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#BEhuman: Amna Askari

#BEHuman (Bioengineering Human) is a series that profiles the academics, researchers and students that make up the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College. Our aim is to give you an insight into the ground-breaking work that takes place in the UK’s leading bioengineering department through the eyes of the fantastic bioengineers that are advancing research frontiers, solving life sciences-related problems and creating future leaders.

 

The next BEhuman to be profiled is Amna Askari, a fourth-year undergraduate student on our Biomedical Engineering (MEng) course. Amna is also a singer-songwriter and performs at gigs and open mic events. Amna also performed at this year’s Imperial Festival.

How did you become a Bioengineer?
Quite randomly actually. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and hence was adamant on going to the US for university. When I didn’t get into the schools of my choice, I was left with my UK options (I went to high school in Pakistan). I had selected ‘Natural Sciences’ as my course of choice as it had the most versatility but Imperial was the only place that didn’t offer it. I had recently volunteered at a Cancer Ward and visited their Molecular Biology lab, which inspired me to pick ‘Biotechnology’ as my course choice at Imperial. However, around a month before receiving my A level grades, I researched more into the course and realised it was quite narrow and didn’t involve any Maths. After link hopping and opening several tabs, I stumbled upon the Bioengineering page on the Imperial website which immediately reeled me in. It seemed to have a theoretical introduction to everything, had a decent practical side to it and involved Maths too. I got a great vibe and decided to email the department and change my course choice- 4 years later I feel like it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.

What is your proudest professional achievement?
Probably making ‘Therabuddy’, a prototype for an assistive device that we made as part of the HCARD course in third year. It started off just as an idea, but the four of us worked together to make into something tangible that could potentially be used by stroke patients to optimise their recovery process. It essentially integrates carrying out resistance band exercises with an electronic interface which includes a video game and a progress growth bar, which can be sent to your therapist/doctor.

What is your proudest personal achievement?
I think learning how to filter the noise and listen to myself. This may sound cheesy or silly, but it really used to hold me back. I used to be very influenced by how other people felt, what they thought, or what I assumed they thought based on what they said. Over these four years at university, I’ve really learnt how to shut that off and confidently follow my own intuition. It’s obviously not perfect but by implementing this in even the littlest of things, one starts feeling a lot more in control and everything seems possible.

How has being a woman shaped, influenced and impacted your career?
I think that being a woman has allowed me to develop empathy and patience, which have been quite useful when dealing with people on the professional side of things or networking. Also, the fact that women are thought to be taken not as seriously as men in technical fields really pushed me to go the extra mile in proving myself or getting better at technical tasks – even the most basic ones like fixing or assembling something completely on my own without scrambling to get my brother, father, the ‘electrician’, or another guy to help me.

How has being a part of the Department of Bioengineering shaped your career?
I don’t think I would’ve been as happy at Imperial if I wasn’t part of the Bioengineering Department. It really made me feel like I had somewhere to go in times of distress, happiness, boredom, and sadness – all of it. Everyone is so supportive and is always willing to listen/share your excitement when you’ve come up with something cool or read something interesting. The research topics are so incredibly fascinating and multifaceted that you learn something great from everyone that you talk to in the department. Therefore, I have been quite confident in approaching various different kinds of companies and job opportunities, ranging from a Neuroscience PhD to Consulting. Also, every time someone asks me what I do and I say Bioengineering, their reaction is always something along the lines of “Oh Wow” or “That must be tough”, so it by default has given me a head start in most interactions.

What piece of advice would you give a 17-year-old girl that is thinking about studying Bioengineering?
It’s an epic field – super interesting and loads of job prospects so good call! Make sure you do your research about what actually happens in the Bioengineering world and how you would fit in it. Imagine yourself doing some of the things that Bioengineers do and concentrate on how you feel when you do them. Basically, Google is your best friend and I would tell you to read up as much as you can on the different courses/options/modules offered at Bioengineering departments worldwide – you can start with Imperial because the department here is awesome! You need to be ready to work very hard, and switch quite quickly between different sciences e.g. Physics, Biology, Computing and Math – and in a lot of cases, use all of them at the same time.

