Prior to my experience in research, I had the opportunity to shadow a physician in the department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine. Dr. Jelacic is an anesthesiologist with a specialized focus in Cardiology. I met Dr. Jelacic through networking within my social fraternity, providing me with valuable experience in networking and a stepping stone into medicine. Dr. Jelacic was my first formal shadowing opportunity and one of the most exciting shadowing roles I have participated in.

As a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist, Dr. Jelacic pursued additional credentialling and training to achieve the “cardio” speciality within Anesthesiology. This offered me a unique insight and opportunity to learn from a physician who sought further expertise within his field. As his shadow for the day, I joined him on rounds with patients and certain surgical procedures.

The experiential learning activity I would like to propose is my work with the University of Washington Medical Center in the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine.

Within this department, I have been hired as a research assistant for the FIBMET clinical trials study under Michele Curatolo, MD, Ph.D. Dr. Curatolo is the principal investigator for the FIBMET clinical trials, exploring the metabolomics profiles of chronic low back pain and fibromyalgia. The foundation of the research is to further understand the widespread pain experienced by patients that are not explained by tissue lesions or major sources of injury which are commonly prescribed by opioids and other controlled substance pain medications.

This prestigious work is just beginning with the work of the FIBMET clinical trials which started earlier this year, requiring growth of long-term staffing and resourceful interns. I was first brought on to the project as a student assistant intern for recruiting healthy control participants and patients to join the study and to conduct quantitative sensory testing, specimen collection for processing, and data entry for blood and urine samples and participant/ patient information. The work entails 10+ hours a week with on-site and virtual job components. We see approximately 2-4 participants or patients a week for testing and collection in the Montake Center for Pain Relief and the UW laboratories in South Lake Union. Outside of these obligations, I support the research efforts of the team through attendance of weekly meetings and my contribution to the specimen collection process as a certified phlebotomist (MA-P).

I hope to continue my involvement in future projects with the department and have been invited to join future research with Dr. Curatolo and Ph.D. candidate, and future MD student, Abby Chiu with the solidification of a two-year contract. I hope to engage in long-term research under this mentorship.

Research may be defined as exploratory work into many fields of the unknown or the support in the growth of lesser-understood variables in fields that have been previously explored. To me, research has been an opportunity to expand my knowledge of the fields of science that require expertise, high levels of education, and opportunities for passionate professionals to contribute to the world of medicine and scientific discovery.

I feel honored to be a part of this project as a novice with a brief background in research. My past opportunities include my role as a biorepository intern in the UW Heart and Lung Biology lab where I learned to process blood and lung biopsy samples to be stored for future research. The processing system involved wet lab procedures such as skills with digital pipetting, precise measurements, experience in laboratory equipment usage, and proper sample and data logging techniques. I worked with a laboratory team under the supervision of Dr. Bilianna Hwang.

My current research project has been similar to the logging and data processing aspect but has allowed me to interact with patients and healthcare professionals more as it is a clinical research study as opposed to wet lab research. This opportunity allowed me to develop and build upon the necessary lab skills that I gained in my coursework and apply them to ongoing research in fields that I have found interest in. Skills that I learned that have been valuable in my current position include data collection/ entry and professionalism, allowing me to build upon and begin strengthening my patient skills, professional communication, medical terminology, and technical ability to work on platforms such as EPIC and REDCap.

I plan to continue research with Dr. Curatolo on a long-term basis and hope to branch into further fields including work in publication and future research developments.

I selected this engagement after networking with a former Interdisciplinary Honors Student, Abby Chiu. We had friends and interests in common leading us to form a close contact where I learned about her history and research within the University of Washington Medicine. I was fascinated by her work and eager to get involved; I asked about her role, her passion for research, and how she was able to find scientific fieldwork after college. She was enthusiastic and encouraging of my involvement in the research field and was kind enough to offer me a visit to her office and many of her pending papers to read to learn more about her studies. We met multiple times for coffee and became very good friends and I was excited to grow under her mentorship.

I hadn't thought about working with her until she offered me an interview with her lab directed by her principle investigator, Dr. Curatolo. From this meeting, I was able to get a better sense of the work in the Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine lab from both a holistic and a personal approach. Dr. Curatolo was driven, interested in my studies, and encouraged me to pursue research in the Anesthsisiolgoy field when I shared my intentions on going to medical school in the Emergency Medicinal Department or Anesthsaiolgoy. He offered me a general internship role, where, as the sole intern in the office, I would have access to incredible resources, connections, and opportunities with all he had to offer. He was excited to have help with the new projects the lab was undertaking.

Under Abby, the Ph.D. student in the lab, I would serve as a lab aid, phlebotomist in the UW Pain Clinic for the clinical trial patients needing lab studies done, and an observer of the treatments the Doctor conducted. I hope to get many skills out of this experience including building on my current laboratory experience, specimen handling, networking opportunities, research/ clinical hours, and exposure to a field of interest of mine

In research, there are many ethical variables to be considered by the research team. In both the FIBMET and biorepository studies, the introductory training and the establishment of fundamental research principles revolve around patient outcomes and ethical considerations. While there are many rules enforced by overseeing research organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, it is largely the responsibility of the researchers to enforce, evaluate, and plan an ethical framework. These studies hold human subjects as the source and basis of data collection. The FIBMET study focuses on patients diagnosed with chronic pain and their experiences with pain/ drug intervention.

The biorepository research relied on blood draws and the voluntary surrender of lung biopsy samples removed during surgery. These opportunities both rely on voluntary involvement and transparency of safety/ privacy policies enforced by the research team. This is demonstrated with the FIBMET study seeing that I serve as a member of the patient care/ research team, requiring my commitment to and understanding of patient safety and privacy. Institutional review boards and research ethical committees help studies like ours be held to a standard of practice, laws of compliance/ safety, and provide a framework for designing studies to always put patient outcomes first.

The most important evaluation in ethical consideration is finding the balance between what classifies as harmful versus the research outcome. When the harm is greater than the outcome it is easy to deem the research unethical but these lines are often blurred when the outcome is so great itself. Outcomes such as this may include the discovery or production of medications/procedures that can save lives or contribute to the health and well-being of a patient. Even so, ethics come at the forefront of medicine and research, making them a fundamental standard of practice in the design, execution, or publication of work.