Thursday, October 10, 2002 TODAY
School of Allied Health Professions news
Clinical lab science students focus on molecular technology for capstone project
Seniors in the department of clinical laboratory science (CLS), School of Allied Health Professions, spent last school year researching molecular technology.
The research was conducted for the capstone project, assigned as part of a required seminar course. The project—one that is of current interest to the laboratory field and has immediate practical application—helps prepare students for future employment by providing professional and management skills in addition to the technical skills they acquire.
Guided by course coordinator Jim Brandt, MS, and CLS faculty member Sally Greenbeck, MPH, MT(ASCP), seniors Marnelli Bautista, Rickey Bertram, Nicole La Velle, and Larina Yee noticed a significant hurdle for the Loma Linda University Medical Center clinical laboratory.
Without its own in-house assay for the detection and quantification of disease-causing viruses, the LLUMC lab must send requests for viral-load assays to the Mayo Clinic Laboratories in Minnesota. The process is not only very costly, but it also takes from four to seven days on average—time that an infected patient does not have.
Ms. Bautista, Mr. Bertram, Ms. La Velle, and Ms. Yee began their capstone project by analyzing and evaluating turn-around time, cost, throughput, future applicability, and instrument dimension or "footprint." The students were then to present to an administrative panel a compelling argument that this technology should or should not be implemented at LLUMC.
Loma Linda Univeristy Medical Center expressed interest in using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a molecular method proven sensitive and specific in the detection of DNA and RNA viruses. By extracting nucleic acid from the viruses, laboratory scientists can compare the sample with known viruses without having to grow a culture. Automation of this method makes it rapid, accurate, precise, and suitable for a high throughput laboratory.
During the three academic quarters, the seniors learned—among many other skills—to analyze data from multiple sources and integrate relevant information and skills from other program courses. Their written proposal was supported by cost analysis tables, summary graphs, and feature tables. Their formal oral presentation to LLUMC clinical lab administration and CLS faculty demonstrated that these four seniors had learned professional skills essential to the workplace.
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Thursday, October 10, 2002 TODAY | School of Allied Health Professions news
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