#BEHuman: Mohima Ahmed

#BEHuman (Bioengineering Human) is a series that profiles the academics, researchers and students that make up the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College. Our aim is to give you an insight into the ground-breaking work that takes place in the UK’s leading bioengineering department through the eyes of the fantastic bioengineers that are advancing research frontiers, solving life sciences-related problems and creating future leaders.


The next BEHuman to be profiled is Mohima Ahmed, a fourth-year undergraduate student on our Biomedical Engineering (MEng course). Mohima has been recognised for her work with Apps for Good, an open-source technology education movement that partners with schools and learning centres to deliver courses to young people.

How did you become a Bioengineer?
During the summer before year 13, I was still deciding what I wanted to study at university. I was lucky enough to secure a 1-week work experience placement at the Department of Bioengineering at KCL and that’s when the field caught my interest. When I felt like I really became a bioengineer was in my second year of university, where I was a part of a team that designed a squatting apparatus to help Paralympian winner Andrew Mullen train!

What is your proudest professional achievement?
I was named as on of Elle Magazines “30 women under 30” who are changing the world in 2015 alongside the likes of Mhairi Black and Maisie Williams for my work with Apps for Good.

What is your proudest personal achievement?
The last time I undertook any form of strenuous physical activity was probably in year 11 GCSE. Despite this, I managed to climb Mount Snowdon last October for Imperials Charity Week with no training, and casualty free!

How has being a woman shaped, influenced and impacted your career?
Subconsciously, I guess I always had something to prove, and this made me work harder and be more tenacious – no one was going to tell me I couldn’t do something just because I was a girl. I’ve also been fortunate enough to always be surrounded by academic staff who were keen on getting more women involved in STEM, so they helped me in every step of my studies, pushed me to do physics and further maths, even when I wasn’t sure of myself.

How has being a part of the Department of Bioengineering shaped your career?
Studying within our department at Imperial, I realised many things about myself – the first and foremost being that I love collaborative work. There’s nothing more enjoyable than working in a team of like-minded, yet at the same time very diverse, individuals and putting our skills together to create something completely transformative and on set to change the world. Moving forward in my career, I know that’s the kind of place I want to aim for, and to inspire future generations to continue to do so.

What piece of advice would you give a 17-year-old girl that is thinking about studying Bioengineering?
If you’re still unsure of exactly what it is you want to do, Bioengineering is great because we learn a little bit of everything, and then get the chance to further specialise halfway into the degree. We’re the Jack (or Jacqueline!) of all trades. When you do start, make no mistake, it will be hard. But you’re not finding it difficult because you’re a woman or because you’re unintelligent, you’re finding it difficult because everyone else is – yes even that one student who asks mind boggling questions every single lecture. But with determination and a great support system from your course mates and academic staff, it does get better, and perhaps even fun!

 

#BEhuman: Dr Claire Higgins

#BEHuman (Bioengineering Human) is a series that profiles the academics, researchers and students that make up the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College. Our aim is to give you an insight into the ground-breaking work that takes place in the UK’s leading bioengineering department through the eyes of the fantastic bioengineers that are advancing research frontiers, solving life sciences-related problems and creating future leaders.

As it was International Women in Engineering Day on the 23rd June, our focus has been on celebrating the achievements of our outstanding female bioengineers.

 

 

Today’s BEhuman is Dr Claire Higgins, a lecturer who has been a part of the department since 2014. Dr Higgins’s research group aim to understand mechanisms of tissue development and regeneration, both in normal conditions and in response to disease or injury. In her spare time, Dr Higgins enjoys pottery.

How did you become a Bioengineer?
I am a biologist by training, however, I like the top down approach that engineers use in research as it increases the possibility of having translational impact. I applied for a faculty position in the Department of Bioengineering as it meant I would have to step outside of my comfort zone, and I thought this challenge would result in me doing more innovative research.

What is your proudest professional achievement?
Becoming a probationed academic in the Department of Bioengineering

What is your proudest personal achievement?
Being happily married to a very supportive husband since 2008.

How has being a woman shaped, influenced and impacted your career?
I don’t know if it has. I feel I have been treated and given opportunities in line with my male peers. While I am positive it is different at other universities, I feel that in the Department of Bioengineering, hard work and a love of science will enable success, regardless of gender.

