Bethesda, MD: TBI Research At USUHS -Joseph

Snap-frozen mouse brain being sectioned
in a Cryostat at 40µm.

Mouse being exposed to a moderate
 dose of HIFU.

This summer I worked in a lab of military medical school in Maryland just north of DC called Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS). I helped explore the impact of low and moderate non-penetrating blast induced Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) after exposure to stress (restraint) in mice. It was wonderful exposure to lab life and how research works.  It also was quite difficult and I felt like my learning curve the entire summer was quite steep. I would highly recommend it though to those interested in getting a PhD in neuroscience or other sciences.
 For more information visit: http://www.usuhs.mil/

San Diego, California: Research in Surgical Neurophisiology at UC San Diego Medical Center - Collin

Data collection for one of our projects

My summer was spent at the multiple UCSD hospitals doing research in the field of Surgical Neurophysiology.  Much of my time was spent in the operating room viewing neurosurgery and taking data for a research paper.  I got to see the upside of research and see the amazing topics being looked into and papers being written up with success.  I also saw the downside of research when data came back informing us that one of our projects was wrong and that our giant data collection trip to the Sierras and the entire project was scrapped.  My plan is to be a doctor and I want to continue doing research.  It was an incredible experience where I was able to see the role of research in the medical field

Data that comes in from all the head electrodes

For more information visit http://health.ucsd.edu/locations/pages/thornton.aspx.