Rachel Matthews - Dr. Gauthier - Week 1

 This week, I met with my clinical mentor, Dr. Susan Gauthier, and members of her lab to create a research project where I would compare different algorithms to identify distinct lesions in the brain. This task is either time-consuming to do manually or difficult using a program because of the relatively low contrast of MRI images. My project over the summer will be to evaluate several pipelines that have been used to isolate the distinct lesions. 

In addition to beginning in the lab, I shadowed my clinical mentor as she interacted with patients. Most of her appointments involved looking at MRI scans and listening to patients reporting their stable or worsening symptoms to determine if there was significant disease progression. Additionally, Dr. Gauthier would offer treatments to reduce disease progression and lifestyle choices (such as exercise or stress management) that could improve the patient's quality of life. 

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