Masonic lab program has been training researchers for 50 years

College student Dona Occhipinti, of Rome, is spending her summer searching for a needle in a genetic haystack – mutations responsible for cardiac arrhythmias.

Occhipinti’s search is part of the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory’s Summer Fellowship Program. For years, the program has been looking to the future, teaching college students like this year’s 11 participants about cutting-edge medical research, and training the next generation of scientists. But this year, the program also is looking to the past as it celebrates a milestone – its 50th anniversary.

For fellows, this now historic program provides an opportunity to work in an award-winning facility known for its groundbreaking research on the treatment and prevention of cardiac diseases such as the irregular heart rhythms known as arrhythmias.

They get to see classroom lessons applied in a laboratory, determine whether they enjoy research, possibly get their name published on a journal article and build up their resumes for medical or graduate school.

For the researchers who mentor them, it’s a way to interest students in science and fuel the breakthrough discoveries of tomorrow.

“I consider that we have a responsibility to motivate students to pursue a career in the live sciences, whether it be in research, whether it be in medicine,” said Charles Antzelevitch, the Utica lab’s executive director and director of research.

The goal is to help bright students pursue careers related to medicine, he said.

And it appears to be working.

Many of the program’s more than 300 alumni have ended up in related careers: doctors, medical researchers, a physician assistant, a veterinarian and a dentist, for example.

‘Keep the new discoveries coming’

Only a few weeks into the 10-week fellowship, Occhipinti, a rising sophomore at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, seemed confident as she discussed the genetic research she’s conducting. She threw around terms such as “sodium channels,” “preliminary chain reactions,” “DNA extraction” and “nucleotides” as if she were a seasoned professional.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect when I came here,” Occhipinti said. “I really, really enjoy what I’m doing. It was a good surprise.”

Now the biology major who had planned a career in surgery is at least considering other options, she said. She may decide to get both a medical degree and a doctorate so she can do more basic research.

But working in the medical field is still a definite for the student who’s always had a natural gift for science. Medicine provides a way to use that talent to help people, she said.

“To say that you change lives on a daily basis is a remarkable thing,” she said.

Occhipinti found out about the fellowship program about six years ago, long before she started college, when one of the fellows presented a summary talk on his research at a SUNYIT science and math camp she attended. He told the kids to keep Masonic in mind when they were older and Occhipinti did.

Now she – along with the other fellows – will be presenting her own oral research summary on July 28, at the end of the 10-week fellowship. The talks, given in a scientific format, will explain their hypotheses, research methods, results and conclusions, said Jonathan Cordeiro, the Masonic laboratory’s education officer and a research scientist in electrophysiology.

Cordeiro said he also tries to get his students published in a scientific journal, whether as a short abstract or, if they’re successful enough, as a full-length paper. Two students from a few years ago just had an article accepted into the American Journal of Physiology, he said.

Being published is a major accomplishment for an undergraduate, and a positive addition to a resumé.
“You need something to sort of distance yourself from the other applicants coming into medical school,” Cordeiro said.

Ryan Pfeiffer, supervisor of genetic screening at the laboratory, said having the fellows at the lab is a positive for the researchers as well.

“It’s fun for everybody. You’re teaching them to troubleshoot the problems you encounter in research. And working side by side and training someone keeps things interesting for us as well,” he said.

But the larger mission, he said, is “creating the scientist of the future, getting people interested … to keep the new discoveries coming and move science forward.”

hat are the Different Kinds of Liposuction and Why is Traditional Best?

Liposuction is one of the most popular plastic surgery procedures because it offers safe and effective fat removal. Traditional liposuction is performed by sucking the fat from underneath your skin with a special tube. This tube is called a cannula, and is attached to a vacuum that sucks the fat from your body. Your New York City liposuction surgeon will insert the cannula through tiny incisions made at various locations throughout your body. He or she will massage your skin and squeeze your tissue to determine the appropriate amount of that that should be removed. Your fat will be loosened by a scraping motion before it is sucked out.

Because of the suction, traditional liposuction is also called suction-assisted liposuction (SAL). You will not feel any pain because you will be under a general anesthesia. Depending on the area treated and amount of fat removed, you may be required to wear a compression garment for several weeks to help protect and shape the treated area.

New Methods Constantly Developing

New liposuction techniques are constantly being developed. However, traditional liposuction using the Tumescent solution stands the test of time.

Several other forms of liposuction include:

Ultrasound Liposuction

Ultrasound-assisted liposuction uses ultrasonic waves to emulsify the fat cells, so they are easier to remove. There are two ways that this energy can be transferred: internally through the cannula, and externally through paddles that are passed over your fat deposits. While the internal method has proven to be effective, it has higher incidents of complications than other techniques. The external method has shown to be effective only when the energy is turned up so high it causes burns.

Power-Assisted Liposuction

In power-assisted liposuction (PAL) the cannula has an oscillating tip that functions like a jackhammer to loosen up fat and other tissues. Power-assisted liposuction can make the procedure quicker and easier for the surgeon, but it may also result in more incidental damage to other tissues.

Laser-Assisted Liposuction

Laser-assisted liposuction uses a laser to liquefy the fat in the area to be treated. Once the fat is liquefied, it is removed from the body. Laser-assisted liposuction claims to remove fat with less damage to surrounding tissue, and with increased skin tightening in the treated areas, but these claims have not been approved by the FDA.

Keep in mind that with liposuction procedures constantly evolving, so are the complications. In order to better guarantee satisfactory results, it is a good idea to stick with the effective, traditional method of liposuction surgery.