How has being a part of the Department of Bioengineering shaped your career?
When I arrived in Bioengineering I started talking with clinicians and trying to apply a top-down approach for clinical problems, rather than the bottom up approach, which biologists tend to use. This meant I started approaching the same research questions from a different angle, which I think has given me an edge over others in my field.

What piece of advice would you give a 17-year-old girl that is thinking about studying Bioengineering?
First and foremost study something that you enjoy. Secondly, choose something which will stimulate and challenge you. It is more rewarding to achieve something after working hard for it

#BEhuman: Dr Katerina Kandylaki

#BEHuman (Bioengineering Human) is a series that profiles the academics, researchers and students that make up the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College. Our aim is to give you an insight into the ground-breaking work that takes place in the UK’s leading bioengineering department through the eyes of the fantastic bioengineers that are advancing research frontiers, solving life sciences-related problems and creating future leaders.

As it is International Women in Engineering Day on the 23rd June, our focus this week is on celebrating the achievements of our outstanding female bioengineers.

Today’s BEhuman is Dr Katerina Kandylaki, a Research Associate in Dr Tobias Reichenbach’s group. Dr Kandylaki’s goal is to reveal shared neural principles of language and other cognitive functions, such as social or musical cognition.

How did you become a Bioengineer?
I was offered a post doc position in the Bioengineering Department, given my previous experience with modelling neuroscientific and language data. Even though I have no formal training in Bioengineering in the strict sense, I take a bioengineering approach in the neurobiology of language. To be specific, I engineer the language input, extract linguistic features and use these features to model electrophysiological responses to spoken language during comprehension. This approach is in the intersection of Linguistics, Neuroscience and Engineering and creates a niche within the neuroscientific branch of Bioengineering.

What is your proudest professional achievement?
I am proud for my PhD thesis entitled Put it in Context: the Neurobiology of Language Explored with Controlled Stimuli in Naturalistic Auditory Stories. The main reason I am proud of it is the development of a new paradigm that allows researchers to test linguistic features in their natural context and in auditory comprehension, as opposed to the previous approaches, which studied them in isolated words or sentences, which were presented visually. I am also especially proud of my first author publication in the Journal of Neuroscience entitled: Predicting “When” in Discourse Engages the Human Dorsal Auditory Stream: An fMRI Study Using Naturalistic Stories. I especially like this paper of mine, because it is hypothesis-driven, methodologically solid, and feeds exceptionally well into predictive coding and language processing theories, informed by the inherent anatomy and physiology of the brain.

What is your proudest personal achievement?
My proudest personal achievement is that I am a teacher for Margaret Morris Movement (MMM), an athletic and creative training method. I started training in this method during my PhD and have experienced its benefits in my mind, body and soul throughout my PhD studies. I decided to become an MMM teacher, in order to spread the word about it and make people feel the same benefits that I am so grateful for. I am currently running lunchtime classes for PhD students, post doc researchers and the department’s professional and support staff. The classes are free, because my goal is to gain experience in teaching this method and to help people feel mobile, relaxed and energised by counterbalancing the long hours they spend at a desk or microscope with some movement.

How has being a woman shaped, influenced and impacted your career?
I am not sure how being a woman has shaped, influenced or impacted my career. I have always done whatever I wanted and put all my effort into it, without focusing too much on being a woman. This said, I do have to acknowledge that I have had strong female role models such as my grandmother, my mother and my PhD supervisor, who were always an inspiration and encouragement to do my thing and do it properly. To stay focused on my goals and give my best to achieve them.

How has being a part of the Department of Bioengineering shaped your career?
The Department of Bioengineering has offered me the opportunity to work in an extremely interdisciplinary environment; my group includes expertise from physics, mathematics, mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering and computational neuroscience. I think that this is the particular feature and strength of Bioengineering, the fact that the people come from different backgrounds and bring diverse expertise into the field. By thinking together we shade different colours of light onto a focused point and we can achieve a clearer understanding of the human body machine. Working in this department has shaped my thinking into a more global understanding of hearing and comprehension, from the physiological processes of perceiving sound up into the cortical representation of language.

