麻豆AV

Lukas Bebee

Please briefly describe your project.听
Breast cancer screening with low-power microwaves aims to develop a device to screen for breast cancer. Our goal is for this device to be wearable, compact, and inexpensive. This would allow for patients at risk of breast cancer to scan often, leading to early detection and drastically increasing chances of survival.

What is your academic background?
I began my university career in physics but transferred and will be entering my third year in electrical engineering.

What are your academic interests?
My academic interests are still very broad, and so I want to gain as much experience as I can to learn where my strengths are and what fields I am most interested in. My end goal is to be able to work on projects that have a net positive impact on the world, so for now, I want to sharpen my skills to best work on those projects in the future.

What drew you to the SURE program and to your particular project?
This particular project attracted me for two main reasons. The first is that the project is broad, enabling me to get experience in many different topics, some of which I was previously uncomfortable with. The second, and more important to me, is that my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was young. She is now healthy and working as a mammographer and it has been an incredible experience working in a similar field as her and doing work that I understand the full impact of.

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Christopher Raczek

Please briefly describe your project.
I am working on testing and designing a novel device to help clinicians diagnose lower back pain.

What is your academic background?
I am a fourth-year mechanical engineering student at 麻豆AV. Before 麻豆AV, I studied at International High School in San Francisco CA, where I received my French Baccalaureate Diploma.

What are your academic interests?
I am most interested in biomedical and biomechanical engineering. I am passionate about 3D-printing, working as a technician at 麻豆AV鈥檚 the CUBE. I am also involved in vertical takeoff and landing technologies; I am the president of the Vertical Flight Society: 麻豆AV Chapter.

What drew you to the SURE program and to your particular project?听
I was fortunate to work in a medical device company. I learned about spine surgery technology and techniques. I designed parts for prototype smart universal surgical drills for dental and spine surgery. My contributions were significant enough that I am an inventor on a pending patent for a universal adapter for handheld surgical drilling systems. Now, with the opportunities offered through SURE, I can continue to build on my previous experience in biomechanical research.

What are your current career goals?
I hope to start a future career in the field of medical device design and development.

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Katia Rosenflanz

Please briefly describe your project.
I am currently working on developing and testing a low-cost, portable potentiostat device for electrochemical biosensing.

What is your academic background?
I am heading into my fifth year at 麻豆AV as a bioengineering undergraduate in the Biological Materials, Mechanics, and Sensing stream.

What are your academic interests?
I am primarily interested in the biomechanics side of bioengineering and am a SubTeam Lead for the 麻豆AV BioDesign Team working on a microfluidics project. During SURE, I鈥檝e been learning more about electrical engineering, which I鈥檝e really enjoyed as well!

What drew you to the SURE program and to your particular project?
This particular project was intriguing for me because it combined microfluidics, electronics, and chemistry. I have taken sensing courses during my curriculum, and it鈥檚 nice to be able to put these skills into practice. Also, I am gaining experience in point-of-care diagnostics and how sensing devices can be made more affordable and easier to use in resource-limited areas.

What are your current career goals?
Ultimately, I hope to eventually work as a bioengineer in industry focusing on medical devices, but I鈥檇 like to gain multidisciplinary experience in different areas of engineering!

Harriet Chorney

Please briefly describe your project.
As a SURE student I am helping analyze MRIs of multiple soft tissues of the lower back. The objective of the analysis is to investigate how muscle morphology could be potentially related to stress shielding in lower back pain patients.

What are your current academic interests?
Computational and experimental biomechanics, design and manufacturing, and robotics

What is your academic background?
I have a degree in life sciences (B.Sc.) and a degree in mechanical engineering (B.A.Sc.) from Queen's University.

What drew you to the SURE program and to your particular project?
I was drawn to the SURE program because I wanted experience in the lab at 麻豆AV prior to starting my master's in the fall. The project I am currently working on provides a good mix between engineering and life sciences which fits with my academic interests.

What are your current career goals?
I am looking to gain useful skills that will help me become a successful biomechanical engineer in industry.

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Diana Gomez Galeano

Please briefly describe your project.
I am working on the design of a compact and low-cost mechanical ventilator for use in places where a reliable steady electric grid is not available.

What are your current academic interests?
As for now, I am heavily interested in robotics, prosthetics, and 3D printing. I am also interested in entrepreneurship.

What is your academic background?
I am a third-year mechanical engineer student. Before coming to 麻豆AV, I studied at Champlain College where I got my DEC in Pure and applied sciences and that's where I discovered my passion for understanding the inner workings of mechanical systems and bringing ideas and theoretical concepts into the concrete world.

What drew you to the SURE program and to your particular project?
I am especially interested in biomechanics and automation as I see them as complementary fields that have the potential of having a positive impact on the quality of life of people in third-world countries. Therefore, as soon as I saw the MECH 020 project I knew it was a match for all of my interests and I knew I had to be involved.

What are your current career goals?
My career goal is to use my engineering degree to help improve people's quality of life especially of those who may be struggling to have their basic needs fulfilled such as health service, food and shelter.

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Michael Khayat

Please briefly describe your project.
I鈥檒l be spearheading efforts to develop processes integrating and biofabricating sol-gel bioactive glasses with collagen for wound healing and tissue engineering as a part of the inorganic-organic hybrid biomaterials.

What are your current academic interests?
I have a strong research background in tissue engineering with expertise in material science (synthesis & characterization), murine models, surgical procedures/anesthetics, histology, confocal/SEM imaging, additive manufacturing, foundry operations, wound healing, biofabrication, and cell biology.

What is your academic background?
I received my BS in Ceramic Engineering and minors in Biomedical Engineering and French in May 2021.

What drew you to the SURE program and to your particular project?
I reached out to Dr. Nazhat at 麻豆AV regarding my interest in his research group and he agreed to sponsor me as a PhD student this coming Fall.

What are your current career goals?
My professional interest lies in developing biomaterials for tissue engineering and preventative and regenerative medicine related treatments to improve the healthcare field. Ultimately, I intend to obtain a PhD and a research position in academia, the public or private sector, or in industry.

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Jada Ke Thompson

What is the project title? Please briefly describe your project.
The project I am working on, Design of a Drug-Eluting Coating for Vascular Technology using Carbon Nanotubes, involves generating a structure of carbon nanotubes for coating implantable medical devices. This coating would allow to release medical compounds to control thrombogenesis and inflammation. The main objective of this project is to optimize the carbon nanotube coating for controlled drug release. The project Design of a Drug-Eluting Coating for Vascular Technology using Carbon Nanotubes

What are your current academic interests?
Some of my academic interests include medical technology as well as coding. I am currently part of a design team called BioDesign which allows me to explore different projects.

What is your academic background?
I just finished my second year in Mechanical Engineering at 麻豆AV.

What drew you to the SURE program and to your particular project?
I was drawn to the SURE program as I was interested in exploring the field of research and connecting to different professors who could give me insight on their research topics. Another factor that drew me in to SURE is the possibility to interact with other SURE students as well as graduate students who have a lot of helpful advice. The project I am working on was also a huge interest to me as it would help me explore even more my interest in medical technology and determine whether I鈥檇 like to pursue a career within this field.

What are your current career goals?
I do not have any clear career goals yet, since I would like to find a way to combine most of my interests. I want to find a career that is fulfilling to me and hopefully leaves a positive impact on society. However, I hope to be in a position where my leadership is valued. For now, I am focused on making the most out of my undergraduate studies!