This year the Medical College Dean's Office supported three JMC first-year students for the summer computer fellowship program. This program gives interested medical students the chance to learn about information design and software development while producing a useful study aid for their peers. In the past the program has helped faculty migrate course materials to an electronic format for access via Pulse, produced student self-assessment materials, and developed computer-based learning study aids for JMC courses.

This year's students and participating faculty were: Rathai Anandanadesan (working with Dr. Richard Schmidt), Joseph Hung (working with Dr. Sal Mangione), and Mark Werley (working with Dr. Peter Ronner). A description of each of their projects is below.

Human Heart Learning and Self Assessment Module
Rathai Anandanadesan, JMC '07

Human Heart Learning and Self Assessment Module will be an integrated component of the first-year course, and will consist primarily of detailed descriptions of dissections heavily supported with digital images. Students will have the opportunity to visualize the heart at several levels including internal dissections of the four chambers to more superficial dissections that examine the heart in situ and its relationships to neighboring structures. In addition, coronary artery dissections and dissections of the mediastinum with the heart removed will provide access to visual fields that are usually obscured or difficult to ascertain.

To help students correlate their findings in the gross anatomy laboratory with the practice of medicine, a series of clinical correlates will also be featured. This component of the module will present related disorders and applications that are pertinent to the current practice of medicine. For instance, information pertaining to myocardial infarction, bypass surgery, and pacemaker insertions may be included. By linking the study of the human body to disease and treatment, students will learn the application of anatomy in the management of their future patients.

As a supplementary guide to imaging lectures, CT images of the thorax will also be incorporated. Images will be juxtaposed with transverse sections corresponding to the same viewing level. This will allow students to directly correlate structures and identify relationships in order to better interpret CT images.

Breath Sounds & Lung Anatomy
Joseph Hung, JMC '07

Learning to recognize lung sounds, and associated anatomy, is a requirement for all medical students. This program will provide a basic anatomical review of the lung anatomy, a presentation of the most frequently heard breath sounds (Normal Bronchial, Normal Vesicular, Crackle-Scarring, Crackle-Fluid, Wheeze, Rhonchus, Pleural Friction Rub, Late-Inspiratory Squeak, Amphoric Breath Sounds, Whispered Pectoriloquy), diagrams of where best to listen for the sounds, and a description of what is causing the sound and likely cause.

This program will be helpful for both first and second year students. First year students will find it useful in that it will help them understand lung anatomy and the relationship between anatomical structure, disease process, and clinical presentation. Second-year students will find the program helpful as they prepare to learn how to listen for breath sounds and perform a standard physical exam.

Interactive Biochemical Pathway Tutorial
Mark Werley, JMC '07

This program will allow students to not only view all of the pathways taught in biochemistry, but it will also allow them to more easily view the interactions and connections between the different pathways. In the first-year Biochemistry class, individual pathways are addressed in lecture but it is often difficult for students to visualize how they fit together as a whole. This project will provide a single location for viewing all of the relevant pathways, as well as having interactive links between them. I will also be working with the Biochemistry department to ensure that the program is accurate and contains all of the information in the first-year Biochemistry course.