Week 8 : Adil

This week was good mix of research and time in the OR. I continued to work on the pipeline we started last week and ran more RNA datasets from the ICSBCS biobank to compute immune cell fraction across samples. I also analyzed the TCRseq data of the pooled trovo sample and combined the results from the scRNA analysis I did last week. This analysis has helped us to optimize our experimental protocols (initial sample size and initial cell count) for the upcoming trovo experiments. Later in the week I attended a presentation by a sub-intern working with Dr. Newman on the various factors that come into play in decision making in breast surgical oncology and how clinical trials have shaped these protocols over the years. I also attended a didactic session by Dr. Newman on systemic therapy for breast cancer. In the OR, I shadowed Dr. Newman for two lumpectomies, one sentinel lymph node biopsy and a ductal node excision. Overall the summer immersion was a great learning experience - both on the clinical and research fronts. I look forward to applying the learnings from my immersion experience to my ongoing projects.