Introducing BIE 2017
The 2017 UC Berkeley Biodesign Immersion Experience (BIE) kicked off this week with a new cohort consisting of five fellows and seven protégés. The fellows are all recent Cal graduates who have completed Professor Amy Herr’s senior bioengineering capstone design course, while the protégés will take the class in the Fall.
The BIE is an eight-week summer program funded by a five-year NIH grant. During this program the students are put through rigorous training on the design process, with an emphasis on identifying needs in clinical spaces. Using this training and the engineering skills they already have, students are able to bridge the divide between clinical needs and bioengineering innovation. The BIE students have the unique and valuable experience of visiting a total of 15 clinical and technology sites. These visits will give the students access to observe and question patients, clinicians, staff, and experts in the field.
The Fellows:
Sara
Sara Sampson grew up in Sunnyvale, California and has just finished her degree in bioengineering. Previously, she worked at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on novel protein delivery methods to target neglected tropical diseases caused by intracellular parasites. Her current research at the UCSF orthopedic bioengineering lab focuses on cartilage endplate biomechanics, and she will be working there full-time in the Fall. For the senior bioengineering capstone design course, her team developed a vital signs monitoring device tailored for low-resource settings, which later placed 2nd in the Big Ideas design competition in global health. Outside of academics, Sara enjoys singing, hiking, and discovering new vegetarian restaurants.
Giang
Giang Ha is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley, majoring in bioengineering, and is also a fellow for BIE. He took BioE 192 last fall, developing a window-shaped handle to aid older adults in getting into and out of vehicles. He also worked in the UCSF/San Francisco General Hospital Orthopedic Trauma Institute, investigating the biomechanical effects of plate fixation on bone development, and worked at Bayer Pharmaceuticals, developing assays to measure the concentration of host cell proteins in drug samples.
Besides BIE, Giang will be pursuing a Master’s in Translational Medicine at UC Berkeley and UCSF for the upcoming year. He also hopes to go to medical school and pursue a career working both in clinical practice and biotechnology, to connect patient care and engineering innovation. Giang is from Milpitas, California, and loves to go hiking, visit national parks, watch movies, and explore the world of food.
Ashlee
Ashlee Horn is a recent graduate of U.C. Berkeley Bioengineering and a fellow for BIE. She has taken BioE 192 and worked alongside Katherine to design a Parkinson’s tremor tracker, which received an honorable mention in the Big Ideas competition. Currently she is working for IPMD, Inc. to create a Point of Care system for detecting Tuberculosis and its drug resistances in low resource settings. Additionally, Ashlee works with the non-profit Acorn Labs to create STEM and design workbooks for elementary and middle schoolers. Her long term goal is to address medical needs through health policy. Ashlee is from La Pine, Oregon and enjoys playing board games, hiking, and making video essays about movies in her spare time.
Katherine
Katherine Spack is a senior, who will be graduating in the fall after completing her bioengineering major and history minor . Katherine’s past work involves LCMS quantitation and analysis of lipid biomarkers for inflammation in the Gronert optometry lab, facilitating the UC Berkeley bioprinting DeCal, and creating a novel Parkinson’s tremor tracker which received an honorable mention in the Berkeley Big Ideas competition. She is currently working in the Grace O’Connell tissue biomechanics lab examining the structure-function relationship for glycosaminoglycan content in intervertebral disks. Katherine hopes to continue her work quantifying the biomechanical properties of articular cartilage in graduate school and work toward creating functional cartilage replacements. In her time away from the lab, Katie enjoys swing dancing, playing board games, and spotting birds and dogs.
Jeffrey
Jeffrey Feng is a recent bioengineering graduate and a fellow for BIE. His BioE 192 team in fall 2016 developed a medical device to quantitatively and spatially assess pain nerve block with epidural use. The project was one of three to receive the $25,000 UCSF Surgical Innovations Accelerator Award at the 2017 Shark Tank Pitch Night, funds of which would be used to further refine the team’s prototype. Jeffrey has also worked in Prof. Luke Lee’s BioPOETS lab in projects utilizing microfluidic principles to develop low-cost, point-of-care, and rapid-result diagnostic devices to detect pathogenic diseases, especially in low-resource settings. Outside of bioengineering, Jeffrey likes to swim, hike, and sing in the car.
