Showcase

Right now, the wait time for an autism diagnosis at Riley Hospital for Children is about 2 years. The Indiana Early Autism Evaluation Hub system provides young children and their families across the state of Indiana access to autism evaluations withi ... n their local primary care setting. This program provides primary care physicians and clinicians (PCP) with specialized training in autism diagnosis for children 14-48 months of age. Once trained, EAE Hub PCPs conduct clinical evaluations, provide diagnostic counseling to families, and prepare a clinical report for the child's family and care team with clinical recommendations and community resources. The Early Autism Evaluation Hubs provide opportunities for children to get a diagnosis sooner, as well as resources for the families while navigating an autism diagnosis. In addition to lower wait times, having multiple locations across the state allows families who are unable to travel to get the care they need for their child. The data we collect from our hubs help us ensure that families are receiving thorough and consistent care across the state and helps our team to identify areas we can improve to better support the patients and families and the PCPs in our network Read more

Polymerase Chain Reaction or PCR is a process where a small segment of DNA can be duplicated millions of times very rapidly using an enzyme called DNA polymerase and temperature cycling. DNA fluorescence in situ hybridization or simply DNA FISH is a ... process in which a certain segment of DNA is marked with fluorescent tags. By combining these techniques, a certain DNA segment that has been duplicated by PCR can be measured more accurately because the segment was highlighted by DNA FISH. These methods make it easier to visualize and study specific parts of DNA within cells, helping scientists better understand genetic diseases. Read more

As a Project ECHO intern, I support programs focused on HIV and LGBTQ+ health by assisting with session preparation and follow-up. My responsibilities include managing attendance, compiling case presentations, and utilizing REDCap and Marketing Cloud ... to organize data and communications. For this showcase, I have compiled a mock case presentation to demonstrate how Project ECHO facilitates knowledge-sharing between healthcare providers. This presentation highlights the structured case-based learning approach used in ECHO sessions, where experts and community clinicians collaborate to improve patient care. It also showcases Project ECHO's unique "all teach, all learn" model, which creates a collaborative space where everyone contributes knowledge and gains new insights. Visitors will gain insight into the behind-the-scenes coordination that makes these sessions effective and impactful. Read more

My project focuses on furthering understanding of court-ordered treatment from the past research literature, as well as a large sample of individuals with Early Phase Psychotic illness (EPP). We will use a large, multisite dataset in which we collect ... ed demographic and legal information on participants in a EPP Learning Health System, Academic Community Early Psychosis Intervention Network (AC-EPINET). The purpose of this research project is to better understand not only how many people with EPP run into problems with the law, but also possible correlate of these difficulties. Understanding these rates and associated relationships is important in order to ultimately explore whether treatment can improve outcomes such as symptoms and recidivism with legal issues. Read more

The mission of my internship is to identify direct images of patients and patient records. To elaborate, I will be determining the normal developmental changes in marrow composition. Marrow composition is the process of when bones harden to become st ... ronger. This is detected using dual energy composition. Dual energy composition is a CT scan using two different X-ray energy levels to see how the body absorbs radiation at each level. What we hope will happen is that it is possible to use less high-energy scans and MRI scans, especially on children, so the process is less complex. Read more

At my internship site, we aim to determine why patients living with Parkinson's Disease may or may not have advance care planning documentation present in their electronic medical records. We are currently conducting a patient survey, and we strive t ... ive to provide solutions to any barriers we find that may hinder a patient's ability to provide their advance care documents. Throughout the year, I have completed literature reviews on advance care planning, worked with a team to brainstorm and modify questions for a patient questionnaire, constructed the Redcap for one of our determined patient cohorts, and walked through the questionnaire with several patients. The earlier phases of my internship work involved significant learning about Parkinson's Disease and its progression. I also learned how to pull relevant information from research sources as I gathered information about the significance of advance care planning documentation. As the teamwork phase of our project began, I worked with a team consisting of interns to PhD candidates as we discussed the patient cohorts we would create and tailored questions we planned to ask them. The finalized questionnaires are currently being used to collect survey data at the IU Health Parkinson Clinic from patients attending appointments, and we hope to have preliminary findings analyzed by May 2025. Read more

LEADS stands for Longitudinal Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Study, and it is an observational study that follows cognitively impaired and cognitively normal participants from ages 40-64. Participants go through a series of physical, neurological, a ... al, and imagining tests in order to develop clinical and biomarker measures for future Alzheimer's research. This study is impactful because it aims to observe a younger group of people that are normally overlooked in Alzheimer's research. Through LEADS, the research done on Alzheimer's Disease can be improved and expanded. Read more

My research project focuses on Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), which occurs when the blood pressure in the lungs' arteries is too high, causing the heart to work harder. My internship investigates the role of the WWOX (WW domain-containing oxi ... g oxidoreductase) gene in PAH and its relation to vascular remodeling. The work hypothesizes that maintaining WWOX expression levels is crucial for lung cells' health. When WWOX levels are low, problems can occur in cells in the lung arteries. The whole purpose of this research is to understand how WWOX loss contributes to PAH progression by analyzing its effects on pulmonary vascular remodeling. This research is important for understanding the role of WWOX in vascular remodeling. Understanding this role could unveil new pathways that can be targeted for PAH treatment. This could lead to developing more effective therapeutic methods, significantly improving the quality of life for PAH patients. Our research has made some exciting progress. We have reduced the WWOX expression in cells to evaluate potential WWOX-targeting treatments for PAH, offering new treatment avenues and raising hope for the future of PAH research. Read more

In Dr. Norlander's Lab, we study hypertension, its causes, and potential treatments using mice. The experiment begins by dividing mice into two groups. One group receives an osmotic minipump containing angiotensin II, a hormone that constricts blood ... lood vessels and induces hypertension. The second group is given a vehicle, serving as a placebo. After two weeks, a second pump is added, dividing the groups into four: one group continues with angiotensin II, another with the vehicle, a third with treprostinil (a vasodilator that widens blood vessels), and a fourth group receives both angiotensin II and treprostinil to examine potential reversal of hypertension effects. After 28 days, the mice are harvested, and tissues such as the heart, aorta, and kidney are collected. These tissues are sliced, placed in a water bath, and mounted on cell slides. The slides are then stained using the Masson Trichrome method, which highlights collagen and fibrous tissue. The stained slides are scanned, and the fibrous tissue percentage is calculated by comparing it to the total tissue area. This allows researchers to assess the impact of angiotensin II and treprostinil on tissue damage and fibrosis caused by hypertension. Read more

The Solutions for Overcoming Life-threatening Actions and Crisis Events for Teens (SOLACE) lab explores adolescent suicide ideation and prevention. One in five students consider suicide, and one in ten attempt it(CDC, 2023). These alarming statistics ... are one of the large driving forces behind the SOLACE lab's focus on refining treatments for at-risk adolescents. We work towards this aim through our Study of Teletherapy Application for Youth (STAY) and the Indiana Confronting Adolescent Risk and Empowering Youth against Suicide (IN CARES) initiatives. The goal of Project STAY is to develop a clinical decision-making tool to aid healthcare providers in assessing when tele-mental services are ideal for adolescents to ensure access to care is maximized, while minimizing risk. The IN CARES program provides suicide prevention services through the Riley Pediatric Clinic, using Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) therapy. To contribute to these initiatives, I distributed flyers for recruitment, cleaned interviews, conducted literature reviews, created data codebooks, and edited Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) worksheets for adolescents. Ultimately, the insight we glean from our work will enable us to improve the resources and clinical care tools available to at-risk youth. Read more