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Mahima

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ABOUT ME

Second year Biology- Premed student studying at the

University of Cincinnati

Connections Dual Admissions Medical Program with the

School of Medicine.

Spend more time exploring the field of medicine and see

which specialties interest me

Interest in pediatrics came from my shadowing experiences

with Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Doctor, Dr. Appachi, at the
Cleveland Clinic

Realized the importance of addressing the patients' and their

families wants, needs, and fears

Understood that a doctor's work is multi-faceted and

combined the science of medicine with the art of compassion

Research needs to be done to develop treatment methods for

these patients. Treating patients is impactful on a community
level, but research can be impactful on a global level.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES

Pediatrics research University Hospitals and Case WesternSummer 2011 (pediatric oncology/hematology lab)
I learned all the basic lab techniques such as Western blot, PCR, and
mouse handling.
Interacted with researchers all around the world, whether it was
sharing breeding techniques of mice, emailing them about
information on articles or papers, or reviewing research developed
from around the world. I found that research is evolving everyday
and it is very rewarding and exciting.

Spring Quarter 2012- Biomedical Mentorship Research program

at the Atweh lab under the post-doc, Dr. Charmaine RamloganSteel (Oncology-Hematology)
This project helped me develop my basic skills and go even further
with learning analytical skills and independence in my research
use my own initiative and creativity and contribute to the structuring
and designing of experiments.

PEDIATRIC NEUROLOGY SUMMER 2012

Cleveland Clinic Child Neurology Research & Observer

Program
8 weeks starting June 6, 2011 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm

Worked with Dr. Debabrata Ghosh at the Pediatric

Neurology Department in the Cleveland Clinic Main
Campus Childrens Hospital

The Pediatric Neurology Department at the Cleveland

Clinic Childrens Hospital is ranked #3 in the nation and
#1 in Ohio.

Dr. Ghosh is specialized in movement disorders

relating to spasticity and dystonia.

CITI TRAINING
Completion Report

https://www.citiprogram.org/members/learnersII/crbystage.asp?...

CITI Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative

Human Research Curriculum Completion Report
Printed on 6/10/2012
Learner: Mahima Venkatesh (username: mahimabala)
Institution: Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Contact InformationDepartment: Pediatric Neurology
Phone: 440-334-3924
Email: venkatmb@mail.uc.edu
Group 1 Required for all researchers registering with the Cleveland Clinic
Foundation.:
Stage 1. Basic Course Passed on 06/09/12 (Ref # 8077293)
Date
Required Modules
Completed
Avoiding Group Harms: U.S. Research Perspectives
06/08/12 3/3 (100%)
Introduction
06/08/12 no quiz
History and Ethical Principles
06/08/12 5/6 (83%)
Basic Institutional Review Board (IRB) Regulations and 06/08/12 5/5 (100%)
Review Process
Informed Consent
06/08/12 4/4 (100%)

COMET TRAINING

GOAL #1
Frame and develop the research project question
or problem and identify and apply appropriate
methodologies to design research study, and
collect and analyze data
Accomplished this goal by working closely with my
mentor to learn a variety of clinical research
procedures and methods.
Skills learned:
Statistically analyze data and compile patient records
and charts into excel spreadsheets
How to write a report and paper for a clinical research
journal.

MY PROJECT
My specific project was on the Effects of Botulinum Toxin
(Botox) Injections on Spasticity in Children.
Botulinum toxin is a protein and neurotoxin produced by
bacterium Clostridium botulinum
There are 7 different types of Botulinum toxin, of which 2
can be used to treat dystonia and spasticity disorders
including muscular atrophy.
Spasticity is referred to as unusual muscle tightness or
stiffness
Dystonia is sustained muscle contractions cause twisting
and repetitive movements or abnormal postures.

CLINICAL RESEARCH SPREADSHEET

My spreadsheet compiled data from the charts and records of over
300 patients who have received Botox injections to relieve
spasticity and dystonia and compare the effects of the treatment.
I learned about the methodologies required to evaluate the effects
of Botox on spasticity, including Spasm frequency, resting angle,
MRC, Modified Ashworth Scale, Adductor Tone Rating, Global pain,
and Range of Motion.
These factors were compiled in the spreadsheet and used to
analyze the effectiveness of the botox injections.
During the 8 weeks, I compiled the information and sorted the
patients by the reasons they received injections (drooling,
spasticity, dystonia, or sweating).
I also started analyzing the data to compare results to put into
paper. I will continue working on the analysis during the school year
and July and August of 2013.

BLANK SPREADSHEET

GOAL#1- LESSONS LEARNED

related to my academic development

relevant to the statistics class I had taken in high school

relevant to my interest in pursuing a Masters in Public Health

since many statistical methods are used in Public health.

realized that I like clinical research better than lab research

because it is more patient involved and seemed more
interactive to me.
Clinical research is also a lot more desk work
During the initial phase, the doctor has to survey patients for
information and keep in contact with them to collect results at certain
intervals
interpret the huge amount of data collected
sort what was relevant and how analyze data in categories.

GOAL #2

Think beyond the just completed research and articulate

how my world view has been impacted by the experience

Accomplished by the time I spent shadowing Dr. Ghosh and

other staff members, residents and fellows on hospital
rounds and other patient visits

helped me gain significant knowledge about how a hospital

runs and how each person functions in the system.

Related to my Success in Health Professions Class

learned about how different medical professionals work together to
provide healthcare.
clerks, nurses, PT/OT, neurosurgeons, radiology team, neurology
team, and orthopedic surgeon during the interdisciplinary grand
rounds and well as the multidisciplinary spasticity clinic every
week.

GOAL #2- LESSONS LEARNED

By working with various undergraduate and graduate

students, residents, fellows, and staff physicians I
built my network of connections and gain more
teamwork and collaboration skills

More than the actual academic and medical

knowledge, I gained a lot of insight about how to run
appointments, the method of running of a physical
exam, and how to deal with patients and families of
all types

Most of the time is taken up by paperwork and

talking to the patients.

This is why a lot of doctors get involved with clinical

research so that they can be more efficient and also
accomplish more with the time they do have with the
patients.

RECOMMENDATIONS/FUTURE PLANS

I would recommend this program to anyone who

wants to get experience with clinical research
as well as shadowing.

It was a good balance of getting research and

shadowing experience.

If I repeat this experience, which I probably will

next summer, I would probably do the program
for a longer period of time than 8 weeks.

This experience has made me realize that I

would like to some kind of research while
practicing. Specifically I think I would like to do
clinical research that is public health related.