When most people say they just “put two and two together,” it usually means something along the lines of solving a tricky crossword clue. For Kathryn Reget, the saying applied to something bigger.
Last year, Reget, currently an Osseo High School senior, made the connection between vertebral height abnormalities and bone pain in patients with blood disorders (specifically thalassemia and sickle cell disease). It was a part of her findings as a member of the summer research program at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California.
The program drew more than 700 high school and college applicants for its 40 openings to work with its esteemed medical professionals. It offers participants the opportunity to immerse themselves in biomedical and clinical research; they choose their own hypothesis, conduct research for nine weeks, and present their findings to the medical community.
While attending an all-day conference on thalassemia, Reget “put two and two together” and discovered her research focus. Without any background in the subject, Reget wowed the Research Institute, who gave her the honor of presenting her findings for a 250-person audience. By December, she was invited by the American Society of Hematology to its annual meeting and exposition with her mentor, Dr. Ellen Fung.
“Katie was a true pleasure to work with,” says Fung. “She has a true passion for medicine, already at a young age, and empathy for the patients we worked with.”
Looking back, Reget says the program helped her grow intellectually. With hopes to become a doctor, the 18-year-old looks forward to college this fall, where she plans on majoring in biological sciences. She already has a good start with plenty of potential, according to Fung.
“The talents she will bring to the field will be her empathy, curiosity, dedication, thoroughness, attention to detail, and gift with computer technology,” Fung says, “which will be incredibly important as so much of the medical field goes digital.”
