Week 3: Brenda

This week, I had the opportunity to meet with my colleague at Cornell, Salman. At Cornell, I work in collaboration with Dr. Bonassar, and through Salman, I receive bone samples taken from the knee joint by Dr. Andreas Gomoll, Dr. Sabrina Strickland, and Dr. Scott Rodeo. Salman took Hamilton and me to observe an arthrotomy knee osteochondral allograft with fresh articular cartilage to the left patella, performed by Dr. Gomoll, essentially a procedure where damaged cartilage and bone on the patella (kneecap) are replaced with a fresh osteochondral allograft from a deceased donor. It was fascinating not only to observe the surgical technique but also to learn how the samples I use in my Ph.D. research are collected.

At the clinic, I also shadowed a particularly interesting case: a patient who had undergone total knee arthroplasty without initial complications, but began experiencing periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) three years post-operation. In the lab, we’ve been revisiting bacterial culture methods for Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli. We prepared bacterial solutions, submerged knee implants in them, and used crystal violet staining to visualize the resulting biofilm. Aside from that, I’ve been reviewing lab protocols and refreshing my technical skills.