Victoria Hills ’14 with Research Manager Pritesh Karia, MPH and dermatology fellow Michelle Nguyen, MD.
My least favorite thing about research has always been how easy it is to lose sight of the bigger picture. When you spend weeks running the same experiment over and over again, or whole days fidgeting with the same spreadsheet, it can be tough to remember that your work has real-world applications.
Last summer I interned at the Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Center (Mohs Center) at Faulkner Hospital in Boston. I worked on a few projects, but mostly I collected data for a project on determining whether the newly implemented standards for requiring a type of diagnostic surgery for melanoma are cost-effective. The new standards ensured that more people would be tested for metastatic disease, but the doctors at the Mohs Center wanted to know whether the additional tests would actually find more metastases. Did the new standards save lives, or waste money?
The Mohs Center is affiliated with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and virtually every patient who visited had already been diagnosed with skin cancer. Every day I saw dozens of people come in for consultations or, more frequently, to have their cancers removed. Because skin cancer is most likely to affect people over the age of 65, many of these patients were elderly. They were friendly, gregarious, and chatty. Many were also scared. Some skin cancers have nearly 100% cure rates, but I saw firsthand how difficult it is for a patient to accept that they “shouldn’t worry too much” about their cancer.
My internship eventually stretched out into a senior thesis project evaluating the treatment and management of high-risk squamous cell carcinoma. This experience allowed me to work in an academic medical setting and has afforded me many learning opportunities. For one, the people I work with are wonderful. I’m surrounded by amazing mentors: a seasoned surgeon, a young doctor completing her fellowship, and an MPH who masterfully manages the infinite details associated with the Center’s many research projects. These people, and the nurses and other personnel associated with the Mohs Center, aren’t just kind or helpful; they’re also funny, energetic, and genuine. There has yet to be day that I look forward to going to work with anything short of enthusiasm.
Most importantly, my time at the Mohs Center has granted me the opportunity to observe the intersection between research and the people it helps. Digging through medical records and reading doctors’ notes is fascinating in its own right, but nothing is as wonderful as realizing that the work you’re doing could help the person you just said hello to.
Victoria Hills ’14 is a Biological Sciences & History double major. She participated in a Global Engagement opportunity through the Center for Work and Service at the Dana-Farber/Brigham & Women’s Cancer Center’s Mohs and Dermatologic Surgery at Faulkner Hospital in Boston. She was named a Jerome A. Schiff Fellow at Wellesley College for her senior thesis work Effective Management of High-Risk Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma.