VOLUME IX | OCT 2014 | ISSUE 2
THEPIONEER.GATECH.EDU
PIONEER
BME EVENTS Learn more about the Healthcare Hack-a-thon.
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RECENT PUBLICATIONS
OCT ISSUE 2
Journal
Article Title
Authors
Biomaterials.
Rapidly polymerizing injectable click hydrogel therapy to delay bone growth in a murine re-synostosis model.
Hermann CD, Wilson DS, Lawrence KA, Ning X, Olivares-Navarrete R, Williams JK, Guldberg RE, Murthy N, Schwartz Z,Boyan BD.
Biotechnol Bioeng.
Poloxamer surfactant preserves cell viability during photoacoustic delivery of molecules into cells.
Sengupta A, Dwivedi N, Kelly SC, Tucci L, Thadhani NN,Prausnitz MR.
Bone.
The effect of conditional inactivation of beta 1 integrins using twist 2 Cre, Osterix Cre and osteocalcin Cre lines on skeletal phenotype.
Shekaran A, Shoemaker JT, Kavanaugh TE, Lin AS, LaPlaca MC, Fan Y, Guldberg RE, García AJ.
Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon).
Individuals with transtibial limb loss use interlimb force asymmetries to maintain multi-directional reactive balance control.
Bolger D, Ting LH, Sawers A.
Connect Tissue Res.
Rapid 1α,25(OH)2D3 membrane-mediated activation of Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II in growth plate chondrocytes requires Pdia3, PLAA and caveolae.
Doroudi M, Boyan BD, Schwartz Z.
Heart.
Exercise capacity in single-ventricle patients after Fontan correlates with haemodynamic energy loss in TCPC.
Khiabani RH, Whitehead KK, Han D, Restrepo M, Tang E, Bethel J, Paridon SM, Fogel MA, Yoganathan AP.
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci.
Targeted delivery of anti-glaucoma drugs to the supraciliary space using microneedles.
Prausnitz MR, Kim YC, Edelhauser HF.
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci.
Intrastromal delivery of bevacizumab using microneedles to treat corneal neovascularization.
Prausnitz MR, Kim YC, Grossniklaus HE, Edelhauser HF.
J Biomed Mater Res A.
Role of integrin α2 β1 in mediating osteoblastic differentiation on three-dimensional titanium scaffolds with submicron-scale texture.
Wang X, Schwartz Z, Gittens RA, Cheng A, Olivares-Navarrete R, Chen H, Boyan BD.
J Clin Invest.
Disposable platform provides visual and color-based point-of-care anemia self-testing.
Tyburski EA, Gillespie SE, Stoy WA, Mannino RG, Weiss AJ, Siu AF, Bulloch RH, Thota K, Cardenas A, Session W, Khoury HJ, O'Connor S, Bunting ST, Boudreaux J, Forest CR, Gaddh M, Leong T, Lyon LA, Lam WA.
J Genomics
Characterization of distinct classes of differential gene expression in osteoblast cultures from nonsyndromic craniosynostosis bone.
Rojas-Peña ML, Olivares-Navarrete R, Hyzy S, Arafat D, Schwartz Z, Boyan BD, Williams J, Gibson G.
J Interv Card Electrophysiol.
Performance of 3D, navigator echo-gated, contrast-enhanced, magnetic resonance coronary vein imaging in patients undergoing CRT.
Lam A, Mora-Vieira LF, Hoskins M, Lloyd M, Oshinski JN.
J Phys Chem B.
Compact and Blinking-Suppressed Quantum Dots for Single-Particle Tracking in Live Cells.
Lane LA, Smith AM, Lian T, Nie S
J Tissue Eng Regen Med
Cultivation of agarose-based microfluidic hydrogel promotes the development of large, full-thickness, tissue-engineered articular cartilage constructs.
Goldman SM, Barabino GA.
Nat Biotechnol.
Multi-platform assessment of transcriptome profiling using RNA-seq in the ABRF next-generation sequencing study.
Multi-platform assessment of transcriptome profiling using RNA-seq in the ABRF next-generation sequencing study.
Nat Commun.
Dynamic catch of a Thy-1-α5β1+syndecan-4 trimolecular complex.
