Roughly 15,000 words

Figured I'd end with this...

BOSTON IN ALL ITS GLORY!!!! I got a little into it, so forgive me, but:

Boston, MA SFS at the PNL, 2009. Sam Burnim, Brooks School '10

I'M GONNA MISS THIS!!!!!

And of course, Water Balloon Fights.........

STOUGHTON FAM!!!!!!!! I'm gonna miss these guys so much!

BANANAGRAMS!!!!! This is sort of an inside joke, but I HAD to include it...

The Lab Part III, you can see what each work area looks like!!!

The Lab Part II, My work station! Images are kind of hazy because I used My iPhone

The Lab, Part 1. Dunkin Donuts brought by me!!!

Wes and his dad, out in the harbor

The harbor! You can kind of see Logan Airport.

Me on Wes's boat out in the harbor = AWESOME!!!!!

Me and the other summer students in our Harvard Med shirts that the lab gave us

While my iPhone updates....

I'm uploading pictures now, but it takes forever. So I figured, while I wait, I'd add my final informative post....

So last Monday, I took the final exam. I felt it went SIGNIFICANTLY better than the midterm. It was actually relatively easy, biggest reason being that the final essay was on SCHIZOPHRENIA....talk about fortunate. I pulled all sorts of fancy terminology out of thin air...so it should have been impressive.

I went into work Tuesday and Wednesday for a couple extra days (I loved it THAT much.). In fact, I even added a little bit more to my presentation. We found new Data!!!! Positive correlations in the hippocampus with working memory on the Wisconsin card sort in normal controls. In many ways, thats not surprising, as the hippocampus is associated with any and all types of memory throughout the brain. In fact, the one man who had his surgically removed to prevent seizures (known by his initials H.M.) lost his ability to form any new memories in his long-term store. He forgot things within a half-hour, and could only use his Short-term memory (that's called complete anterograde amnesia)-again, something I picked up in Wenzel's intro to psych program. But more impressive than that data, we found correlations with the WAIS III subcategories and gray matter volumes of the working memory regions. The WAIS in a nut shell is one of the most commonly distributed IQ tests in the world. It has several subcategories, and many of them measure working memory and information processing. Correlations with the regions that are involved in working memory and a test that measures working memory is promising, and its a good note to leave on after tons of disappointing data.

In fact, as a side note to any and all future interns to ANY research lab from Brooks, Data is very rarely your friend. There are no "happy" answers. Data is a cold, heartless, mean, evil, conniving monster that wants to destroy your research as quickly as possible....ask anyone. Problem is, you need it, all the time. And Sometimes data was the complete opposite-it was actually pretty nice to me at times (cortical regions and cerebral cortex volumes). But go in expecting the unexpected when your dealing with a very small group of individuals (40 cases, in my case.).

With Harvard coming to a close, the whole Stoughton North (my dorm) family came together to say goodbye (Yes, that's right, we made a family-I'm the grandpa, as well as Wes Bernier's father according to the other people.) It was awesome, and I'm going to miss everybody there.

In fact, I'm going to miss everything about this internship. The RA's were the greatest people I've ever worked with, and some are the greatest I've ever met. (I bought them berry line gift certificates as a goodbye gift.) All of them kept me laughing to the point of tears throughout the internship, and Zora, my investigator couldn't have been a better boss. Harvard was fantastic, and I'll miss it sooooooo much. I loved my dorm, My room mate, my new friends, my class, my teacher and everything about it. Most of all, this internship taught me what its like to be a true scientist, a researcher working for one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country, and even the world. Students my age never get opportunities like this, and I hope anyone who does this internship, should it be offered again, truly appreciates this.

It was a fantastic, life-changing experience, and I couldn't be happier to have done it.

I've thanked (or am going to thank) every one of these people personally, but I figured it could be stated in writing as well:

Thanks Mr. Cameron, Dr. K, and Mr. Palm for giving me a second chance at this. I did my best to show everything a diligent Brooks student could do, and I hope you realize that. This was one of the greatest opportunities I could have ever had, and in no way was this squandered. You all, as well as Brooks were the chief motivating factor behind my drive to impress. I hope you see that, and I hope you realize you picked a good student for this internship.

