Jen is getting busy with her work, and taking on more studies. She started out doing the paperwork and submission for a study of heart transplant patients under the age of 4 months (That's right; MONTHS!) that, at first, she didn't think would go through. The financing for the study got to be pretty expensive, and the sponsor at first did not want to pay nearly as much as she had calculated. However, it appears that there is still some negotiations going on, so it may become an active study in the near future.
Jen is also taking over two studies from one of her coworkers, who is leaving to go onto graduate school to pursue his PhD. One of the studies she is taking over involves how a medication plays a role in certain patients (sorry, can't get more detailed than that!) But her other study is the one she has wanted for a while. One of the doctors at Stanford is working on a Genetic Autism study, where they get skin samples of Autistic children, look at them for genetic abnormalities, and try to see if they can correct them in a petri dish. She has wanted to help her coworker on this study for a while, and when she found out that he would be leaving soon, she eagerly volunteered to take on the job, and got it! She's already met with her first patient, and helped out the team this past week, so she is very eager to continue.
School hasn't started for her yet, but as you can see, Jen's already got her desk ready for school. Jeff surprised her by cleaning off the desk, and she was so happy she HAD to get a photo.
Back to school....Jeff has been plugging away at work and school as well. Now that the transition to the store is continuing to settle down, he is putting in consistent hours and has a consistent schedule. Although he ends up having to get up as early as 3 AM, he is home shortly after lunch and is still able to spend almost all evenings at home.
School is also coming to a close for Jeff. The term is now more than halfway done for him, and one class is already over, leaving him three classes with projects and tests to do. He should be done by the middle of May, in time for our trip to Philadelphia.
Tickets have been bought, and we will be going to the East Coast this May. We plan on leaving on Friday, May 20th, and returning Sunday, May 29th. This is starting to look like a great vacation for us both, since Jeff has not been back East since his mission, and Jen has never been! Until Thursday the 26th, we will be in Philadelphia for Jen's work conference, which ends Wednesday. We don't have the last three days planned just yet, but are working on it as we speak. There are so many places to see, but it'll be hard to get to everything with the conference being all-day.
Well, enough of our update. Here's hoping that our next one will be longer (and with photos!)