Fiore VF, Ju L, Chen Y, Zhu C, Barker TH.
Nat Mater.
Ultrasoft microgels displaying emergent platelet-like behaviours.
Brown AC, Stabenfeldt SE, Ahn B, Hannan RT, Dhada KS, Herman ES, Stefanelli V, Guzzetta N, Alexeev A, Lam WA, Lyon LA, Barker TH.
Nat Protoc
Molecular beacon-enabled purification of living cells by targeting cell type-specific mRNAs.
Wile BM, Ban K, Yoon YS, Bao G.
Neuroimage
Alterations of hippocampal projections in adult macaques with neonatal hippocampal lesions: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging study
Meng Y, Payne C, Li L, Hu X, Zhang X, Bachevalier J.
Phys Biol
Spatially coordinated changes in intracellular rheology and extracellular force exertion during mesenchymal stem cell differentiation.
McAndrews KM, McGrail DJ, Quach ND, Dawson MR.
PLoS One.
Environmental Particulate (PM2.5) Augments Stiffness-Induced Alveolar Epithelial Cell Mechanoactivation of Transforming Growth Factor Beta.
Dysart MM, Galvis BR, Russell AG, Barker TH.
PLoS One.
Contractile Force Is Enhanced in Aortas from Pendrin Null Mice Due to Stimulation of Angiotensin IIDependent Signaling.
Sutliff RL, Walp ER, Kim YH, Walker LA, El-Ali AM, Ma J, Bonsall R, Ramosevac S, Eaton DC, Verlander JW, Hansen L, GleasonRL, Pham TD, Hong S, Pech V, Wall SM.
Proc Natl Acad Sci
Platelet mechanosensing of substrate stiffness during clot formation mediates adhesion, spreading, and activation.
Qiu Y, Brown AC, Myers DR, Sakurai Y, Mannino RG, Tran R, Ahn B, Hardy ET, Kee MF, Kumar S, Bao G, Barker TH, Lam WA.
Theranostics.
Microtubule-associated protein mdp3 promotes breast cancer growth and metastasis.
Tala, Xie S, Sun X, Sun X, Ran J, Zhang L, Li D, Liu M, Bao G, Zhou J.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Simultaneous Imaging of Locus Coeruleus and Substantia Nigra with a Quantitative Neuromelanin MRI Approach.
Chen X, Huddleston D, Langley J, Ahn S, Barnum C, Factor SA, Levey AI, Hu X.
Methods Molecular Bio
Isolation and expansion of C-kit-positive cardiac progenitor cells by magnetic cell sorting.
French KM, Davis ME.
Nature Communication
Mapping the spatial distribution of charge carriers in quantum-confined heterostructures.
Smith AM, Lane LA, Nie S.
Nature Neuroscience
Noninvasive optical inhibition with a red-shifted microbial rhodopsin.
Chuong AS, Miri ML, Busskamp V, Matthews GA, Acker LC, Sørensen AT, Young A, Klapoetke NC, Henninger MA, Kodandaramaiah SB, Ogawa M, Ramanlal SB, Bandler RC, Allen BD, Forest CR, Chow BY, Han X, Lin Y, Tye KM, Roska B, Cardin JA, Boyden ES.
Healthcare Hack-a-thon
Nucleic Acids Research
Integration of mapped RNA-Seq reads into automatic training of eukaryotic gene finding algorithm.
Lomsadze A, Burns PD, Borodovsky M.
AFTER HOURS..........................……..…………………………………….............................10
PeerJ
Single cell transcriptional analysis reveals novel innate immune cell types.
Kippner LE, Kim J, Gibson G, Kemp ML.
PLoS One
Low intensity, high frequency vibration training to improve musculoskeletal function in a mouse model of duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Novotny SA, Mader TL, Greising AG, Lin AS, Guldberg RE, Warren GL, Lowe DA.
PLoS One
Delivery of bioactive lipids from composite microgel-microsphere injectable scaffolds enhances stem cell recruitment and skeletal repair.
Das A, Barker DA, Wang T, Lau CM, Lin Y, Botchwey EA
Proceedings of National Acad of Sciences
Seamless modification of wild-type induced pluripotent stem cells to the natural CCR5Δ32 mutation confers resistance to HIV infection.
