Research is essential to patient care, and all students at Yale School of Medicine complete a research thesis. Tell us how your research interests, skills and experiences would contribute to scholarship at Yale School of Medicine. 500 words

As an EMT, I had experienced patients overdosing on Acetaminophen enough to make me wonder, “How does somebody overdose on Tylenol?” After some investigation, I was surprised to discover that Acetaminophen overdose is responsible for a striking proportion of acute liver failures annually. I kept this in mind as I began research with Dr. Sturgeon, who was interested in the mechanism by which Acetaminophen causes damage during overdose. Currently, the medical community believes Acetaminophen is oxidized in the liver into one, deleterious metabolite. Rather, we explored the potential for an alternative mechanism of Acetaminophen induced liver injury to occur.

I was given the reins to develop my own protocols as I carried out a diverse set of experiments to answer our question. I learned quickly that I had to be diligent in order to move forward with reproducible results. As my time in the lab progressed, I began to ask more specific questions as I pieced a mechanistic puzzle together. I realized problems worth worrying about had a strategic dimension. They demanded a long, hard look, an evidence-based analytical approach, and their solutions demanded painstaking implementation.

This was evident during the summer when I incorporated electrochemistry into my project as a way to compare the reactivity of each new Acetaminophen metabolite that I isolated. I ran into problems when our automated purification system broke, and I could no longer isolate and study these metabolites. Considering the parts weren't going to arrive for a month, I was offered another project for the summer. Rather, I decided to teach myself how to run a hand column in order to carry out the necessary purifications to move forward. After a few weeks of troubleshooting, I continued to refine and build an apparatus to limit the unknowns. One way I did this was by adding a pump to push my product mixture through the column at a known pace. Resultantly, I learned how to consistently isolate a multitude of Acetaminophen metabolites.

While I could have been more productive with the other project, persevering through this one taught me that I can call on my creativity to solve problems constructively. Despite encountering what seemed to be a roadblock at the time, we were able to finish characterizing our alternative mechanism. Our results have the potential to redefine how the medical community understands the chemistry behind Acetaminophen overdose. Coupling scientific inquiry with the connections I had as an EMT showed me how a presence in the clinic can motivate the scientist.

I realize that I will be able to achieve a balanced and exciting career as a physician investigator by interacting with patients regularly, and then taking that energy back into the lab. At Yale, I plan on applying what I learned from my work and pursuing translational research through the Master of Health Science Program. This unique opportunity will allow me to keep the patient in mind with every experiment and contribute to Yale’s overall mission of nurturing creative leaders in medicine and science.