HOT Division Summer Internship Research Program

I am finishing up my undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, studying Health and Wellbeing Sciences along with Health Services Management. After graduation, I'll be taking a gap year to learn new experiences in hopes of attending medical school. While balancing this goal, I enjoy traveling the world to connect with different cultures and indulge in delicious food. I completed the HOT Division Internship Program in 2022, and I really enjoyed learning laboratory methods and collaborating with the other researchers. After shadowing in-patient care through this internship program, I realized the importance of discovery in research labs to understand these diseases and help patients on a larger scale. This has inspired me to continue asking questions to further science and provide high-quality care.

I’m Allison Makovec, a Junior at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities. As a prospective MD/ PhD student, I’m interested in developing gene therapies for cancer patients, specifically in regards to solid tumor cancers like breast and prostate cancer. The HOT Division Summer Internship Program helped me acquire skills directly related to my career goals. I particularly enjoyed the experiences in wet lab work, experimental design, and grant writing. The Internship Program overall  influenced my decision to pursue a career as a physician-scientist after I was given the opportunity to shadow physician-scientists in both oncology and hematology. In the end this program gave me certain insights and mentorship needed to be successful in my future career in medicine.

My name is Hanna Saveraid and I'm majoring in Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development at the University of Minnesota. I will graduate in spring 2024, after which I plan to apply to medical school. My academic and research interests are focused around genetics, gene therapy, rare diseases, and cancer. While I enjoyed learning cell work through my research placement with Dr. Kratzke, Dr. Patel, and Dr. Jacobson, I found seeing patients in the oncology and BMT clinic on my shadowing days especially meaningful. There, I could refocus on the reason we do research - for people, so that they have treatments that work for them - and I felt privileged to spend time with each patient and learn a little part of their story. I admired the care and dedication of the physicians and researchers to improving the lives of their patients, and my interest in hematology-oncology as a future specialty greatly increased through my experience in the HOT program.

I am interested in Classical Hematology, which includes the diagnosis and treatment of blood disorders. My main clinical interests are bleeding and clotting disorders, platelet disorders and sickle cell disease. I collaborate with Dr. David Wood in research in sickle cell disease. I also have a strong interest in education. I am director of the hematology/oncology fellowship, and have been a member of the University of Minnesota Medical School Admissions committee. Advising undergraduate students regarding the path to medical school admission is one of my favorite academic activities. 

Dr. Stuart Bloom spent his 20's in New York City as an actor and musical comedian, but after he turned 30, and his own father was diagnosed with cancer, he had an epiphany and decided to become an oncologist. After an award winning, twenty year run in community oncology, he now joins the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation at the Medical School as part of the Master Clinician pathway. While he remains dedicated to the care of patients with breast and prostate cancers, he has multiple other passions he offers to medical school students and faculty. These include the teaching of doctoring skills, exploring and addressing the causes of medical burnout, and further developing the intersection of the humanities in medicine. His acclaimed musical How to Avoid Burnout in 73 Minutes recently played a sold out run at the Open Eye Theatre, with the plan on performing this at medical schools around the country.

After completing undergraduate studies in biochemistry at SUNY College at Geneseo, Dr. Lou received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees (Microbiology and Immunology) from SUNY Upstate Medical University in 2004. He performed his residency training in Internal Medicine at Duke University Medical Center and then subsequently completed his Medical Oncology and Hematology fellowship at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 2010. He also completed an additional fellowship in Neuro-Oncology at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke. Dr. Lou, a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, is board certified in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine. In addition he is also board certified in Neuro-Oncology through the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties. He joined the faculty in the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation in 2011 and is a member of the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota. Care Philosophy New Patients If you are scheduled or interested in scheduling a clinic consultation with Dr. Lou, click here for more information and a welcome from Dr. Lou. Tips to be a Great Patient Advocate Dr. Lou's interview with Caringbridge.org

I am a dedicated physician-scientist who is passionate about caring for patients with benign hematologic conditions. I have a clinical interest in patients with acquired and congenital bleeding disorders as well as patients with anemia. I conduct translational research in the molecular and cellular mechanisms driving inflammation-induced pathology in endothelial cells and blood vessels My current research focuses on evaluating the contribution of red blood cell and endothelial cell interactions in JAK2 V617F and CALR+ myeloproliferative neoplasm patients.