Ye L, Wang J, Beyer AI, Teque F, Cradick TJ, Qi Z, Chang JC, Bao G, Muench MO, Yu J, Levy JA, Kan YW.
Science Reports
A protective role of murine langerin(+) cells in immune responses to cutaneous vaccination with microneedle patches.
Pulit-Penaloza JA, Esser ES, Vassilieva EV, Lee JW, Taherbhai MT, Pollack BP, Prausnitz MR, Compans RW, Skountzou I.
Science Reports
Living biointerfaces based on non-pathogenic bacteria to direct cell differentiation.
Rodrigo-Navarro A, Rico P, Saadeddin A, Garcia AJ, Salmeron-Sanchez M.
From the Editor in Chief PIONEER The letter from the Editor in Chief goes here.
Established 2007
EDITOR IN CHIEF Jackson Hair
FACULTY SPONSOR Barbara Fasse, Ph.D. OPERATIONS SECRETARY TREASURER PUBLIC RELATIONS
Steven Touchton, Jr Fatiesa Sulejmani
Hee Su Lee Tino Zhang
WEBMASTERS Josh Diaddigo Arthur Lim Kelsey Williams
STAFF WRITERS Jonathan Austin
Anirudh Joshi Maithili Appalwar Shanzeh Farooqui Sarah Gonzales Ann Johnson Yinglin Li Andrew McNair Sameer Mishra Alaap Murali Dhara Patel Valeriya Popova Tanvi Rao Abigail Riddle Hifza Sakhi Eric Sampayo Linda Tian Abhinaya Uthayakumar Nadiya Zafar
EDITORS Catherine Chou
Nader Abdullahi Andrew Akers Sruti Bheri Alexis Blazier Julie Chow Hardika Dhir Amanda Klinker Meera Nathan Likhit Nayak Melanie Yoshimura
LAYOUT EDITORS Marisa Casola
INSIDE PIONEER RECENT PUBLICATIONS……………………….………….…………..…………...…...…........3 ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT........................................…….…………………..…….…….……….....4 Anu Parvatiyar
EVENTS AND DEADLINES.....……………………………..………………..……...……..........4 BME NEWS.................................…….…………………..…….…….....……….......….….......5 The Hive
Joy Kim Kevin Bai Candice Cheung Brandi Nevius Pearly Pandya Yuyan Wang Wenjun Wu Yiran Zhao
PHOTOGRAPHERS David Van
Dustin Blohm Wanda Chen Morgan Hinchey Paige McQuade Anokhi Patel Maya Rajan Hyunjun (Fred) Woo Jimmy Zhou
COLLABORATORS Karen Adams
BME Day
Paul Fincannon Courtney Lucas Ferencik Sally Gerrish
BME ANSWERS...................................................................................................................6
Ethier
BME EVENTS……............................……………..…….……...……….….......…………........6
BIOTECH REVIEW...............………….…......…………...…………..…......………..…...........7 BME EVENTS.......................………………..………………………..…..…...………...............8 Dr. C. Ross Ethier
That’s So BME.....................………….…......…………...…………..……….………..…........10 CAREER FAIR....................………….…......…………...…………..……….………..….........11
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4 OCT ISSUE 2
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
BME NEWS
ANU PARVATIYAR
THE BME MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
OCT ISSUE 2
By Anirudh Joshi Undergraduate Student in the Coulter Department
Above: Anu’s work with Nigerian physicians to increase wireless connectivity in the region. (Photo: Submitted)
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atching up with Tech alumni is always a pleasure, and recently Pioneer had the opportunity to do so with Anu Parvatiyar who graduated from the undergraduate program in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory in 2008. Anu was actively involved during her time at Georgia Tech and also served as the undergraduate student body president. Postgraduation, Anu has worked in the medical device industry for several years at CR Bard and now at e-Health Africa. Her new job at e-Health Africa involves travelling to Nigeria to implement a mobile phone platform for the clinics in the vicinity. The goal is to get all the clinics on the same platform and using the same application so that, later on, the government or other health administrators can use the data to identify trends. Anu came across this opportunity through one of her friends from
