David Richter much prefers actively working to understand a new subject as opposed to sitting passively in a lecture.听
It鈥檚 this exact attitude that has drawn Richter to pursue and participate in several research activities at 成人头条 University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed), co-authoring more than 10 journal articles while assisting with research projects across several departments, including emergency medicine, biomedical sciences and surgical sciences.听
Richter, now entering his final year of studies at WMed, plans to pursue a general surgery residency. His research interests include trauma, foregut surgery, regenerative medicine, and medical education.听听
In his time at WMed, Richter鈥檚 research efforts have not gone unnoticed. Last fall, he received the Excellence in Research Award in Orthopaedic Surgery at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress in San Francisco for his abstract, 鈥淎utologous blood clots as a therapeutic vehicle for treatment of femoral defects,鈥 co-authored by M3 Megan Moore, M4 Jennifer Ku, Kristi Bailey, HTL, Sheridan Hayes and Yong Li, MD, PhD, division chief for Medical Engineering and professor in the Department of Surgical Sciences.听
In light of this accomplishment, we recently caught up with Richter to discuss his research experiences at WMed, including how he got involved in research at the institution, what he has most enjoyed about participating in research and how research activity has bolstered the pursuit of his MD degree:听
What initially drew you to research?听
Richter: Honestly, I like doing things. I would much rather actively work to understand something as opposed to sitting more passively in a lecture. That was one of the first things that drew me toward research in my undergraduate years, especially when I advanced into the upper level, more niche courses like electrophysiology. I find that working in a lab helps me to better understand the material.听
How did you go about getting involved in research at WMed? What skills have you gained as a result?听
Richter: When I arrived at WMed, a few months in, I remember attending a lecture with all of the other first-year students where several research faculty came in and spoke about opportunities to get involved in their labs. I ultimately ended up connecting with Dr. Li and working in his lab as I had similar research interests. He helped me develop and submit proposals for the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to get some projects started that I was interested in myself, in addition to other projects, and everything took off from there. Dr. Li runs a very productive lab and is an amazing resource for students looking to get involved in research.听
When I advanced into my clinical years, I began working with clinical faculty and there were plenty of research opportunities there, primarily with Saad Shebrain, MD, MMM, FACS, division chief and residency program director for General Surgery. I'm currently working on a handful of projects with Dr. Shebrain, and he鈥檚 been an excellent mentor 鈥 he is extremely knowledgeable and goes out of his way to connect students with opportunities and help them succeed.听
WMed does a great job of supporting students who want to get involved in research. Whether it be faculty members, IRB/IACUC, research administration, or our amazing medical librarians, everyone is extremely helpful.听
Last fall you received the Excellence in Research Award for Orthopaedic Surgery at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress. What can you share about the project? How did it feel to be recognized for this work?听
Richter: This is the project that I鈥檝e worked on the longest at WMed and we鈥檝e made some great strides so far. Essentially, this study investigated the ability of autologous blood clots (ABCs) loaded with mesenchymal stem cells to accelerate bone healing. This is an area where newer and cheaper therapies are needed. We worked with the histology lab here at WMed as well as the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, tracking the healing of the bone defects that we treated with ABCs as opposed to control. Ultimately, we found that the preparations we were using had good outcomes. Application of ABCs resulted in improved healing outcomes of critical-sized bone defects at 14- and 21-days post-operation. Therefore, we concluded that ABCs may provide an effective vehicle to accelerate local healing after bone injury. Moving forward, we plan to conjugate ABCs with stem cells and pharmaceuticals to further accelerate fracture healing.听
We submitted our findings to the American College of Surgeons, and I was able to give an oral presentation on our project during their annual conference in October.听 It was amazing to see well-established researchers recognize that one, the project you're doing is high-quality and two, it's actually interesting. Being involved in the project from the ground up, it was great to have the team get that kind of recognition. It was certainly unexpected, but amazing to be a part of a team that could win an award at such a notable conference.听
What have you most enjoyed about being involved in research at WMed?听
Richter: The biggest enjoyment I鈥檝e had being involved in research at WMed has honestly been in these clinical years with the more recent projects I've worked on. A lot of studies start with something that a student or, more commonly, a professor or an attending physician will notice in clinical practice. One of my greatest experiences has been seeing that entire thing through.听 You notice an interesting trend or event and start to investigate and understand why it鈥檚 occurring. It鈥檚 incredible to see in real time how various clinical decisions impact patients; it really makes you appreciate the importance of evidence-based medicine.听
How do you feel your involvement in research has benefitted or enhanced your pursuit of an MD degree?听
Richter: It鈥檚 been very beneficial for me personally. Participating in research helps to delve into things a little bit deeper and learn more as a result. On top of that, I鈥檝e learned the value of time management. Medical school is fairly demanding as it is, and when you add in a bunch of research, you have to be organized. It took me a while to find that balance and get things streamlined, but this experience has been very helpful in that regard.听听
Learning the ins and outs of research logistics has also been impactful. Getting an inside look at academic medicine, getting exposure to that right off the bat is obviously valuable and not something that you necessarily would know without having involvement in it.听
One of the most important skills I鈥檝e gained, though, is how to better evaluate research papers. The best way to learn to better critically appraise papers, in my view, is through research. The more exposure you have, the more efficient and effective you become at picking apart papers, and that's something that is very, very important. You can find a study that says anything. But is it a good study? Is it sufficient to actually inform the recommendations you'll give to patients or the decisions you'll make? I think learning that skill is absolutely critical and the more involvement you have in research, the better you get with it.听
Overall, I feel WMed does a great job of supporting its students and allowing us to capitalize on these research opportunities. There are excellent resources here for students to do research, and to improve the quality of their research.