The final culmination of my research study on patient outcomes after surgical repair of talar osteochondral defects (OCDs) with and without biologic augmentation is a manuscript. We are currently preparing this for review by all other authors on the paper. As the project lead, I have worked closely with my team through all stages of writing and am thrilled to see our progress near the end. Once the revisions are complete, I hope to submit the paper to a journal for publication and look into conferences at which we could submit the abstract with the goal of presenting our work somewhere. The study seeks to clarify the therapeutic value of orthobiologics and inform evidence-based management strategies for talar OCDs among other literature on the topic.
This experience has greatly shaped many aspects of my research skills and character. Not only did I build technical skills, but I also grew more sure of myself and my initiative. Through leading a study for the first time, I was able to grow my leadership traits as well as build confidence. One example of this was an opportunity to present the results of our study to a group of attending surgeons and gain their valuable insight before proceeding with drafting the manuscript. In addition, my writing skills have improved greatly through this experience which will help in future courses and further research that I conduct. I was involved in every stage of writing for each section of the paper and am now doing fine tuning in preparation for submissions. Finally, this project has helped to increase my interest in the field of orthopaedics; I intend to pursue this more after having learned so much about orthobiologics, cartilage, ankle injuries, and more, and having enjoyed every step of the process.
I am extremely grateful to the biology department at Barnard for supporting me in my research opportunity this summer. Additionally, I am thankful to my mentor, Dr. Soheil Ashkani-Esfahani, at the Foot & Ankle Research and Innovation Lab (FARIL) at Mass General Brigham, and my entire research team and FARIL family for all their support and encouragement.
- NANDINI LAL '27