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Medical Student Capstone Projects

Graduating Medical Students presented their projects to the UMMS community at the annual Capstone Presentation Day in March. Lela Giannaris, PhD, Co-Leader of the Capstone Discovery and Scholarship course, served as the emcee for the event. Two students worked directly with Radiology Faculty to complete their projects.

Matthew Breen created a larger-than-life, 13x scale model of a human skull using 1/2" thick foam board using coronal maxillofacial head CT data as a reference. The skull sculpture is currently in the Medical School library. More information can be learned on Radiology's Student Project website. Matthew recently matched in Radiology at NYU School of Medicine.

Jessica Tolson worked to develop a 3rd year Radiology Course to introduce students to the ACR Appropriateness Criteria, sub-specialties of radiology, role of the radiologist at tumors boards, and imaging itself. ACR Appropriateness Criteria are evidence based guidelines to assist referring physicians and other providers in making the most appropriate imaging or treatment decisions for a specific clinical condition. Teaching these guidelines to future physicians will enhance quality of care and contribute to the more efficacious use of radiology. The course is for all medical students in their 3rd year of medical school and runs parallel to the current curriculum. Carolynn DeBenedectis, MD was Jessica's advisor. Jessica matched in Radiation Oncology at Tufts Medical Center.

Jessica Tolson UMMS Medical Student Jessica Tolson and Eustathia Lela Giannaris, PhD - UMMS Capstone Presentation
Carolynn DeBenedectis, MD Capstone Advisor with Jessica Tolson UMMS Medical Student Matthew Breen, UMMS Medical Student Capstone

Photos upper: (L) Jessica Tolson presents Capstone, (R) Jessica Tolson and Lela Giannaris field questions; lower: (L) Carolynn DeBenedectis and Jessica Tolson, (R) Matthew Breen creating sculpture of skull. Below is time-lapse video capturing a project to photograph the skull from four different views/cameras. More videos can be viewed on the department's Special Project page.

BreenSkull-Filming-4hoursTimeLapse from UMass Chan Radiology Dept on Vimeo.