Georgia Tech. They had both been involved in many activities together during their undergraduate studies and had remained in touch over the past few years due to shared career interest. Anu recalled, “He called me up and said I have a project for you, and I don’t think you are going to be able to say no. A month later, I quit my job and was on a plane to Nigeria.” On being asked what her motivation was to pursue this project, Anu said that even as an undergraduate she was very interested in public health and design for the developing world. She is interested in what makes technology successful when applied to developing countries. According to Anu, the project with e-Health Africa was “a perfect marriage” between her interests. Prior to her current job, Anu worked with CR Bard, a large medical device company. At Bard, she was involved with the entire design process; from concept development to design validation to tooling for manufacturing. She made sure to get involved with the front end of the design process and was interested in understanding the user needs and why they would use a particular product. Reflecting back on her time at Georgia Tech, Anu wishes that she had had more internship experiences. She said, “I had plans to go to medical school, but I look back on my one internship with a small medical device company, and that changed everything. A doctor that we were working with dealt with about 300 patients in a year, but a medical device could be used by 200,000 patients by the end of the first year.” Her advice to current BME students is to explore all the aspects of BME because there are so many paths that one can take with the problem solving skillset that they have. She also encourages students to go out and meet people in the field and build connections that could help later on. A funny and relatable comment that Anu made perfectly captured the dynamic aspect of BME, “When people ask me what biomedical engineering means, I say I am still figuring that out!”
EVENTS AND DEADLINES 1 Fall BIO Vendor Showcase 10 AM — Petit Atrium
2 Immunoengineering Seminar Series Dr. Michelle Krogsgaard 11 AM — Petit Room 1128 3 Immunoengineering Seminar Series Aline Thomas & Betsy Campbell 11 AM — Petit Room 1128 6 2014 Petit Institute Distinguished Lecture Dr. Joseph DeSimmone & William Kenan Jr. 11 AM — Petit Atrium
OCTOBER
7 Bioengineering Seminar Series Dr. Stanislay Shvartsman 1 PM — Petit Room 1128
14 Integrated Cancer Research Center Seminar Dr. Amit Redi 4 PM — Petit Room 1128
7 Integrated Cancer Research Center Seminar Dr. Amit Redi 4 PM — Petit Room 1128
15 Pediatric Research Grand Rounds Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Petit Room 1128
10 Biomaterials Day 8 AM — Marcus Nanotechnology Building
18 Buzz on Biotechnology High School Open House 10 AM — Petit Atrium
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By Linda Tran Undergraduate Student in the Coulter Department
iomedical Engineering is one of the most popular majors at Georgia Tech with roughly 1,300 undergraduate students. With such a large group, many BME students feel that it is often difficult to interact with and form strong relationships with their peers, upperclassmen, and alumni. To address this issue, a small group of students and faculty gathered last November to brainstorm ways to bring BME students at Georgia Tech together and create a more close-knit community within the Walter H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory. One of the many ideas that emerged was the BME Mentorship Program, which came to life with the help of dedicated student leaders. The Mentorship Program is the first major project launched under the BME Learning Commons, which was created with four major points of focus: curriculum, careers, connections, and creativity. The program has two tiers; one of which focuses on relationships between the upperclassmen mentors and BME alumni while the other fosters similar connections between the same student mentors and the BME freshmen. From the alumni, older students receive valuable career information, job opportunities, and access to networking opportunities in the biomedical engineering field. At the same time, they are able to assist the freshmen with learning and networking within the Coulter Department at Georgia Tech. As founder and sponsor of the BME Mentorship Program, Associate Professor Joe Le Doux describes the program as a way to “foster student belonging and engagement” by concentrating on arguably the most vulnerable sub-set of BME students: freshmen. For firstyear BME students at Georgia Tech, coursework, talking to professors and upper-classmen, and balancing academics with college life are all stressful and often overwhelming. This new program attempts to fix these issues by pairing each BME freshman with an older student mentor who can give freshmen access to helpful tips on transition to college life, time management, and