew Tieszen: Cardiocerebral vs. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Comparison of Patient Outcomes in the Central Shenandoah Region of Virginia

“I am comparing the effectiveness of a new version of CPR being implemented by emergency medical services workers in our area. I learned about it from being a member at Harrisonburg Rescue Squad. There is very new research showing great improvements in patient outcomes from cardiac arrest when using this new version of CPR. I am researching whether it is effective as implemented here in our area.”

Katrina Macaraeg: A Retrospective Analysis: Treat & Extend Regimen Using Bevacizumab For The Treatment Of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration

“My research interests are with abnormalities in the visual system. I researched the effects of an intravitreal injection used to treat Age-related Macular Degeneration.��During this process I gained a greater appreciation for research design while also learning about a patient-centered treatment approach.”

David Abraham: The Effects of Electronic Patient Documentation on Emergency Medical Technician- Patient Communication

“Patients are encountering Electronic Health Records (EHR) more often as they frequent their health practitioners in the hospital and clinic settings. There have been multiple studies that looked at how EHR use affects the dynamic of patient interactions while practitioners treat patients, but little research has been conducted outside of the hospital setting. My research set out to determine how electronic documentation use affected the dynamics of Emergency Medical Technician-patient communication during ambulance transports to the hospital.�� My findings show that while the Emergency Medical Technician used electronic patient documentation, they asked more restricting questions compared to paper documentation. I also found that the Emergency Medical Technician spent almost half the transport time completing the electronic documentation while spending just under a quarter of his transport time completing paper documentation.”

Sharang Penumetsa: Anthocyanin: A Possible Protector Against Ethanol-Induced Spinal Cord Defects in Embryonic Mice

“My topic of research dealt with the protective properties of anthocyanins in blueberries. It particularly dealt with anthocyanins’ protective properties against ethanol-induced changes in the fetus.��It just goes to show the immense potential of nature’s healing powers.”

Edwin Clamp: College Students’ Attitudes, Behaviors, and Ability to Learn from Social Media

” I incorporated my research with my teaching practicum for the Biomedicine teaching track.�� I performed mixed method research that looked at the attitudes and behaviors towards, and ability to learn from social media.�� I incorporated Facebook and Twitter into my zoology curriculum.�� I surveyed students attitudes and behaviors prior to the start of the class and then after a month of exposure to the curriculum. This provided me with data and insights into students’ attitudes and behaviors and how actually using social media in the classroom might change those attitudes and behaviors.�� I used daily quizzes and the first exam to help me determine how well students were able to learn from social media.

My results indicated that while students were very heavy users of social media, they had a negative attitude towards it.�� Their attitude became more negative after interacting with social media in the classroom.�� Although there are probably many reasons for the student’s negative attitudes, one reason, supported by my data, was that some students struggled with Internet addiction.�� My study raised questions about how teachers should ethically use social media in their classrooms if it can exacerbate addictive behaviors in a subset of students.”

Diana Valle: Anthocyanin from Blueberries: Possible Treatment against Ethanol-Induced Telencephalon Malformation in Embryonic Mice.

“Based on the effects fetal alcohol syndrome creates on the individual, the family and the community, it is clear that fetal alcohol syndrome has become a critical area of research.��Our findings suggests that anthocyanin may exert their beneficial effects against ethanol- exposed embryos. The changes in telencephalon size, as well as in embryonic weight and length overall show great promise��and are in conjunction with studies made by by other researchers ��in which it was found that anthocyanin maybe a potential mediator of ethanol neurotoxicity.”

Mavis Britwum: Awareness and Utilization of Health Services Among a Low-Income Population in Harrisonburg, Virginia

” Because there is a prevalence of low-income individuals and families in Harrisonburg, Virginia, my research set out to explore how awareness level of the five major health locations serving the low-income population in the city may influence how likely individuals in the population are to use them. My research further examined the kind of health challenges, if any, they face.My results showed that there was no correlation between awareness level of health services and subsequent utilization of those services. However, it was found that other factors do correlate with utilization of health services including rate of overall care, confidence in the medical provider, and satisfaction in the quality of care.

My findings provide insight into the health care experience of a low-income population in Harrisonburg and highlights some of the important factors health services must fulfill to help bridge the health care disparity gap.”

Vincent Morra: The Effect of Altering Operating Room Staff Procedures on Orthopedic Operating Room Turnover Efficiency: A Case Study at Sentara RMH Medical Center

“An efficient operating room results in not only greater physician, staff, and patient satisfaction levels, but also leads to greater hospital profits.����Excessive turnover times in operating rooms lead to significant financial losses in terms of both human and financial resources.����Due to the large and relatively complex surgical cases that are performed in the orthopedic operating rooms, turnover times can be upwards of and even exceed an hour.����This research examined an attempt to reduce the turnover time for these orthopedic rooms by educating the physicians and staff about turnover procedural efficiency at Sentara RMH Medical Center (SRMH) in Harrisonburg, Virginia.”

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Christopher Dreikorn:�� The Relationship Between Sleep Quantity and Development of Coronary Artery Disease: A Research Review Article

“I researched the process of sleep and many of the health benefits of sleep that can prevent the development of atherosclerosis and plaque development within the major coronary arteries. I investigated the idea that cerebral spinal fluid activity levels increase while we are asleep and how this process could affect LDL and HDL blood cholesterol levels.”

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Asad Ali: In-house Clinics: Satisfaction Rating Within the Prison Community

“As a future family practitioner I am extremely interested in patient satisfaction levels. The study which I conducted focused on a specific group (inmates) and what their perception was about the healthcare provided to them within the prison facility.”