Stepping into the Orthopaedic Surgery and Research World

Greetings!  My name is Taruni, and I am the newest and youngest Kacena team member. I am finishing my final year at Zionsville High School and will soon be applying to college. My favorite classes are biology and chemistry, and I love to play the flute and piano. Ever since I was a child, my grandpa had persistent knee and back pain, and the regular pharmaceuticals were insufficient to reduce his discomfort. This experience sparked my increasing passion for orthopaedic surgery research. I am very fortunate to work this summer in Dr. Kacena’s research lab on the Bone Healing in Space mission. The scientists I met here are brilliant and have been teaching me so much – like how to conduct scientific studies and properly analyze data.

In regards to the preparation for launch and ongoing research, I was surprised to learn that male mice are being used in the spaceflight. This has never been performed before, because co-housing male mice in large numbers is difficult due to their aggressive behavior. Thus, this will truly be a first with respect to both examination of bone healing therapies in spaceflight and co-housing male mice. This is going to be an amazing learning experience for me – and for other too.

I am thrilled to be a part of this mission! I hope I can contribute to this project to the best of my ability and, in turn, obtain novel ideas about bone healing methodologies and advancements.

You can contribute to this project too – Make a donation today!

Written by Taruni

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