Shawn Loder: Victories and Caution in the Lab

by AFAR

Three weeks into my project and finally some of the data came back clear. We found a protein interaction that had never been shown before and finally had a link to show that the regulatory mechanisms we’ve been exploring are real. I had been with my lab for almost a year before starting work through the MSTAR program and this project is both an offshoot and culmination of much of that preliminary effort. When the image popped up on the screen of the machine we use to image chemiluminescence on western blots, it was a very satisfying feeling…

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Nerissa Duchin: Analyzing the Data on Adverse Drug Events

by AFAR

This is week five out of eight of my MSTAR research experience, and I am actively trying to move ahead with finishing data collection and analysis. Last week was quite busy, and I sure learned a lot about using Excel and Access. At times, learning new computer skills is frustrating, but I appreciate learning these new skills so that I can be more efficient at managing data in the future. Monday morning I met with my mentor, Dr. Jerry Gurwitz, and we talked about some preliminary data that I had organized into tables, and we talked about a timeline for…

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Anne Richardson Wright: Examining Shoulder and Neck Pain

by AFAR

I am currently starting my second week in the MSTAR program and I am truly impressed with how organized and motivated the MSTAR personnel is at the University of North Carolina. When I arrived last week I was immediately given a thorough orientation to the campus, the MSTAR program, my mentors, and my prospective study. Everyone here at UNC could not be nicer or more welcoming. I am very excited to  begin my research. I will be studying the prevalence of neck and shoulder pain in the elderly population. I am fortunate because the Department of Rheumatology here at…

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Kerry Bertke: Preventive Medicine and Community-based Intervention

by AFAR

When I thought about my MSTAR summer, I was looking forward to learning more about preventive medicine. I wanted to know more about how clinicians could take a more active role in preventing chronic disease and how individuals can be motivated to change behaviors that contribute to these diseases, such as diet and exercise. Thus far, my MSTAR experience has revealed the challenges of implementing community-based interventions, but also how important this effort can be for willing participants and communities. I am working with researchers at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP) in Chapel Hill, NC.…

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Sonia Bhandari: Promoting Health Literacy

by AFAR

As a former undergraduate at UNC, I knew that returning to Chapel Hill for the MSTAR program would be comforting, but I had never thought that the team I would be working with this summer would be so welcoming and supportive. Today marks the end of my third week here and learning about health literacy, the focus of my project, has been breathtaking. I knew little about the subject before starting the project, and my literature review of health literacy quickly taught me that the nearly 48% of our nation is affected by low health literacy, which severely impacts the way…

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