Advancing Cancer Epidemiology Research

Hello, my name is Eamon Nalefski, and I’m doing the 3-2 engineering major for Chemistry / Chemical Engineering. I just finished my 3rd and final year at Whitman, and will be attending Columbia University for the next 2 years to complete the rest of the dual degree program. This summer, I am doing an internship at Fred Hutch Cancer center in Seattle in the CERC (Cancer Epidemiology Research Cooperative) research division. My internship is split into two distinct sections, an online portion and a portion of in person work in the Seattle office. For the online portion, my work focuses on the use of the computer software REDcap in cancer studies. For the in person portion, my work focuses on the management and tracking of biological samples and data in other cancer studies.

The online portion of the internship has really shown how vital computer software can be in cancer research. REDCap software is primarily used to capture data from participants (hence the name) in the form of surveys that are electronically completed. REDCap also integrates with data workup tools such as Excel and the R programming language, allowing data to be collected, statistically analyzed, and reported seamlessly. The data of interest in the REDCap surveys usually pertains to aspects such as the lifestyle, demographic information, and familial history of participants. Another crucial use of the surveys is to track the mental health and physical health of participants over the course of their treatment. The appearance and severity of certain symptoms can be monitored easily through surveys given at regular time intervals throughout treatment, and this information gives a deeper insight into the cancer care process overall. The attached picture shows me during the process of implementing survey questions approved by an IRB (Institutional Review Board) into REDCap for one of the studies I am working on. Later on in the internship, I plan to continue working on REDCap surveys, but with a more emphasis on the back end data workup. I will also work on connecting my in person biological sample work with REDCap surveys, because I know they are connected and used together clinically. Overall, I have very much enjoyed this internship and have been glad to spend my summer in a highly professional environment where I feel I am making a difference in the fight against cancer.