Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2007
Mentor: Alice Chang / Richard Auchus
Department: Internal Medicine
Room number: E5506.V
Mail Code: 9906
Phone number: 8-3864
E-mail: alice.chang@utsouthwestern.edu
Two Projects
Project I title: Cardiovascular risk in a Parkland cohort of Polycystic Ovarian
Syndrome
Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):
Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):
Project Type patient-based research
Brief Description of Project:
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a common disorder that occurs in 6-8%
of women in the United States. PCOS is characterized by irregular menses, hirsutism
and/or elevated circulating concentrations of testosterone, and an increased
prevalence of metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular (CV) disease, including
obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Although it is generally assumed
that women with PCOS are at increased risk for CV events, the evidence supporting
this premise is weak. The overarching goal of the PI's research is to study
the coronary atherosclerosis and exercise capacity of PCOS women to determine
if they are at increased risk for CV disease.
One of the first steps will be to create a research database of a Parkland/Aston
cohort through a Parkland and Aston ICD-9 search initially. In my preliminary
search going back 2 years, I found 186 women with potential PCOS diagnoses older
than 25. I will be submitting an IRB protocol for a search back 5 years. The
goals for the medical student would be help review the records (these are only
probable diagnoses as there is no one ICD-9 code for PCOS) and enter data for
the database. The student will learn how to collect data and verify diagnoses
for research purposes. We will analyze the data to prepare a descriptive study
of the cohort as it compares to other published PCOS cohorts.
Project II title: Relation of osteoprotegerin to bone density in the Dallas Heart Study
Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):
Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):
Project Type patient-based research
Brief Description of Project:
The Dallas Heart Study is a probability-based sample of Dallas County adults over-sampled for African Americans designed to assess cardiovascular risk in a multi-ethnic cohort with detailed biomarker, genetic and imaging data. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a soluble member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily that regulates osteoclastogenesis. Interestingly, OPG knock-out mice not only develop osteoporosis but demonstrate vascular calcifications. Previous studies have demonstrated an association of increased circulating OPG concentrations with coronary and peripheral vascular disease. OPG was associated with an increase in CAC and aortic plaque in the DHS. However, elevated circulating OPG has been inconsistently associated with a decrease in bone density in post-menopausal and pre-menopausal women. The purpose of this study is to test whether circulating osteoprotegerin (OPG) concentrations are associated with bone density in this large multi-ethnic cohort.
Total body DEXA images, originally taken for body composition, will be reformartted for measurements of bone density. The student will review images on a computer reader and adjust standard lines placed over body compartments for total spine and hip measurements. The scans will then be printed to be reviewed by an endocrinologist to verify line placement. Reviewed data can then be entered into the DHS database. We will also perform an assessment of inter-rater reliability, clean the data and then analyze the data with descriptive statistics before testing for an association of OPG with BMD measurements in the DHS.
The goals for the student will be to:
1. Learn techniques for imaging data collection and validation
2. Learn how to appropriately organize and clean data for large study cohorts
3. Learn how to analyze test a hypothesis in a population database set.
4. Prepare data for abstract/poster/meeting presentation and publication
Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students:
Dr. Chang's has worked with 2 medical residents recently on case reports :
Sukumar S, Chang, AY, Welch, BJ, Kovacs, WJ, Wyne, KL. The Use of Labetalol in the Setting of Thyrotoxicosis and Cocaine-Induced Myocardial Infarction. Endo Suppl 2006;147 (298):Abst P2-877.
Patel, R, Peterson, G, Rohatgi, A, Ghayee, HK, Keeley, EC, Auchus, RJ, Chang AY. Hyperthyroidism-Associated Coronary Vasospasm with Myocardial Infarction and Subsequent Euthyroid Angina. In submission
For Dr. Auchus, see project profile #12.
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