Hello everyone! My name is Alexa Rossi and I am a Penn State Biomedical Engineering Graduate of the class of 2017. Throughout my time at Penn State, I minored in German and was a research assistant in Dr.Carrie Jackson’s Linguistics Laboratory.  I am passionate about encouraging young girls to peruse fields in STEM and volunteered through our Science-U program that directly engages with girls to get excited about science.

While completing my engineering degree, I knew that long term I wanted to be in the healthcare industry but not in a technical engineering role. This lead me to explore multiple companies and functions through two internships and a co-op. This exploration of real-life work experience in various industries and positions provided me groundwork to understand 1. What I liked in a company and 2. A basic understanding of corporate America.  When looking at job postings and companies it was challenging for me to decipher what the role meant and if there would be enough opportunity for professional development. I realized that I could not confidently choose one job position for my first employment and decided to explore leadership development programs. This exploration process lead me to my full-time placement at Johnson & Johnson in the GOLD* program.

The GOLD program is a rotational program that is 2.5 years long (three rotations in total) and is a fantastic balance of engineering, operations, and business. We are given the opportunity to explore the different companies of Johnson & Johnson: Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, and Consumer and most importantly are given support for accelerated professional development.  I am currently working within Janssen Supply Chain as a Regional Account Management Analyst which has been a great role to understand how I can leverage my BME degree in the business world. My second rotation is in Salt Lake City, Utah where I am going to be working in a medical device manufacturing plant as a manufacturing supervisor. I am so excited to get the exposure of three roles in the same time span as a typical “first job” and to begin to figure out the direction of my career. One of my most exciting opportunities that I have been given is to continue to my work to support women and girls in STEM through helping strategically lead our WiSTEM2D Initiative. Every day I wake up eager for the day ahead of me because not only is my job rewarding but I also get to feel the impact that I have directly to our patients.  I am thankful for the problem solving and analytical skills my BME degree taught me and am looking forward for my career journey ahead.

*GOLD= Global Operations Leadership Development

**WiSTEM2D: Women in Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Manufacturing and Design

Hi everyone! My name is Cara Pearson and I am a senior majoring in Biomedical engineering in the biochemical option.  I am also in the Schreyer Honors College, where I am currently working on my senior honors thesis for determining the efficiency of embolus detection via Doppler ultrasonography.  Here at Penn State, I have worked in Dr. Keefe Manning’s Lab (Artificial Heart and Cardiovascular Fluid Dynamics) for the past 2.5 years on various projects studying thrombosis (blood clotting).

BME and academic research has been a large part of my experience here at Penn State, but in my free time I do a variety of things including: tutoring for Physics 211, Women in Engineering Program (WEP), mentor at LifeLink, Global Medical Brigades, Schreyer’s Student Council, and play IM and pickup soccer whenever possible.

In addition to my experience at Penn State, I have had two internships at Merck, a Fortune 500 Pharmaceutical Company, during the summer of 2017 and 2018.  In 2017, I worked in their Research and Development division in their Vaccine Analytical Development Department on developing an assay to quantify Host Cell Proteins in Biologics and Vaccines while also supporting research on vaccines in their pipeline such as Dengue and CMV.  In 2018, I did a complete switch and moved to Merck’s Manufacturing Division and worked on implementing proactive process monitoring systems in order to predict real-time deviations in the HPV purification process for the Gardasil Vaccine.

Before returning to school for my last year, I accepted a full-time job offer from Merck in their Science and Technology Division in their Biologics Process Development and Commercialization group which focuses on the transfer of drugs from R&D to commercialization as well as the integration of on-going clinical trials.

Originally, I did not know what major I wanted to pursue since I enjoyed science, math, and engineering.  I think BME sits at an important intersection between all of the engineer majors as well as the science disciplines and gives you a breadth of experience in engineering and a unique perspective on how to apply it to medicine. BME was the right choice for me since it allows me to approach medicine and health problems from a variety of angles while applying the critical engineering thinking I like to a topic that I am passionate about.

Hi everyone! My name is Agustey Mongia and I am a senior Schreyer Honors Scholar majoring in Biomedical Engineering. As a student, I am involved in research in the Precision Therapeutics and Bioresponsive Materials Lab with Dr. Scott Medina. Here, I study the design of novel antimicrobial peptides and discovery of synergistic combinations of peptides and clinically approved antibodies. With experiences like this research, BME allows me to explore my interest in scientific and mathematical applications to biology while developing practical solutions for problems currently present in the medical field. This served as my motivation for choosing the field as my area of study and continues to serve as my drive as I finish up my degree. Aside from BME, I love to dance as a part of Penn State’s bhangra team, Sher Bhangra, I serve on the executive board of Penn State’s elite intercollegiate Bollywood-Fusion dance competition, Infusion, and can always be seen rooting for Penn State football on Saturdays.

Hi! I’m Sailahari Ponnaluri and I am a third year PhD student in the Department of Bioengineering in the Artificial Heart Lab with Dr. Keefe Manning. I study the fluid mechanics of accelerated wear testers and transcatheter/bioprosthetic heart valves. Outside of lab, I am the President of the graduate section of the Biomedical Engineering Society and the Assembly Speaker of the Graduate and Professional Student Association. Choosing to study Biomedical Engineering was one of the best decisions I have ever made. BME allowed me the opportunity to apply math, science and engineering, which were all subjects I enjoyed, to medicine. I love that BME lets me work with researchers, clinicians, and industry to help patients with cutting edge technology. It is an incredibly rewarding experience to see the potential your research can have on real patients.