Jorge, Doug, Diandra, Laurel, Andrew, Paula, Israel, Priyanka, Tali, thanks for everything. You were all the greatest co-workers I ever could have had the privilege of working with. You're all fantastic people and I hope I have the opportunity to work with all of you again.

Zora and Dr. Shenton, It was an honor to work on your project and in your lab. Thank you for taking the time to help teach me the basics, as well as listening to my questions and ultimately to my presentation. I hope you continue to look towards Brooks as a resource for teaching future scientists.

The Stoughton Family, as well as Charlotte and Wes: thanks for dealing with all of my crazy. You were an awesome group of people to live with, and I hope we keep in touch.

This was the greatest summer I've had in my entire academic career and I encourage any and all students at Brooks to look towards SFS when they hit their junior summer.

And of course, pictures are on the way.

~Sam

Okay, I lied...

I need a couple more days with the pictures....I have some, but they're not that impressive...

BIG NEWS!!! I PRESENTED IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE PNL!!! WOOO!!!!

I presented my entire project in front of the entire group of research assistants, summer students, and PhD's/M.D.'s....VERY INTIMIDATING....But I did it! and they said I was the most confident of any of the presenters! Dr. Shenton, director of the PNL, said that she was impressed that I, a high schooler, had done it so well (That made my day). And when you look at the fact that a whopping two out of my 6 projects actually were confirmed...Well, I was happy to take what I could get. And when I say I presented my project, I mean THE WHOLE THING. I'm talking excell spreadsheets with 13 sheets and 5000 rows by 43 columns compressed to a table and two slides with images....I'm kind of impressed with myself...I broke the project into 6 hypotheses and reported the scientific method (hypothesis, experimental method, results, discussion, etc.) for all of it. I also reported on schizophrenia itself, MRI scanning, and freesurfer (Which I explained to all of you before). I was pleased to say the least....It was about a month of work and the stuff I did came out of tons of drafts and refining and headaches (seriously...I plowed through a bottle of advil). To give an idea OF my presentation, (Which I will be showing at Brooks next year for all the other applicants) I'm posting an image straight from my powerpoint which I generated and labeled using the AMAZING freesurfer,

Check it out!

But yeah, the presentation was the final exam for my stay at the PNL, and I have to say it went pretty well. All that's left is the Psych exam next Monday ( which I need to study like a madman for) and then I'm done with SFS.....Which is surprisingly depressing...Again, 3 years of endless prep for this, and its almost over....Its really sad...I'm going to miss this so much (So much so that I asked to work next week even though my presentation is through-I REFUSE TO LEAVE!!!!)

But I think I'll take a break here....In case you can't tell, my ego grew over the summer; I need to go air it out..

Also...

Expect roughly a zillion iphone pictures by next week....

Well its certainly been a while...

So quick update-I'm out, completely healthy, and relativley certain it wasn't H1N1.

Of course I missed about a week in the lab, and my mid term....which I'll cover in a minute...

ANYWAY: Everybody at the lab was happy to see me, and I officially LOVE everyone there now. I've come to the understanding that being awkward for the first week is acceptable...Its a completely new environment, and I'm extra-sensitive...which doesn't really mix, but It really is amazing once we got going.

I will now, FINALLY be telling you all about my project. Not the results, but at least what I'm doing. My project in its entirety is to determine whether there is any significant differences in gray matter volumes between Schizophrenia patients and Non Schiz patients in certain regions of the brain used primarily in working (or short-term) memory. This means looking for statistically significant group differences in relative volumes of gray matter between the schizophrenia and the control groups (20 cases each). I need to generate these "relative volumes" by taking the gray matter volumes in freesurfer and converting them to ratios by using the entire brain's gray matter volume measure....this cuts out any error due to brain size differences between cases. These regions are the Caudal Anterior, Posterior and Rostral Anterior Cingulates, as well as the Inferior Parietal Lobules and the Rostral Middle Frontal Gyri (A Gyrus is a bulge on the brain, giving it its characteristic look). This goes for both hemispheres. We'll also use results from the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, which is primarily used for testing working memory to see if there is any correlation between schizphrenics and poor working memory (as well as the converse). Volume differences is one thing (takes about a thousand t tests) but correlating those volume differences with scores on this Wisconsin card test is another....hoo boy...

