Today’s installment of Better Know A Scientist features Kelly Egan, an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Herb Chen’s lab in the Department of Surgery at the University of Wisconsin Hospital.
Explain to the readers what you do?
My most recently completed project involved doing a risk-benefit analysis of parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism in patients 80 years of age and older. (Parathyroidectomy is removal of parathyroid glands. They glands located behind the thyroid gland in your throat and regulate calcium levels. Hyperparathyroidism is a condition of overactive parathyroid glands that leads to elevated calcium levels). Basically we were trying to prove that surgery (the only cure for primary hyperparathyroidism) is safe and effective in elderly patients.
What led you to your current position?
I was looking for research experience before I start medical school and a friend of mine had a great experience working for Dr. Chen.
What did you want to do when you were growing up?
I’ve wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I like the clinical aspect of research and hearing patient stories on how their quality of life improved after the surgery. I was also able to scrub in and assist on surgeries this summer, something that is almost unheard of for undergrads. Every new experience that I have convinces me more that I have chosen the right career path.
What is the most challenging aspect?
My paper that I wrote is going to be published this spring and surgeons all over the world will be reading my research (and critiquing it). That’s a lot of pressure! Also, presenting my research at a surgical conference in February was scary, but rewarding.
What’s on the horizon in your line of work?
I’m starting medical school at the University of Wisconsin in the fall, specialty undecided.
Any advice for students interested in your field and science in general?
Start getting experience while you are young. I was the only undergraduate at the Academic Surgical Conference, but I didn’t let that stop me from networking and talking to surgeons in many different fields. Be willing to put in the extra hours and go above and beyond what is required of you.
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Kelly Egan is finishing up her senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She will be attending the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in the fall of 2007. Her paper, “A Risk-Benefit Analysis of Primary Hyperparathyroidism in Octogenarians and Nonagenarians” will be published in the Journal of Surgical Research in spring 2007.
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Posted by Tim Roth, author of the political blog Think Anew and Act Anew