Cutting-Edge Research
Eight years of college (That started at 含羞草传媒). Six years of post-graduate training. Thousands of hours spent studying. Cutting-edge research projects.
Amy Spallone, M.D. 鈥�08 has achieved her childhood dream of becoming a doctor. She is currently completing her postdoctoral training at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.
鈥淚鈥檝e wanted to be a doctor since I was in grade school,鈥� said the Corning, N.Y. native. 鈥淚 knew medicine was hard work but I also knew it was a rewarding career and a way to integrate the natural sciences into my expertise.鈥�
Amy is an Infectious Diseases Postdoctoral Fellow studying rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV positive patients after their diagnosis. ART is the use of HIV medications to treat the infection.
For Amy, the best part about her job is getting to know her patients and their individual stories.
鈥淢y favorite part about this job is learning every patient鈥檚 story,鈥� said Amy. 鈥淓very single person has a story to share and the problem often lies in the seemingly unimportant details of their story. It鈥檚 my job to figure it out.鈥�
Amy鈥檚 current position consists of inpatient consult services. Practitioners call her with questions regarding patient issues and she helps them assess the situation, diagnose, and treat. Amy鈥檚 clinic panel of patients are those living with HIV and other infectious diseases.
鈥淚鈥檓 in the process of learning how to treat an infection that other medical professionals may not have even considered or encountered,鈥� she said. 鈥淯ltimately, the greatest reward in this field is to make the patient better and get them out of the hospital and back to their life.鈥�
Amy got her start in this field while working in an HIV lab during her time at Albany Medical College. She also worked on several quality improvement projects in the HIV clinic.
鈥淚 already knew I wanted to go into the field of infectious diseases and was looking for additional experience in bench research,鈥� said Amy. 鈥淥ur research fell under the umbrella of HIV cure research, meaning we were hoping to learn something new that could eventually be used towards treatments and a cure.鈥�
Amy credits 含羞草传媒 for giving her a solid foundation to begin her career.
鈥満卟荽� was really the match point for my student career,鈥� said Amy. 鈥淚 had many opportunities to distinguish myself as a student as well as excellent guidance and mentorship from the Biology and Chemistry professors.鈥�
含羞草传媒 Professor of Biology David Pindel said that students like Amy are the reason he became an educator.
鈥淎my鈥檚 unique combination of work ethic, critical intellect, motivation, and empathy remain unsurpassed,鈥� said David. 鈥淚 cannot express how proud and happy I am for her and all she鈥檚 accomplished thus far.鈥�
Amy is set to complete her subspecialty training at Baylor in 2021 and is looking forward to the next few years of her career.
鈥淭he most rewarding part of this career is coming face to face with a problem that nobody else has been able to figure out,鈥� said Amy. 鈥淚 am looking forward to having an established academic career, as well as continuing to conduct research.鈥