What piece of advice would you give a 17-year-old girl that is thinking about studying Bioengineering?
I would give her my dad’s advice for whenever I doubted myself: “remember that successful people are 10% talent and 90% hard work”. If you are inclined to a job or a subject that gives you a feeling of success and satisfaction, then you should work hard to develop yourself, so that you can create your own successful career path.

#BEhuman: Poppy Oldroyd

#BEHuman (Bioengineering Human) is a series that profiles the academics, researchers and students that make up the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College. Our aim is to give you an insight into the ground-breaking work that takes place in the UK’s leading bioengineering department through the eyes of the fantastic bioengineers that are advancing research frontiers, solving life sciences-related problems and creating future leaders.

As it is International Women in Engineering Day on the 23rd June, our focus this week is on celebrating the achievements of our outstanding female bioengineers.

 

The next BEhuman to be profiled is Poppy Oldroyd, a first-year undergraduate student on our Biomedical Engineering (MEng) course. Poppy is also a keen fencer and a member of the Imperial Fencing Club.

How did you become a Bioengineer?
While I was attending an engineering summer school, a talk was given by Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut. She inspired me, by showing that you can do whatever you dream to do, and to me, engineering is all about turning dreams into reality. During A-levels I struggled to choose between medicine and engineering; bioengineering provided that bridge between the two. So, I researched into bioengineering, discovered the undergraduate course offered by Imperial, and the rest is history!

 

What is your proudest professional achievement?
I was honoured to receive a Diamond Jubilee Scholarship Award sponsored by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, given to only 10 undergraduates each year, from the Institute of Engineering and Technology last December. This award recognises young engineers and their academic achievements.

 

What is your proudest personal achievement?
One of my proudest personal achievements was being able to co-run my local Brownie group, which I attended when I was a younger, after 5 years of volunteering there. This allowed me to give back to the community which gave so much to me, which gave me such a sense of personal achievement. Whether it was working on arts and crafts badge or the scientist badge, I was able to inspire girls of a young age to be whatever they wanted to be.

 

How has being a woman shaped, influenced and impacted your career?
The fact that only 9% engineers are women has definitely encouraged me to prove that women are just as capable as being an engineer as men are. Whenever I used to tell teachers, friends and others that I wanted to study engineering I was often met with a questionable expression. But, this only made me more determined to beat the stereotype and raise the profile of women in engineering.

 

How has being a part of the Department of Bioengineering shaped your career?
I have only been part of this department for just under a year, but I have already had so many doors of opportunity open up for me. The weekly department seminars provide such an insight into the range of careers that bioengineering can lead to.

 

What piece of advice would you give a 17-year-old girl that is thinking about studying Bioengineering?
I would tell her that she is making the right choice! And I would advise her to stick to her guns and not let anyone tell her that she can’t be an engineer. There are many websites and organisations such as WES, Women’s Engineering Society, and WISE, Women in Science and Engineering, which give lots of advice and helpful hints about studying engineering. Finally, I would tell her to visit lots of bioengineering departments at different universities to get a feel of what it would be like to study bioengineering and what it encompasses.

#BEHuman: Dr Amanda Foust

#BEHuman (Bioengineering Human) is a series that profiles the academics, researchers and students that make up the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College. Our aim is to give you an insight into the ground-breaking work that takes place in the UK’s leading bioengineering department through the eyes of the fantastic bioengineers that are advancing research frontiers, solving life sciences-related problems and creating future leaders.

As it is International Women in Engineering Day on the 23rd June, our focus this week is on celebrating the achievements of our outstanding female bioengineers.

 

The first BEHuman to be profiled is Dr Amanda Foust, RAEng Research Fellow. Dr Foust has been a part of the Department of Bioengineering for two years and her current research aims to engineer bridges between cutting-edge optical technologies and neuroscientists to acquire new, ground-breaking data on how brain circuits wire, process and store information.

How did you become a Bioengineer?
At university, I had trouble deciding whether to study neuroscience, physics, or electrical engineering. Then it turned out that I didn’t have to! Bioengineering builds bridges between these disciplines.
I started within Imperial’s Department of Engineering as a postdoc and then won a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship to fund my research over 5 years.

 

What is your proudest professional achievement?
I was very proud of my doctoral dissertation, approved with distinction at Yale. When I was 17 years old I would never have thought myself capable of that.

