SORCE: RYGB Mechanisms

Student Name
Tajwar Taher
Experiential Learning Category
Research
Associated UW Course (if applicable)
SURG 499 A
Summarize your proposed experiential learning activity, including the primary focus of your
activity, your intended actions, and the expectations of your supervisor and/or
organization/partners.
In the RYGB Mechanisms Project of the Surgical Outcomes Research Center (SORCE), I'll be part of a
team studying the anti-diabetic effects of novel gastric bypass surgeries in certain pig species. As an
intern, I'll be responsible for habituating the new pigs, monitoring their health prior and after surgery,
administering medication and providing food, and logging data for the study. In addition, I will have the
opportunity to observe and participate (in some capacity) on the pig surgeries themselves, and even
observe human surgeries as well. Other enrichment opportunities include preparing presentations to give
to staff and researching physicians, along with administrative duties to foster a sense of community within
the organization.
Explain how your activity demonstrates the values of the Honors Program Experiential Learning
area you selected. Rather than reiterating our definition, outline how your activity embodies this
definition.
This qualifies as research since I'll be part of a team that collects data and synthesizes it in order to
answer questions and make a statement. While I may not be part of the actual analysis, I'll be helping
collecting data, and under the supervision of my Intern Lead, I'll be learning a lot about physiology and
how that physiology can be explored. Because research is about - among many things - applying what we
know in order to discover something new, this project qualifies as research because it's a hands on way
for me to apply what I know and to learn much more.
How and why did you select this engagement? What skills or experiences do you hope to gain
from it?
I've been told countless times that I should research, without fully knowing what research is. I want to get
into research just to see what it's all about. My understanding is that all research is sitting at a bench and
fiddling with test tubes, so I hope that my experience will disprove that - or at least illuminate what
"fiddling" entails. I hope to have a better understanding of the processes involved in research, and not just

the scientific method but also the logistics of it. Coming from a background of tiny experiments in science
classes, I'm interested to see how a large scale research project functions and succeeds. Thanks to the
Undergraduate Research Database, I have this wonderful opportunity.
How does this activity connect to your concurrent or past coursework? How does it speak to your
broader education goals and experiences?
I hope to be a Pediatrician one day, and while that will entail utilizing book knowledge, almost all of it will
be hands on. SORCE will allow me to develop the day to day professionalism that will be required in the
medical field. As it is through UW Surgery, the standards expected of those in the medical field will also
be expected of me. In addition, the pigs I will take care of will be my patients, and I will have to learn to
provide the same kind of respect and bear the same responsibility and integrity to them as I would any
human patient.
How will your activity contribute to the larger goals of the organization/your partners?
I will be helping collect some of the raw data required for the study. Without my help, the process of
preparing the pigs for surgery would take longer and waste valuable time for the researchers. The
continuous health of the pigs - before and after surgery - falls into the hands of me and my fellow interns.
In short, the research would become tedious and far more difficult, especially given the already busy
schedules of those running the study.

Estimated hours per week: 6

Estimated project start: 03/31/2014
Estimated project end: 12/12/2014
May we share excerpts from your application and final reflection to use as examples?
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Supervisor
First name
Yuki
Last name
Aoki
Title/Affiliation
Intern Supervisor/ Vet Specialist
Organization (if applicable)
Surgical Outcomes Research Center (SORCE)
UW NetID (if applicable)

yukiaoki
Email
yukiaoki@uw.edu