BME Students Share Work at Research Expo
Nearly 50 BME students presented research on disease detection, heart health and devices to improve surgical processes at the 8th Annual Biomedical Engineering Research Expo.
“Living systems are so incredible. You can never replicate how amazing they are, but the thing with biomedical engineering is you can try,” said Bridget Slomka, a BME senior who works with associate professor Marek Romanowski. “I’m not just designing supports for a bridge or making a handheld device more ergonomic. I’m addressing problems with the body and, ideally, solving them in ways that can dramatically improve lives.”
BME sophomore Anakaren Romero-Lozano shared the work she’s doing with BME professor Jeong-Yeol Yoon on a portable, easy-to-use, particle-based pathogen sensor. Traditional pathogen detection methods require specially trained technicians and, often, expensive laboratory equipment. The team is developing a device that can be used out in the field to detect E.coli, salmonella and staphylococcus.
“The next step is to use a smartphone microscope instead of a benchtop microscope, to make it more portable and easier to use,” Romero-Lozano said.
The event was sponsored by longtime department supporter W.L. Gore, and Léna Borbouse, product specialist in thoracic aortic devices from the company, was the keynote speaker. Bruce J. Tromberg, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering within the National Institutes of Health, gave a speech about his work in the field of biophotonics imaging and disease detection.
All Winners
Graduate students (judged by non-participating first-year graduate students)
First place: David Knoff
Second place: Loi Do
Third place: Jokubas Ausra
Undergraduate students (judged by W.L. Gore representatives)
First place: Andre Coella Hernandez, senior
Second place: Collin Preszler, first-year
Third place: Bridget Slomka, senior
Most creative research: Samantha Schatz, first-year
Most promising research: Steven Santaniello