During the last week of my internship, I had the opportunity to present my research at the monthly research meeting. It was so exciting to put together all the results I had worked so hard on and see everything come together. Additionally, I performed extensive research on the relationship between physical activity and surgery, sleep activity and surgery, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and sleep, IBD and physical activity, and the use of activity trackers in clinical research. Overall, the study concluded that there is a significant relationship between increased physical activity and sleep efficiency with positive surgical outcomes for patients enrolled in the multimodal prehabilitation program. These results provide evidence that future prospective controlled studies are warranted.
After presenting the information the entire group engaged in discussion about the results and future research that could be done, as well as new perspectives that could lead to furthering our understanding of IBD and activity. I answered questions about the study, provided clarification when needed, and took notes on everyone's ideas. While I loved every part of the study experience, my most favorite part was definitely the post presentation discussion. It was fascinating to hear input from providers whose work I was specifically analyzing and hear new perspectives on the data. I am so excited for future collaborations and new analysis based on the discussions we had. My next step is to write an abstract of the study, which I will then submit to multiple organizations for possible publication.
This experience has aligned very well with my skills and interests as a Computational Biology major. I loved applying some of the tools I have learned through my CB classes and building on those tools to be better prepared for future courses. Additionally, as a pre-med student, it was such a privilege to immerse myself in a clinical environment. Overall, I had an amazing time working at Cedars Sinai and am so excited to see future research on the prehab program.
