Hi! My name is Riya Sharma and I’m a rising senior. I’m majoring in neuroscience with a chemistry minor, and working on fulfilling the global health certificate. This summer, with the help of the Health Sciences Research Fellowship, I will be researching hemostasis in regards to postpartum hemorrhage.
I work in the Shea Lab, under Dr. Susan Shea, in the Trauma and Transfusion Medicine Research Center. Overall, the lab studies hemostasis, or the stopping of blood flow, through the use of microfluidic devices. Microfluidic devices are small rectangular chips, as pictured below, that have tiny channels in which we perfuse blood through.
These devices allow us to study clot formation and degradation under blood flow, which is very important for physiological accuracy. My project this summer will involve testing therapies, such as oxytocin, which are common treatments for postpartum hemorrhage, and determining how they impact clot formation and structure. To test the interaction between oxytocin and platelets I will be using a microfluidic device to perfuse blood that has been stained for platelets, through a narrow channel and allow it to form a clot for five minutes. Then I will analyze mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of the images produced by the microscope to compare platelet deposition. Similar analytical techniques, such as the ones used to analyze the microfluidic runs, will be used to discern the presence of differences in the fibrin network strength. The assay I will be using for fibrinogen is an assay often used in clinical settings. It will identify the presence of any differences in clot formation and firmness between vehicle and experimental conditions, specifically in regards to fibrinogen function.
I am grateful to have received the HSRF for this summer because it will help me devote more of my time towards my research. As someone who intends to go into the medical field and is interested in women’s health, the opportunity to conduct research on such a detrimental disease has given me a deeper understanding about the pathology of the disease. Postpartum hemorrhage causes 70,000 deaths annually. Basic research is key to improving or developing treatments, and the methods being used to carry out these experiments are especially relevant through the use of clinical assays that are currently in use in healthcare settings. Gaining more knowledge on hemostasis in regards childbirth can only be beneficial, and could play a role in decreasing the risks that come with it.
In the future, I’ll be able to apply the critical thinking skills I use as a researcher on a daily basis to my patients. Outside of research, the fellowship promotes collaboration with other students which will broaden my perspective and allow me to gain insight into fields that I may not be familiar with. Overall, I hope to gain valuable skills from this fellowship that will be beneficial to me as a researcher for the next few years, and then during my career as a doctor.