The Protégés:
Ashish
Ashish Samaddar is a rising bioengineering senior from the little town of Cupertino, California. He recently worked in the Steve Conolly lab where he worked on biomedical applications to the MPI imaging system, namely in labeling both immune cells and red blood cells with iron oxide nanoparticles. In addition, he runs a health coaching clinic for elderly adults in Helios Corner where he organizes the appointments between the elders and the health coaching team. He also serves as the bioengineering peer advisor for the College of Engineering. His goal is to become a physician-inventor and use knowledge of medicine, biodesign and entrepreneurship to develop new research and technologies while simultaneously treating patients. Outside of science, Ashish is a complete exercise nut and bakery connoisseur. He loves new adventures and meeting new people!
Hannah
Hannah Tang is a rising senior in bioengineering from San Diego, California. She is currently working on stem cell research under Professor Lydia Sohn here at UC Berkeley, where she focuses on using atomic force microscopy to further understand stem cell differentiation. She also volunteers at the Markstein Cancer Education and Prevention Center where she assists low-income women with getting free mammogram services. With hopes of one day becoming a pediatrician, she is excited to interact with healthcare professionals and learn more about the intersection between biodesign and medicine through the BIE program. Outside of school, she is heavily involved in her dance team (Abba Modern) and her church communities. In her free time, she enjoys creative writing, napping in her cocoon of blankets, and dancing with all her friends!
Nikki
Nikki Tjahjono is rising senior from San Ramon, California, pursuing a degree in Bioengineering. She currently works in the Gong Lab in the UC Berkeley School of Optometry, where she studies the molecular mechanisms driving lens disorders such as cataract formation. She looks forward to learning about the process of identifying clinical gaps and translating them to successful products through the BIE program. In her free time, she can be found playing viola in the ensembles at Cal, enjoying the great outdoors, and driving around the Bay Area in search of good food!
Jin
Jin Tanizaki is a junior transfer from Irvine Valley College, and recently finished his first year at UC Berkeley. Now a rising senior bioengineer concentrating in medical devices as well as working towards obtaining a minor in Mechanical Engineering, he is very interested in learning more about the mechanical aspects of device design, which led him to join the BIE program. Outside of academics, he’s also involved in the bioengineering community as the External VP of the Bioengineering Honor Society (BioEHS). To fulfill his interests outside of BioE, Jin will also be participating in the 69th Japan America Student Conference held in Japan this year as a member of the American Delegation this August after the completion of the BIE experience.
Joshua
Joshua Deng is a rising senior from Orange County in Southern California. He is majoring in bioengineering with a focus on medical devices. Previously, he worked in the Ajo-Franklin lab of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories to optimize protein purification procedures of peptide nanosheets. Joshua joined this program to learn more about the design process and apply the tools he has learned in his academic career to find solutions to real problems in health care. In his spare time, Joshua is a member of the Noteworthy a cappella group on campus and also enjoys tennis and running.
Keith
Keith Kim is a rising 4th year bioengineering major from Irvine, California. He currently works in the Garrison Lab at the Buck Institute for Research in Aging to study how differing neuropeptide levels influence healthspan and longevity in the model organism, C. elegans. He also works at the Center for Independent Living, an organization dedicated to empowering physically disabled individuals. He enjoys designing and wants to learn more about how to apply the design principles from BIE and use them to solve everyday problems in the healthcare industry. In his spare time, Keith enjoys serving at church, hanging out with friends, and playing basketball.
Irene
Irene Kim is a rising senior with a major in bioengineering and minor in music. She is currently an undergraduate researcher in the Aaron Streets Lab at UC Berkeley and studies microfabrication techniques for microfluidic devices for single-cell analysis. She is interested in medical devices and is excited to learn more about the design principles behind them during the BIE. Irene loves dabbling with graphic design and prototyping models and hopes to apply these interest to the field of bioengineering. Outside of academics, she enjoys playing viola in the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, taking photos of dogs, and drinking coffee.
For more information on the BIE program, please see our first blog post or visit the Berkeley bioengineering website.