 

What is your proudest personal achievement?
I am training for a private pilot licence and recently completed my first solo flights. It’s a dream come true— there are few things I’ve done more fun, and more unexpected, than flying a little aeroplane.

 

How has being a woman shaped, influenced and impacted your career?
Throughout university, I had a bad case of “womanly under-confidence”. I didn’t think I could do it (whatever it was) or do it well enough. My first research mentor did all he could to eradicate that way of thinking, with much success. Since then I’ve been trying to pay it forward.

 

How has being a part of the Department of Bioengineering shaped your career?
In previous departments, my efforts to combine neuroscience with engineering was considered oddball. The Department of Bioengineering, however, encourages these cross-disciplinary leanings in very natural and concrete ways. I feel like I belong here, and that the department is behind my efforts to establish a research group.

 

What piece of advice would you give a 17-year-old girl that is thinking about studying Bioengineering?
Get digging and get involved in a few different research projects. Shadow as many bioengineers as possible. Find out what types of projects excite you. If none do, then go and find jobs that do and how to train for them. Then look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I can do it.”

 

Bang goes big data

When you think of big data you probably think of powerful computers crunching numbers, not a brain biosensor. Tonight the lead story on the BBC Bang goes the Theory episode on Big Data is about the traumatic brain injury research by Professor Martyn Boutelle in the Department of Bioengineering, here at Imperial.

Bang 40 web

Here’s this link to a preview clip of tonight’s episode which gives you a taste of what is in store for tonight’s episode.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the science and engineering behind the biosensors, I would recommend this paper written by Professor Martyn Boutelle and Dr Michelle Rogers about “Real-Time Clinical Monitoring of Biomolecules”  and how continuous monitoring of clinical biomarkers offers the exciting possibility of new therapies that use biomarker levels to guide treatment in real time. The review considers measurements in body fluids by a range of analytical methods and discusses direct tissue measurements performed by implanted sensors; sampling techniques, including microdialysis and ultrafiltration; and noninvasive methods.

The monitoring kit is now in the intensive care unit

ICU TBI

Check out the Department of Bioengineering Facebook page, for a sneak preview of photos behind the scenes.

Why the future of bioengineering is so bright

Sunset over Los Angeles from Griffiths Observatory
Sunset over Los Angeles from Griffiths Observatory

The last stop on my US tour was the inspirational California Institute of Technology. Based in Pasadena, Caltech has been reported as the top university in the world for the last three years in the Times Higher Education University Global Rankings. Although these rankings usually focus on a particular area I would agree that there is something pretty special about Caltech. The Caltech outlook was epitomized for me by Professor Frances Arnold who said they are not just training students to become scientists or engineers, they are training them to become Nobel Prize winners.

With that ambition laid on the table it was refreshing to hear such a senior academic speak so enthusiastically about her research and the development of her research over time from her mechanical & aerospace engineering roots through chemical engineering to her current research on protein engineering.

Broad the home of the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering at Caltech
Broad the home of the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering at Caltech

I also met with Professor Michael Elowitz while at Caltech, a physicist by background Michael now works in synthetic and systems biology and is the Executive Director of Bioengineering in the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering.

I was interested in the naming of the division as this was the first time that bioengineering had been partnered with biology. Although the meaning of biological engineering at Caltech does have similar origins to MIT. Rather than use any of the MIT or Imperial-inspired triangle or square analogies Professor Elowitz sees biology and bioengineering as two sides of the same coin.

“It’s not the things that will be found out, but the way we approach the problems and the solutions we will come up with.”~ Professor Michael Elowitz

An example of this is Professor Michael Elowitz’s circuit approach to molecular biology. It’s not what the molecules do in isolation it’s what they do in combination, in a physiological environment that he finds most fascinating. With medicine the greatest successes will not be discovering the origins of disease, but will be creating new interventions to assist or in a more ideal world prevent disease before it starts.

“Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.” ~Albert Einstein

While speaking to Professor Michael Elowitz  he mentioned Sean R. Eddy’s paper about “Antedisciplinary” Science, published in 2005.  I would recommend reading this article as although now nearly ten years on a lot of the ideas still hold true today. Caltech also supports and encourages individual interdisciplinary people, there seemed to be a lot of fluidity between the loose Department and division structure with academics given the space to follow their research interests. An environment, which given the calibre of the students that attend Caltech, is a healthy and inspiring environment to be in.  

