Boston University Medical Campus
International Health Program

Romania

I spent my summer after the first year of medical school doing cancer research in Cluj Napoca, Romania. I chose this experience because I know the country’s language, wanted to reconnect with my roots, and learn more about Romania’s medical system. I began searching for an experience online; I e-mailed different doctors and scientists, but also to the schools’ offices of internationals relations, describing my interests and goals for the summer. I heard back from a few people, but the chief of the scientific research department at the Institute of Oncology (Professor Ion Chiricuta) showed particular interest in collaborating with me.

I came to the Laboratory of Functional Genomics, Proteomics and Experimental Pathology prepared to work on a research project, new to the lab, involving breast cancer under the guidance of Professor Chiricuta. After assisting with the preparations for this project, we realized I would not have time to accomplish much due to the fact that it takes time to gather biopsies from patients with a particular type of breast cancer. In order to be more productive, I was reassigned to a project already in progress and with enough samples gathered from patients.

The big project to which I ended up contributing is called “The Identification of Molecular Transcripts Profiles in Advanced Cervical Cancer through Functional Genomics Studies.” My project involved determining the HPV genotype of cervical cancer biopsies and correlating them with mRNA levels coding for proteins involved in angiogenesis. I dedicated a lot of my time to working in the lab, learning new techniques, help set up protocols, and perform the actual experiments. I had the privilege of working with very enthusiastic people that were hardworking, friendly, and willing to help. I also had the opportunity to shadow a group of medical oncologists working at the Institute and learn about different cases of cancer and their therapy regimes. This experience allowed me to combine the research work with clinical from which I learned tremendously.

The biggest challenge this summer was time. Two months was not enough to finish everything planned for the project. Although, Dr. Ovidiu Balacescu was often there to mentor me, the PhD student who was supposed to guide me with the experiments was busy and I feel that I didn’t utilize my time to its fullest. I did not only work on research project that will probably end up with a few publications, but I also experienced working with a diverse group of people.