The current first-year activities involve fulfilling the requirements for the Oral and Maxillofacial surgery residency. This includes rotations in Internal Medicine (2 months), Anesthesiology (3 months), and Oral and Maxillofacial surgery rotations at the University of Iowa and Veterans Administration Hospitals and the College of Dentistry. Other aspects of my current training include attending Journal Club, Surgical Pathology Conference, Head and Neck Anatomy and Basic Science Review, and a course in Biostatistics. In preparation for the basic science component of the DSA, I have been speaking with Gerald Gebhardt and Steven Meller in the Department of Pharmacology. Dr. Gebhardt's lab is focused on pain research; specifically the presence and effect of neurotransmitters such as substance P and CGRP, and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in pain transmission in the trigeminal ganglion and other central areas. I have briefly worked with Alan Law (a DSA student in their lab) in performing immunocytochemistry to identify substance P and CGRP in the trigeminal ganglion of rats who have been subjected to pulp exposure. I am attempting to produce an abstract for the August 1994 Neuroscience meeting, at which I would have the opportunity to be exposed to a significant body of pain research. I am currently planning on beginning course work in pharmacology in the fall and working with Dr. Gebhardt's lab.
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