advice on how to study for different classes. In order to maximize the helpfulness of the mentor-mentee relationship, a detailed matching process began prior to the start of the fall semester. Over the summer, older BME students applied for mentorship positions through an online application. These applications were then compiled into a database where freshmen could narrow their search parameters to find mentors with similar interests and long-term goals. A week before the first day of class, each mentor was paired with three or four freshmen students. A similar matching process, conducted through Mentor Jackets, serves to match the student mentors and the alumni involved in the BME Mentorship Program. The first annual “Welcome to BME Day” was held on Saturday after the first week of school. Student mentors and mentees were able to meet each other, and freshmen were able to sign up for various BME-related student groups on campus. Ideally, mentoring families meet for roughly
The repurposed space is an exceptional spot to learn biomedical engineering. (Photo: David Van)
an hour each week to give the mentees a chance to share how things are going, ask their mentor questions, or just have fun. In addition, the Mentoring program Student Leadership team, led by Dhara Patel and Veena Ganapathy, hope to create one or two events each semester similar to the “Welcome to BME Day” that will serve to bring all of the program’s participants together. Third-year BME student Meaghan Desilets, a student mentor in this new program, thinks that a mentor would have been very beneficial during her first year at Georgia Tech. She also thinks that the matching system works very well because she and her freshmen mentees have “similar mindsets and goals, so I can give them pretty relevant advice.” The BME Mentorship Program is the first of several programs under the effort of the BME Learning Commons. Le Doux offers assurances that there are “plenty of other programs in the works” in addition to the BME Mentorship Program, such as the BME Dinner Jackets program, the Podcast Studio, and the Career Pathways project. As a primarily student-driven, studentled program, BME Mentorship Program will hopefully create a better sense of belonging for students and pave a path for more opportunities to come.
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7 BME EVENTS
BIOTECH REVIEW
WELCOME TO BME
DO YOU HAVE A DOC IN YOUR POCKET?
MAR ISSUE ISSUE 25 OCT
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By Abhinaya Uthayakumar Undergraduate Student in the Coulter Department
reated to help accommodate new freshmen students to the major and of all its opportunities, the Mentorship Program is comprised of nearly 160 students who have volunteered to serve as mentors. All the mentees and mentors were paired up before Georgia Tech’s fall semester began according to their interest of study in BME. For instance, a pre-health student interested in pursuing research would have been assigned pre-health mentor who has research experience. To start off the semester, the BME Mentoring Program Leadership Team organized an orientation event, “Welcome to BME Day”, to help facilitate introductory interactions between mentors and mentees as well as provide mentees a way to learn more about BME opportunities. Held in the Student Center Ballroom, it was an“open-house” event where organizations and other exhibits hosted tables that mentors and mentees could visit to learn more about their organizations; organizations from GT Neuro to Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students talked to the freshmen about their focus and upcoming events. Some mentor-mentee pairs even had the opportunity to participate in MOVE’s “Into the Streets” community service projects, which were happening before the BME Day event, or receive free passes to the HealthCare Hackathon! Not only did students get the opportunity to participate in communityservice, attend the hackathon, and register for organizations that interested them, they also got to meet some of the Biomedical Engineering faculty and get their insight on the department. Several icebreakers were set up for the students to discuss their experiences so far at Georgia Tech and what they want to get out of their degree. This program has evidently had a terrific start, with great support from the department faculty as well as students.
