NASHVILLE, Tenn. Caleb Miles had just finished a midterm renal exam when he learned about the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) Region X Conference. He and a friend had just finished eating at a restaurant, and on the drive home that friend suggested he enroll.
“I was nervous,” Miles recalled. “I’d never done it before, and there’s this kneejerk reaction to not do it.”
His friend, however, encouraged him to present.
The conference
The SNMA is an organization dedicated to programs and activities that examine issues of health disparities, social justice and diversity in medicine. Its mission is to support current and future underrepresented minority medical students, address the needs of underserved communities and increase the number of excellent, socially conscious physicians.
The conference – held November 3-4 at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine this year – serves as a platform to bring medical and undergraduate students from Tennessee and Kentucky together to explore topics in line with the SNMA’s mission.
Reunion
Although this was Miles’ first experience presenting, 2017 marked his second time at the conference. He’d previously attended in Kentucky, and he said returning felt like a reunion.
“I saw friends I met in pre-med,” he remembered. “It’s interesting to see everyone’s journey in medical education.”
He continued, “You meet great people, and you need that because it gets really tiring. You wonder why you’re doing it sometimes when it gets tough, and you have to remind yourself. That conference reminded me what’s happening in medicine and in politics that affects us, and here are your comrades going through this with you.”
Poster presentation
Miles’ poster presentation, Vascular Cognitive Impairment in Hypertensive Rats, described the impact of cerebrovascular disease on cognition. It resulted from a summer research project with SUNY Downstate Medical Center Professor of Neurology Frank C. Barone, PhD.
“Blood going to your brain is not as perfuse as it used to be in your 20s and 30s,” he explained, “and over time you lose brain function.”
His research centered on questions physicians still have about that process. Specifically, he hopes to determine what markers can be recognized to determine the pathway from cerebrovascular disease to vascular cognitive impairment.
Inspiration
“This was my first research opportunity,” Miles said. “I felt that if I was going to do research, I needed to give 120 percent.”
That drive, coupled with the desire to disseminate valuable information about cerebrovascular disease, prompted him to engage in this research project. He believes the disease is a leading cause of vascular cognitive impairment, which includes diseases like dementia, and relaying this data could be helpful to many people.
Also, he added, “This was an extremely interesting topic for me.”
Learning experience
Being his first research opportunity, the project became a learning experience for Miles in many ways, beyond just his subject of study.
“I appreciated research more,” he noted, “because there’s so much that goes into developing technique, as well as thinking about the complexity of what you’re doing.”
To facilitate this, Dr. Barone ensured that Miles and his colleagues were well trained. Even that, however, was a fraction of the time and effort already contributed.
“That was extremely eye-opening for me,” Miles said. “The biggest thing I got from it was the amount of time and effort that’s required to construct a research project and see it all the way through to the end.
“I’d also like to offer my gratitude to Dr. Barone and everyone at the neurology lab at SUNY Downstate for giving me my first research opportunity.”
‘Serving God through service to mankind’
Miles is currently a second year medical student at Meharry Medical College (MMC). He decided to enroll at Meharry after several mission trips with Global Medical Brigades, a student-led medical mission that provides medical, dental and public healthcare to countries around the world.
“I wanted to be sure I wanted to go into medicine,” he said.
MMC’s mission – “serving God through service to mankind” – was similar to his own, so the school seemed a perfect fit.
Miles’ current interest is neurology, which he feels is the final frontier of medical research. With so much yet to be discovered, he believes it’s both a promising and challenging field.
“It’s such a complex thing that’s sitting between our ears,” he remarked.
About the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance
Founded in 1999, the Alliance bridges the institutions of Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Its mission is to enrich learning and advance clinical research in three primary areas -- community engagement, interprofessional education and research -- by developing and supporting mutually beneficial partnerships between Meharry Medical College, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the communities they serve. Through community engagement, the Alliance serves a large community of stakeholders including surrounding universities and colleges, community organizations, faith-based outlets and community health centers. Its interprofessional education enhances students' interdisciplinary understanding and improves patient outcomes through integrated care. The research conducted provides access to experienced grant writers and materials supporting the grant application process and facilitates grant-writing workshops.