“When I think of new fields in science that have been opened, I don’t think of interdisciplinary teams combining existing skills to solve a defined problem—I think of single interdisciplinary people inventing new ways to look at the world.”~ Sean R. Eddy

In my opinion bioengineers are a prime example of ‘interdisciplinary people’, and the field attracts equally ‘interdisciplinary people’ from other scientific or engineering backgrounds. We need to utilise the tools, technology and techniques that we have and will create for bioengineering to fulfill its potential contribution to society.

This trip has made me wonder what the future bioengineering department would look like. It’s hard to say because the options are endless. I had thought that as bioengineering matures as a discipline bioengineering graduates will fill up our bioengineering departments. I don’t think that will entirely be the case though. As Professor Frances Arnold talked me through her journey to her current protein engineering research something consistently came up in her explanation. “It’s exciting.” Researchers from all fields will be pulled to bioengineering research because it’s intellectually exciting. This diversity doesn’t dilute, it only enriches the discipline.

I was also interested to hear that 15% of the undergraduates at Caltech are majoring in bioengineering or chemical engineering, with students who previously would have chosen biology or mechanical engineering in particular attracted to the new major.

“We are creating the future of engineering, not following it.”~ Professor Frances Arnold

This trip has certainly fueled my excitement, and I believe that now is the time for bioengineering to cement it’s central engineering role, whether it’s from the foundations of biology or a broader combination of sciences, bioengineering is here to stay.

‘Til next post

Jenna

UC Bioengineering

Over the last couple of days I have been to UC Berkeley, UCLA and USC, three University of California campus, and I think that the diversity within one state encapsulates the heterogeneous bioengineering landscape I have observed on my US tour.

At UC Berkeley they look more broadly at bioengineering, with particular expertise in synthetic biology, systems biology. The Department was founded in 1998 and is the youngest Department in engineering. UC Berkeley doesn’t have a medical school so they utilise the UC San Francisco medical school for clinical/engineering collaborations, biomedical engineering research at PhD level and through the translational medicine masters program.

At UCLA their focus is more molecular and mechanistic based, but research spans all scales. The Departments developed in more of a grass roots approach compared to other institutions I have visited with faculty brought in to build breadth of expertise, for example Professor Daniel Kamei who I met with has a chemical engineering background. The Department was formed in 2002, with the undergraduate major beginning in 2004.

Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California began in 1963 initially as a PhD option (in Systems Physiology) within the Electrical Engineering Department. The undergraduate major in biomedical engineering was initiated in 1974 and the Department was established in 1976 making it one of the first Departments of Bioengineering.

What was evident across these three institutions was that the research themes and the Departments definition of bioengineering change over time, depending on the faculty involved and their focus.

UC Berkeley had some useful concentric circle diagrams to illustrate the interplay between the research themes, and the academics working between or within research themes.

A benefit of the location of these institutions in California is the array of bioengineering industry that they have on their door step, this is not a coincidence, with faculty at all three institutions involved in start-ups and Silicon Valley close by. Industry is a key market for all of these universities, with students typically going into industry, graduate studies (such as medicine) or research.

From building links with industry to links with the community. University of California have taken an interesting approach to the latter through the creation of the Onward California website, which highlights the real-life applications of research by academics at University of California insitutions.

What was also great to hear at UCLA was that Professor Daniel Kamei, who grew up in Los Angeles continues to go back to his elementary and high schools to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. This close association with the community is really important as it makes the person a much more accessible role model. This is a form of outreach I would particularly encourage undergraduate and graduate students to do.

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While I was at USC I had the opportunity to explore the Medical Device Development Facility. A workshop for medical device invention and innovation created by Professor Jerry Loeb in 1999. Professor Loeb had a different take on bioengineering to many others that I spoke to, having come from a medical background. To him engineering is applied physiology with the aim of creating treatments for disease. He also highlighted the importance of defining the distinction between engineering and science, something I equally feel strongly about. He expanded to discuss that to him the difference between biomedical engineering and biological engineering is that the former uses science for engineering and the latter uses engineering for science.