BME ANSWERS
BME Day welcomes students back to campus for the Fall 2014 semester.(Photo: BMED Department Flickr)
By ALPHA ETA MU BETA - The BME Honors Society
1. I’m really interested in joining a research lab or doing an internship/co-op. When should I start getting involved in these? Before jumping into all of the amazing things BME has to offer, it is helpful to first get adjusted to Tech and become comfortable with the course load and other commitments. However, it is never too early to begin learning about what sorts of things you are interested in! BME is a great major because there are so many different ways to get experience outside of class, including research in one of the many labs on or off campus, internships and co-ops with various companies, and healthcare opportunities such as at a hospital or a clinic. In fact, a good starting point is to talk to upperclassmen about their experiences. You can also go online to learn about different labs or companies, and the BME academic office is full of resources, including our fantastic advisors, to help you find things to suit your interests. In spring semester, freshmen can look at applying for internships, seeking out research labs they find interesting and emailing the professor, or reaching out to nearby clinics or hospitals about the possibility of volunteering or working. For upperclassmen interested in pursuing these opportunities, it’s also never too late to start! 2. How can I get to know my professors? One of the best things you can do while at Tech is to get to know your professors, both inside and outside the BME department. Professors usually know their material and can also help you get involved in research, for example. Having good relationships with professors is also very helpful when applying for jobs, graduate school, or medical school, as all of these will require multiple letters of recommendation. For many students, it can be challenging to develop these relationships. One way to get to know professors is simply by going to office hours. Every professor has office hours - time specifically set aside specifically for students - so take advantage of it! Most professors, especially ones in the BME department, love talking to students and will make time to talk to you about class, personal interests, and anything else. If there is a professor whose class you especially enjoy, consider getting coffee or inviting him or her to lunch!
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OCT ISSUE 2
By Jonathan Austin Undergraduate Student in the Coulter Department
data using cloud-based machine-learning algorithms, given o, I am not talking about having an emergency physician parameters such as the baby’s skin tone and lighting conditions. on speed dial or pulling up worst-case diagnoses courtesy In the same vein as BiliCam is AF Detect, another application that of WebMD (which, by the way, may be slightly inaccurate; traces very minute changes in color on the skin of a person’s face that wayward cough from three hours ago is probably not to detect distinct changes of blood flow that are characteristic indicative of pulmonary fibrosis). I am referring to that palm-sized of atrial fibrillation. Beyond these two, there are still many other brick of plastic and metal in your pocket that not only links you to applications in development that make the most of the interpretive a sprawling, content-rich network of people and information but capabilities that the mobile “smart” platform provides. could also, in the not so distant future, be your very next doctor. So, will the next doctor you visit be sitting in your pocket? Granted, the notion of a single gadget being able to replace Probably not any time soon, but the future of smart devices in or even outdo a physician is far from our current reality, but the the healthcare holds plenty of promise. Recognizing an illness is urge to innovate and adapt “smart” technologies (namely, smart a great tool to have on a smartphone, but let us hope that when devices) for healthcare purposes is rapidly growing. With the that vision finally does become reality, the next notification coming advent of this technology, there now exists an expectation to from your phone after having taken your latest selfie is not an be able to mobilize and simplify the tools with which healthcare urgent recommendation for you to visit your nearest emergency personnel collect information for diagnosis. For instance, a pair room! of doctors at Stanford has developed adapters that, when attached to a smartphone camera, enable the user to capture images of both the front surface of the eye and the retina on the back surface. Considering the bulk of most ophthalmology instruments, these adapters (called EyeGo) provide a major boon for mobile diagnostics; the “smart” benefit manifests itself in being able to triage in emergency situations or in locations without the larger instruments. In a growing number of smart applications, however, this benefit has begun to expand past compaction and into interpretation of collected data. Currently in development, an app by the name of BiliCam has shown promising results in the detection of infant jaundice, a disease in which the baby’s liver is not yet mature enough to process bilirubin; in turn, excess bilirubin in the bloodstream creates a characteristic yellow discoloration. The application is designed to take advantage of a smartphone camera for assessment of bilirubin levels by using it to capture the color of the infant’s skin. The app then analyzes collected Caption. (Photo: BMED Department Flickr)
BME ANSWERS CONTINUED ... 3. What kinds of careers do BMEs pursue after college? For many freshmen, BME seems like a wildly fascinating, futuristic major but one that doesn’t have a clear-cut path after graduation. This, for the most part, is true; BME is such an encompassing major that there are many areas BMEs can enter after leaving Tech. Among the most prominent include research at graduate school, one or more of a master’s degree, PhD and medical school, or the biomedical industry. Within each of these, there are many different pathways which can be tailored to fit specific interests. For example, within industry, BMEs can go into medical device development, drug design, and consulting. As such, while at Tech, it is very helpful to get exposure in different areas to get an idea of what you find most appealing. To this end, getting involved in research, interning/co-oping, and working. It is also worth noting that there are BME graduates who go into entirely different things as well; the world is open to you when deciding your post-graduate plans.
