When I attended the American College of Thessaloniki, I had the opportunity to be independent and explore Europe on my own. During the summer of my junior year, I had yet another desire to explore on my own, and thus decided to take my summer classes at UCLA. During my time at UCLA, I managed to take a course in marine Biology, continue dancing, obtain research exposure from Dr. Igor Spigelman’s Neuropharmacology lab as well as volunteer in the UCLA School of Dentistry Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic.

 

Dr. Igor Spigelman’s Neuropharmacology Lab

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to participate in Dr. Igor Spigelman’s research on neuropathic pain in mice at UCLA School of Dentistry. Though I was there for only 6 weeks, I received a first hand glance of rat dissection as well as mice pain sensitivity. The mice were given different drugs associated with neuropathic pain. Their pain was then tested with different sized probes poking at their hind legs. My main job was to observe the procedures and collect data by indicating which sized probes caused the mice to start feeling pain based on their hind leg retraction. This research was interesting, and it was the first neural based research project I was involved in. In the beginning, I did not have a great understanding on neuropathic pain. However, as I asked more questions to my supervisors, I understood the procedures and gained a better understanding of the project.

UCLA School of Dentistry Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic

Over this past summer, I also volunteered at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic at the UCLA School of Dentistry. I gained experience with the program Axium and scanned medical documents. In addition, I had the opportunity to witness new procedures such as the extraction of wisdom teeth. I played an active role as a volunteer by charting and suctioning for the dentist. I also came across more challenging cases. For example, I recall an incident involving a patient who was diagnosed with severe tremors. The patient was unable to fully comply when the dentist asked her to keep her mouth open for X-Rays. I held the X-Rays for the dentist until she needed them, and I heard the dentist say to the patient that she was not in any rush to complete the appointment. It was inspiring to see how much the dentist cared for the patient regardless of how challenging the case was. That is the type of impact I hope to make on my patients in the future. The doctor’s patience and willingness to help her patient was motivational and it further increased my passion of dentistry.