Colon & Rectal Surgery at the University of Louisville -- Patient Information

"Work in Progress" Newsletter

Brooke Grant's Summer Vacation

"Most medical students study about different diagnostic techniques," said Brooke, a research associate who just completed her first year at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. "I actually got to practice a lot of them. It was pretty exciting."

A graduate of the University of Kentucky, Brooke was offered a summer fellowship working in the Digestive Surgery Research Laboratory in 1999. During this 10-week program, students gain invaluable hands-on laboratory experience. They are introduced to basic research methods and participate in the thrill of scientific inquiry and discovery.

Brooke spent her time examining areas near a potential genetic marker that may be associated with inflammatory bowel disease.

"Specifically, I was studying one area that is associated with T-cell receptor gamma, a protein that plays a role in the inflammatory process," Brooke explained. "I was trying to establish whether there was a relationship between this area and ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease."

Medicine captured her interest when she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at age seven. "I was inspired by the dedication shared by healthcare professionals to improving the quality of life of patients with inflammatory bowel disease," Brooke said.

In 2000, Brooke Grant received a Solvay Pharmaceuticals Student Research Fellowship awarded by the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America to the University of Louisville Section of Colon & Rectal Surgery.

With Dr. Susan Galandiuk as her mentor, Brooke conducted a 10-week project specifically looking at the relationship between interferon gamma receptor, a protein involved in the inflammatory process and Crohn's disease.

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