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9 BME EVENTS
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BME EVENTS
N O H T A CK
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hen one thinks of a hackathon, computer science and lots of coding generally come to mind. However, Forge has managed to organize a new, novel type of hackathon: one concentrated on healthcare. With the help of various companies, startups, and colleges, Forge created an event where all the participants focused their energies in attempting to solve a critical problem in the medical world, with each topic termed a “pain point”. The first pain point for the hackathon participants to work on was to facilitate early language exposure to close the word gap between low and high income families. This is because toddlers who are born into lower income families hear around 30 million fewer words in their first few years, which in turn leads to disparities in academic performance. Another paint point was to improve pediatric use of intermittent pneumatic compression devices. These devices are used to treat venous thromboembolisms in adults and are often too bulky for use on children. As a more computer science-oriented topic, the third pain point highlighted the sub-optimal workflow coordination between different teams of doctors and strove to improve the sharing of information and updates between these patient care teams. The fourth pain point, also computer science-based, required teams to create a smartphone app that identifies overseas patients for doctors who went on mission trips, in order to maintain effective medical records. Another problem that was discussed was the challenge of connecting peripheral medical devices, such as feeding tubes and IV pumps, to a computer in order to more quickly synchronize a patient’s medical record chart. The fifth paint point was devising a way to reduce the amount of foreign objects, such as needles or gauze pads, left in a patient’s body after surgery. This issue remains an ongoing and costly problem for hospitals all over the world. Finally, the last challenge in the Forge healthcare hackathon was to try to reduce the incidence of catheter infections at the insertion point, especially for central line catheters. These invasive medical devices lead straight to the heart and cause the most damage if the insertion site is infected. The teams had varied approaches to the problems, which they all had 36 hours to solve. Each team consisted of 5-8 undergraduate students, grad students, industry professionals, or a combination
thereof who came together to devise a solution. Also present were other experts, from specialties in business to medicine to engineering, who served as mentors to help each team reach its maximum potential. The mentors fostered teams by asking them to consider different angles of the problem, explaining more technical aspects of their topic, and aiding in the design of a solution prototype. Overall, the opportunity to ask mentors almost any question proved to be invaluable. On Sunday, the different teams presented their ideas. Many of the
OCT ISSUE 2
teams designed smartphone apps; for example, the winning team designed one for parents to be able to teach their toddlers to expand their vocabulary early on. However, the unique twist to this hackathon was that there were also several prototypes made out of wood, tape, and plastic, a much easier approach for those with little to no coding experience. For example, one of the teams made a prototype of a device that emitted UV light to disinfect the area of skin around a catheter’s insertion point. Overall, the teams came up with several unique solutions that may someday become patented products, proving that the Forge Healthcare Hackathon was definitely a success. Here’s to hoping that more events like this for the healthcare industry will be conducted in the future, not only in Atlanta but in other biotech hubs as well!
Left and Above: Biomedical engineers develop and pitch solutions to healthcare challenges. (Photo: Submitted by Forge)
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11 AFTERHOURS
CAREER FAIR
TAKE A WALK WITH DR. ETHIER
CAREER FAIR TIPS AND TRICKS
MAR ISSUE ISSUE 25 OCT
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MAR ISSUE 25 OCT ISSUE
By Dr. C. Ross Ethier Professor in the Coulter Department
like to take long walks. I mean really long. As some of you know, I lived in England for five years. England is a small and densely populated country, and is crisscrossed by an amazing system of trails that grew out of the British concept of rightof-way, which basically says that once a trail has been established, it becomes public property, no matter where it goes. (This leads to strange situations where trails go right through people’s back yards and farms, something that would not go over too well in the US.) The net result is that you can easily start off in one place in the morning and visit on foot, by evening, three or four towns almost anywhere in England. The Brits love doing this, and I caught the bug when I lived there. One year I walked from Oxford to Cambridge with my sons, almost getting killed along the way by a herd of crazed cows (but that is another story). Another year we walked the Cleveland Way (all 110 miles), which is one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. Long distance walking is a wonderful way to clear your mind. Plus, you get some exercise, can stop at interesting pubs during the day, see beautiful scenery when it is not raining, and meet a few “interesting” people on the way. If I could ever find the time I would like to do one of the El Camino de Santiago walks - 500 mile stroll anyone? In any case, the US is not as good for those kind of walks because it is a little too spread out and the rights-of-way do not exist (although, of course, there is the remarkable Appalachian Trail that starts in north Georgia). Thus, I have to find other things to do. I love
THAT’S SO BME...