This reminded me of a quote I often use in presentations to illustrate the difference between engineering and science.

“Engineering is the use of technical and scientific knowledge for the benefit of humanity. Scientists study the world as it is; engineers create the world that has never been.” – Theodore von Kármán

‘Til next post
Jenna

Build upon your strengths

Yesterday I was at Stanford University and a key message came through in all three of my meetings, which was ‘build upon your strengths’.

The Department of Bioengineering was founded in 2003. But what I think is particularly unique about Stanford’s approach is that prior to the formation of the Department the cross-Faculty Bio-X was formed in 1998 and Biodesign in 2001. In most other universities the research theme has driven the formation of the Department, Stanford is different.

In my post about Johns Hopkins I mentioned that the Department of Bioengineering was part of both the School of Medicine and the School of Engineering, which I thought was unusual. This is also the case at Stanford and the Department is conveniently located between the Medical and Engineering buildings.

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The building that houses the Department of Bioengineering was built and is managed by Bio-X. Known as the James H. Clark Centre, the building celebrated its tenth anniversary last year, but it still looks brand new. The custom designed to encapsulate and encourage the interdisciplinary working that Bio-X is founded on. There are core facilities in optogenetics, imaging and microfluidics as well as a number of Faculty-specific labs. It was described to me in one meeting as a ‘science mall’ with windows on the inside opening into the central courtyard and different wings of the building dedicated to different groups such as the Department of Bioengineering in the South East corner, Bio-X Head Office in the South West and Biodesign on the East Wing. There’s also a restaurant, cafe, auditorium, seminar rooms and numerous meeting spaces on every floor.

Bio-X is a unique Stanford University initiative that promotes interdisciplinary life science research. Founded in 1998 Bio-X brings together biomedical and life science researchers, clinicians, engineers, physicists and computational scientists to unlock the secrets of the human body. There are many democratic layers to Bio-X with strong leadership from Heideh Fattaey who alongside her colleague Hanwei are great examples of the transferable skills, understanding and added value a PhD brings to their roles.

One programme of particular interest to me was the seed funding initiative. With $150,000 dollars of investment up for grabs for interdisciplinary teams of Stanford Faculty with the caveat that there must be at least two different Departments represented in the team that applies for funding. The funding last for 2-3 years and since the launch in 2000 the program has already seen a 10-fold return on investment. The model has been so successful that industry are now funding their own seed funding initiative, tapping into the interdisciplinary and translation talent of the Stanford Faculty.

From one innovative initiative to another the Biodesign programme at Stanford was the first programme to recognise the need for researchers to be trained in innovation, entrepreneurship and design alongside academic engineering, medical or science education. With an expanding range of programmes from Fellowships to graduate student and undergraduate student courses. The Biodesign programme/ process was created by Professor Paul Yock and Dr Josh Mackower. Paul Yock is an inventor and cardiologist who navigated his own way through the minefield of IP that faces an inventor with the ambition of getting a medical device to market. At the same time that Paul was navigating this medical device minefield Josh Mackower was running an internal innovation programme at Pfizer. Through this meeting of minds the idea of an innovation training process came about which resulted in the fellowship and the beginning of biodesign.

To find out more about Biodesign and bioengineering at Stanford check out this video from Professor Paul Yock, co-founder Biodesign and co-founding Chair of the Department of Bioengineering.

“Cool inventions aren’t cool unless they make it into patient care.” – Paul Yock

What is great about the Stanford Biodesign approach is that they are keen to help others implement or take inspiration from the process and programme that they run, not just in the USA but also internationally.

The Department of Bioengineering, is unusually the youngest of the three initiatives I have covered in this blog. Bioengineering is described as ‘fusion of engineering and life sciences’ by the current Chair Professor Norbert Pelc. They are both engineering with biology and engineering for biology, with applications including healthcare, environment and energy. They have a growing undergraduate major in bioengineering but also support a number of customised majors available through Stanford School of Engineering in Biomechanical Engineering and Biomedical Computation. They also offer courses across medicine, law and business.

I think we can all learn something from the Stanford approach, you don’t have to do things a certain way just because they have been done that way in the past. The best approach is one the pulls upon and utilises your strengths.

‘Til next post.
Jenna