Showcase

The Kids Healthcast Podcast is a podcast dedicated to serving parents, teachers, and caregivers who work with children to educate and advocate for their pediatric health. This podcast is facilitated by pediatric residents from the Indiana University ... School of Medicine in Indianapolis. In which they construct topics about pediatric health and include resources that can be reached through online resources or public organizations. Read more

The Hulvershorn lab investigates impulsivity and risky decision-making in adolescents at risk for substance use and HIV. Some factors including high impulsivity and a family history of substance abuse have been identified as predictors for later enga ... gement in high-risk behaviors such as early substance use, development of substance use disorders, and engagement in high-risk sexual behaviors. By developing an understanding of these risk factors, researchers hope to identify populations vulnerable to these risky behaviors. The lab investigates these topics in a sample of 11-12 year old children using a research method known as longitudinal follow-up to track their endorsement and engagement in substance use and sexual behaviors. The children initially undergo an array of behavioral assessments and an fMRI to get a baseline of characteristics of interest. The adolescents then are contacted every six months to track their engagement in substance use and sexual behaviors. Using this data the Hulvershorn lab hopes to better understand what risk factors are associated with risky behavior. With these findings, further research hopes to better identify at-risk children, understand adolescent development, prevent engagement in high-risk sexual behaviors and substance use, and develop evidence-based treatment and prevention protocols targeting adolescent populations. Read more

Diabetes Mellitus is an increasingly concerning issue within the field of medicine. Though the disease is manageable, the associated secondary complications become progressively debilitating as the patient lives on. One complication is the inability ... to create functional blood vessels to ischemic tissue. This increases the risk of life-threatening bacterial infections which without treatment could require amputation of the afflicted extremity or even death. At our lab, we explore the molecular basis of vasculopathy in affected ischemic tissue from diabetics as compared to healthy skin. This includes examination of gene expression changes and promoter methylation status of vasculogenic genes. Our lab has recently shown that decreased blood flow in diabetics is linked to increased vascular gene suppression. During my time at this internship, I learned to examine gene promoter methylation status using bisulfite sequencing. This procedure utilizes treating DNA with chemicals that can differentially react with methylated and unmethylated cytosine residue. The quantification of methylated CG pairs in vascular gene promoter can reveal the amount of silencing in diabetic ischemic tissue. Using methods including bisulfite sequencing, results of such research could have major implications for diabetics with non-healing ulcers and ischemic limb tissue. Acknowledgement: The laboratory of Dr. Kanhaiya Singh is supported by U.S. Department of Defense grant W81XWH-22-1-0146. On behalf of everyone in the lab and myself, I would like to thank the director of the ICRME program, Dr. Chandan K Sen for giving us the opportunity to be a part of this internship at his lab. Read more

Family caregivers of people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are often unprepared for the emotional, physical and financial strain that can result from caregiving. These consequences of caregiving may be worse when people ... ople are identified late with ADRD. The COADS study is a randomized controlled trial that will examine the impact of early detection of ADRD on family members of older adults. 1,809 dyads of primary care patients in greater Indianapolis aged 65 and older with no diagnosis of ADRD and one of their family members were recruited and randomly assigned to one of three groups. Two of the groups were screened for ADRD and received their screening results and are encouraged to get follow-up diagnostic care, and one group did not receive screening. Dyads are followed every six months to measure patient and family member depression, anxiety, and health related quality of life. Caregiver preparedness and caregiving self-efficacy are measured for the family members. We hypothesize that family members in the two screening groups will have a better quality of life, lower rates of anxiety, depression, and be more prepared for caregiving at 24-months after screening. Read more

Sickle cell disease is a condition that affects approximately 100,000 individuals in the United States. Of the individuals, the vast majority of them are Black and come from low-income neighborhoods where healthcare isn't easily accessible. This inte ... internship site is researching how we can help further the education system for healthcare and mental healthcare. At our site, we are determining associations of pain-related injustice, sickle cell stigma, and perceptions of racism in Black youth with sickle cell disease. Read more

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone but has impacted some communities more than others. The study aims to understand and reduce the disparities in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality for those disproportionately affected by the pandemic. As COVI ... D-19 prevention efforts have become more complex, it is important to identify strategies to best improve COVID-19 awareness and reduce its impact in the community. IU is one of the four study sites participating in this nationwide project and is the only site working with adolescents. This project aims to inform participants of the basics of COVID-19 and situation-appropriate prevention. The study focuses on teaching participants to identify misinformation and sharpen their media literacy skills. It also focuses on empowering participants to be change agents in their social circle. I have learned how to use REDCap to help collect data, conduct surveys, and generate randomization in REDCap. I have practiced going over an informed consent form. I have also practiced the process of enrolling participants in the study. In short, the overarching goals of the C3 study project are to increase COVID-19 vaccination and situation-appropriate testing and to promote accurate information regarding COVID-19. Read more

The Undiagnosed Rare Disease Clinic (URDC) is a clinic that takes in patients with undiagnosed rare diseases. The typical story for our patients is the patient sees a doctor and genetics tests will be run. The genetic testing will be inconclusive or ... blank. The patient then comes to us, and we run more extensive sequencing and analyze the data from a research perspective. It is a much more in extensive look than the classic clinical genetics. It is common for the mutations found to be only recently discovered to be associated with disease, or maybe not even fully published. My part in the clinic is to help out where needed. I have done things from scanning in consent documents to retrieving media for biopsies. Most of my first year has been spent learning from small team at the URDC. Read more

In this project, microscopy imaging of mice knee joints is used to measure cartilage density and determine efficiency of potential treatments that may be used to slow or halt the progression of osteoarthritis. Each slide sample is examined under a mi ... croscope, photographed, and then measured using a computer program. After this, the data collected from the measurements is tabulated and then compared in order to visualize results more clearly. Read more

My internship site is the IU Psychotic Disorders Program. This program focuses on helping people in the early stages of psychosis and psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia by conducting research to better understand and treat psychotic disorders ... . My tasks involve writing transcriptions of therapy sessions and entering data for current and past studies. My work related to individuals with psychotic disorders has made me interested in treatments for psychosis. There are currently many available treatments, such as antipsychotic drugs and metacognitive therapy. Animal-assisted therapy is a type of therapy that includes the use of animals and has proven to be successful for many types of mental illnesses. Some studies have shown that the use of animals in therapy may be beneficial for those with psychotic disorders. My project looks at different studies on animal-assisted therapy and compares the use of different animals, such as dogs, cats, horses, and even birds. The goal is to evaluate which animal is most effective in treating those with psychotic disorders. Read more

I have been working with Dr. Tom Hummer in the IU School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry. Our lab utilizes a variety of neuropsychological, behavioral, and neuroimaging tools to study how digital media use is related to brain structure and funct ... ion in children. Children's access to and usage of electronic devices at younger ages has increased in recent years. While this media use can have positive benefits, such as allowing for greater communication with friends and family, concern about potential negative impacts of screentime has grown. For example, an increase in screen time may decrease time available for other activities, such as studying. If this is true, it is likely that screen time is associated with grades and academic performance. I used data from the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, to analyze the relationship between non-educational screen time and academic performance. We conducted regression analyses, controlling for scores on attention-based tasks and behavioral reports. This information can help us provide parental guidance on the potential merits in monitoring and/or restricting screen time for children with the purpose of improving academic performance. Read more