Phew....its a lot, but writing it all down makes me feel significantly more intelligent, so it was worth it.

I took my midterm, which I heavily underestimated, and wound up with a B. To all of you future SFS kids....PREPARE!!! Its a COLLEGIATE exam....which is an AP EXAM!!!! DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE IT!!!! It was really hard, even in a class that's soooo much fun.

I primarily blame the aforementioned stupidity on Swine flu.

Those are the two major updates right now! I can't think of anything else, except that I only have TWO WEEKS OF HEAVEN LEFT!!!!!! NOOOO!!!!!! Next wednesday I need to present my findings to the entire PNL, in an amazingly awesome brilliant perfect colorful outstanding intellectual powerpoint presentation I've made....(I may be exaggerating a little). And then theres the actual FINAL EXAM, which I will hopefully OVERESTIMATE and do EXCEPTIONALLY well on...

Here's to wishful thinking...

Straight-Jacket not included...

So just a quick update....

I have H1N1...or, rather, a virus that greatly resembles pig flu (fever, chills, cough, cold sweats, sore throat, fatigue, and headaches) to the point that Harvard University felt it in their best interests to put me in my own "special" triple at the top floor of the scariest dorm on campus...

Yes, that's right people, they put me in medical isolation for 1 week in my own private quarantined bubble....and I may or may not be going insane...

Okay, I'm being a little melodramatic. They bring me my three meals, and the room's actually pretty nice! Its a triple, but I'm the only one in it!!!

I was sick last Wednesday, and have been in isolation since, and to be honest, right now, I feel pretty good. But no lab work or classes until I'm granted clearance, which should be tomorrow. So this is basically an extended weekend for me...lots of sleep and enough cranberry juice to turn me purple, but I think its a nice break from my usual hectic schedule.

Interesting side note: I missed midterms....hoo-boy...this should get interesting. The professor, Dr. Wenzel, is actually very accommodating, so I should be able to make it up relatively soon...which may or may not be a good thing.

Now for some quick math:

Harry Potter Movie = Awesome.

Harry Potter Movie at the Park Street Movie theater (which used to be a Ritz) playing in at least 10 movie theaters = holysofantasticlyawesomemyheadsgonnaexplode

Caudal Anterior Cingulate say WHAAAAT????

So I'm learning all of this newfangled brain anatomy now....pretty darn well if I say so myself.

Its all Latin, so that certainly helps (Mrs. Davies BE PROUD!!!), but more importantly, you sound smart when you pronounce them correctly.

ANYWAY!!
No word yet on whether I can mention my project in my blog, but I can explain some of the parts of freesurfer I'm using to do it. I'm taking the gray matter volumes between groups of cases (Schizophrenics and Normal Controls) and am comparing their total volumes to see if there are any SIGNIFICANT (huge key word for all you stats students) differences....which I believe I already mentioned. WHAT I HAVEN'T MENTIONED, is that I'm generating these measurements and calculations by taking thousands of data values at a time. I kid you not, THOUSANDS!!!

Tomorrow is also Doughnut day at my lab....I started that. I hate Thursdays with a passion, so I like to bring in doughnuts for everyone on Thursdays....It also helps with my rep....I think...

So Midterms are next week in Psych. Today we learned about Memory, how it works and where its stored. We already beat Brain anatomy to death, but ITS AWESOME because it meshed EXACTLY with what I'm doing at the PNL. I can walk in and completely understand what regions do what, and what working memory is and how it correlates with schizophrenia. I think it impressed my PI too. If any of you future SFS kids get this internship, I HIGHLY reccomend taking Intro to Psych. Its an awesome class, with an awesome professor, and you learn quite a bit in the process.

Thats all thats on my mind for right now....I'll start uploading pictures to keep it interesting, don't worry. I promise at least one blog post thats 90% pictures, and 10% Crazy (aka text written by me.)