When you first
think of immunology research, your next thought is not usually “how are we
going to get nasal scrapings?” Then again, most people have not interned in a
lab that studies mucus on a daily basis. Our passion for this project began in
the Rubin Lab at Virginia Commonwealth University Health Systems this past
summer. It was there were we learned that neutrophils are the type of cell the
body produces to attack viruses and bacteria.
The common cold
accounts for millions of days of work lost, health care visits, lost
productivity, antibiotics, and over-the-counter medications. With this in mind,
we questioned why more research has not been done on the common cold? There has
been no research stating that the more severe the cold, the higher the neutrophil
frequency. How can researchers use neutrophil frequencies as a measurement for
different diseases if this concrete question has not been answered? This has
led us to our project titled: The Severity of
Acute Rhinosinusitis (ARS) on the Frequency of Neutrophils present in a Nasal Smear of Patients with and without Over-The-Counter
Cold or Sinus
Medications.
Collaborations has been the essence to our project! The Biomedical
Engineering Department is providing us a lab through which we will be conducting
our research, the Biology Department is providing us with continuous education
on our project, and the Rubin lab is providing continuous support for our
projects growth. With these key figures in place, we are almost ready to begin
our research! Through the next few months, we will be consenting participants
to volunteer in our study. We will be obtaining nasal smears from them at
different times of the illness and then analyzing the neutrophil frequencies.
We will also be comparing patients who are not taking any medications to those
taking a few select over-the-counter medications.
Our project has definitely had some setbacks the last few weeks, however,
this is research. No matter how organized we have been, our timeline has
changed. When these difficulties arise, we have to remind ourselves as to why
we are trying to conduct this work in the first place. We believe that this
project could affect the medical community and therefore impact what we may do
as hopeful physicians. Even if our work does not turn out how we hope, it will
still have given us an opportunity that will only enhance our education and
views as we aim for careers in medicine. Now that, hopefully, all of our business
work is complete, we are moving away from the business side and towards the
science! See you in the clinic!