to travel; I have lived and worked in four countries and have visited many more. Some of that travel has been work-related, which tends not to be as much fun because there is not much tourism time. But sometimes one can squeeze in a bit of free time or even take a vacation. Last summer, my wife and I spent three weeks on the road in Britain, Japan and Italy (don’t ask, it’s complicated), sampling great food and seeing the sights. I have a particular fondness for Italian food and architecture (who doesn’t!), so the time we spent living in a farm house north of Rome was amazing. More generally, it is good to experience different places and cultures as it makes you think about your home environment in a different way. Also, I read a lot - I always have a book on the go, usually some sort of historical, economic or political non-fiction. The thing I really enjoy the most, though, is music. I play the guitar, and if I had real talent I would have tried to make a career as a musician rather than in academia. Sadly, I’m not good enough to do that, and so I instead content myself by jamming with friends and listening to great music, especially guitar. YouTube is a wonderful resource to find obscure (and amazing) guitarists. Some of my personal favorites include Tomoyasu Hotei, Roy Buchanan, Jerry Douglas and Steve Lukather. Music truly is a good break from thinking about glaucoma and biotransport. To quote Robert Fripp: “Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence.” Dr. Ethier in front of . (Photo: Submitted)
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By Tanvi Rao Undergraduate Student in the Coulter Department
t Georgia Tech, it is always apparent when a career fair is happening. Streams of students swap their flip-flops, t-shirts, and backpacks to parade across campus in leather shoes and black suits, clutching padfolios overflowing with carefully reviewed resumes. Whether you are in search of information, a job, or simply practice for talking to recruiters, the Biotechnology Career Fair is a professionally productive opportunity. It is a chance to interact with some of the biggest names in our industry, from St. Jude Medical to Proctor & Gamble. Upon registration, you receive a nametag and a list containing all the companies in attendance and the positions they are hiring for. Once in, your work is cut out for you. Pick a line for a company that fits your needs, wait your turn, and get ready to impress the recruiter. Some of the basics 1. Make sure you dress appropriately (business casual) because first impressions are important in brief interactions. 2. Allocate enough time in your schedule for the fair. 3. Research the companies attending the fairs and prioritize the employers you are most interested in. 4. Introduce yourself, welcome the recruiter to Georgia Tech, and be prepared to give your “career pitch.” A career pitch involves expressing your interest in the company and emphasizing your strengths in less than sixty seconds. 5. Take notes and ask the recruiter for his or her business card. 6. Be sure to follow up with the recruiter after the career fair with an email or personalized card, thanking them for their time. What do companies look for? At this past career fair, representatives from several companies were asked for advice on how to approach recruiters at fairs and what qualities to focus on:
“We look for people who are positive, work well with a team, and display qualities of leadership. Our work environment is very positive and productive, something we take pride in, and we want to keep it that way at all levels, especially with our interns and co-ops” - Recruiter with St. Jude Medical “I think that it is important to do your background research on a company. You can figure out what you really want. Do this before the fair if you are looking for a job; do it at the fair if you’re young and just want to get a feel for the company.” - Recruiter with Huron Consulting Group
The Career Fair was held September 11, 2014. (Photo: ???)
“The important thing that you can capitalize on at a career fair versus just applying online is who you know. For example, feel free to use my name. I am senior manager with Biosense Webster and when you apply for a job with us, that carries weight. It’s good to get recruiters familiarized with your name as well as to use their names in your applications.” - Recruiter with Johnson & Johnson Regardless of whether or not you leave a career fair with an interview, you come out of it with a better knowledge of how to approach recruiters. You also gain the ability to gauge a company and what you want from it. It is good practice, if anything – a stepping-stone towards a job or internship. So look up career tips, get dressed up, head out, and hit up the next career fair on campus!