Week 2: An Internship!

Exclaimer: This blog will be unrelated to my engineering project, so if you readers are only interested in that, I would recommend to go to the next post.

Hi! Before we officially begin with the extendable helical antenna project, I would like to talk about my internship! This spring, I’m working with the OI Foundation, a nonprofit which aims to raise money used to fund research studies concerning Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), a rare bone disease which causes collagen deficiency and lowers the bone density of those who have it.

This builds on the work I did last summer, when I interned at Children’s Hospital and worked with the bone clinic to oversee a research study on the drug setrusumab. Setrusumab is a protein that works by inhibiting another protein called sclerostin which, itself, inhibits osteoblast activity. In this way, setrusumab indirectly causes bone growth, which is essential for people with severe OI.

This spring, I’m working with the OI Foundation to raise money for OI research, and my first meeting with them is this Monday! Expect next week to be back on extendable antennae! See you soon!