Class act
SEC
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STUDENT RESEARCH
NICOLE GRAMS meteorology student
:: H E A LT H | by Mi l i s s a Hudepohl
Fast treatment Medical team studies new way to manage type 2 diabetes
Doctors typically prescribe more insulin for patients with type 2 diabetes who have trouble keeping their sugar levels under control with diet, exercise, and oral medications. But it doesn’t work for everyone. Ohio University pre-med student Kayla Bober recently examined an alternative treatment option: fasting to improve insulin sensitivity. Under the guidance of Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine clinicians Randall Colucci and Jay Shubrook, Bober helped conduct a study in which patients drank only carb-free liquids over the course of 60 to 72 hours to improve insulin sensitivity, reduce their insulin intake, and lose weight. The patients recorded their blood sugar levels four to six times per day. Bober collected this data daily and kept track of their insulin intake. After the fast, the patients slowly reintroduced carbohydrates into their diet over the course of one month. Every patient showed drastic improvements in their insulin dosage, as well as significant weight loss. Some results were shorter-lived than others, however. “Their results not only depended on how strictly they followed the fast and transition diet, but also on their condition before the fast,” says Bober, who presented the results of her research at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine’s “Research Day” event. Patients who were the most overweight and needed the highest doses of insulin before the fast lost the most weight and experienced the most drastic reduction in insulin
intake, she explains. However, these patients needed the most adjustments in insulin during the post-fast transition month. The study helped Bober, who hopes to attend an osteopathic medical school after graduation, better understand type 2 diabetes and appreciate the patients who struggle with it every day. The project also showed her both the opportunities and the limitations clinicians face in helping patients with chronic disease. “I want the patients to continue to be healthy,” Bober says. “I can tell them what to do, but I can’t force them to do it. I have high hopes for them, but I can’t stop them from making certain nutrition choices, and that is the biggest challenge for me.”
“I want the patients to continue to be healthy. I can tell them what to do, but I can’t force them to do it.” KAYL A BOBER pre-med student
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PORTRAITS: KEVIN RIDDELL: PHOTOS: DREAMSTIME.COM
:: GEOGRAPHY | by Milissa Hudepohl
Storm tracker Meteorology student predicts impacts of hurricanes
How much will a storm surge affect the coast when a hurricane hits? Ohio University meteorology student Nicole Grams is helping the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, answer that question. Grams, recipient of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hollings Scholarship, interned with the center’s Storm Surge Unit last summer. These experts use a computer model, the Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH), to forecast storm surges in particular geographic areas. After a hurricane occurs, they perform post-storm analysis and determine the accuracy of SLOSH’s predictions. When asked to examine the storm tide levels after hurricanes Gustav, Ike, Rita, Katrina, and Wilma, Grams offered the hurricane experts a new technological twist. She suggested using Geographic Information Systems, specifically ArcGIS, a program that can analyze and create a visual map of geographic data. The National Hurricane Center hadn’t used it for SLOSH verification before. “I took a GIS course Spring Quarter and wanted to apply it to the research I would be doing,” Grams explains. The GIS will allow researchers to identify trends in the SLOSH predictions, such as whether the model tends to forecast too great or too little surge in certain locations. This could help experts better interpret the model to make more accurate warnings and estimates of sea and lake rises. At the end of the 10-week internship, Grams presented her research at the NOAA Headquarters in Maryland, along with the rest of the national NOAA Hollings scholars, and received first place. As part of her senior thesis project, she’ll continue her study on how GIS can analyze more aspects of storm surge data. Grams hopes the research experience will lead to a graduate program in physical oceanography or geography, and a career in science and administration at NOAA.