Out of 240 applicants from 85 colleges, only 15 applicants were chosen to intern at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the number one cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. With state-of-the-art technology, Arthur Sillah ’10 uses cardiac MRIs to gather data on the heart at different points of the heartbeat cycle to increase knowledge about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at his internship with the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.

Sillah works with Dr. Robert Schwartz, preclinical research director. The previous summer Schwartz had worked with Charles Vang ’10 and was so impressed that he was interested in collaborating with another Mac student. Biology professor Elizabeth Jansen introduced Schwartz and Sillah at a meeting about a research proposal for the American Heart Association. But Sillah’s internship isn’t limited to the laboratory. “As part of the internship, I observe cardiovascular procedures and shadow different cardiovascular staff—physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and technologists—at Abbott Northwestern Heart Hospital for four to eight hours every week,” says Sillah.

 

In addition to his 40-hour weeks in cardiology, Sillah has been spending 16 to 20 hours on weekends volunteering at the Hennepin County Medical Center Emergency Department.

No question that it’s a tough schedule, but having survived rebel attacks during the civil war in his home country of Sierra Leone, Sillah may have a different personal definition of “tough.”

Sillah was born in Bo town, Sierra Leone, and lived there with his family until attacks by the Revolutionary United Front drove them to move to Freetown, where he attended secondary school before going on to the United World College in Hong Kong. Sillah is on track to graduate from Macalester in May 2010 with a degree in chemistry with a biochemistry emphasis, along with some valuable experience from this summer’s internships.

“Through this professional exposure to a clinical setting,” says Sillah, “I have gained a lot of knowledge about cardiology and made great connections that will come in handy in my future career. I hope to someday break new ground in medicine as a medical doctor and researcher.”