1. Why did you decide to become a Biomedical Engineer?
I never really wanted to become an engineer growing up. I really wanted to become a doctor, but the situation was complicated and I couldn’t get into the upper division. Basically, both my professors at the time had very heavy accents so I knew I was never going to make it. R: This is interesting because even if something doesn't work out in your original intentions, there are many different pathways to go into. It's encouraging to know that I shouldn't be so focused on one career that I ignore all other possibilities. 2. Explain the kind of education you went through to become a biomedical engineer. I was a refugee from Vietnam and ended up staying in a refugee camp at the age of 14. I got adopted by an American family where I grew up and went to school. I was a very high achieving student. I would participate in things like debate club and Model UN. There was a man at a competition that I was participating in that took people to Canada during the Vietnam War so they wouldn’t have to get shipped out, so I eventually got in contact with him. We became close friends and he helped me get in Damon College, since he was a professor there. After I quit taking up pre-med classes, I got certified in Mathematics and Technology Basics. I then continued on the path by taking Industrial engineering courses, when I got offered 3 job placements. I took a job in Buffalo, NY where I really expanded my learning capacity. I learned about medical devices, packaging, and management. I went back to school to get my mechanical engineering degree from Rochester University. Now I have a job here working on projects, I’m a consult where I get paid to work on projects for other companies, and I own my own business. R: This is a really encouraging and inspirational story. It shows that getting high grades isn't always the most important thing - it's more about motivation and a hunger for education. This education pathway is not what I expected. It's interesting to note that instead of having a biomedical engineer, he has a degree in mechanical engineering. I never realized that engineering is really just a huge sector of everything combined. 3. As an engineer, do you feel like you have the ability to be creative and analytical in the workplace? Definitely. Every project requires an initial creative idea to get started, but of course you have to be able to analyze and evaluate the results after experimenting. R: I think being able to express creativity was something that was an initial setback for me because I always thought that engineering was just math, but hearing this was encouraging. It's important to realize no project can get started without a initial innovative idea. 4. What are some different types of biomedical engineers? I know multiple people who have biomedical engineering degrees, but do different things. You can be working in tissue repair, medical devices, biomaterials, biomechanics and more. One engineer can be working in the lab, while another is recreating the system from the research. R: When I toured Immucore, I realized that biomedical engineering is a lot more than just medical devices. You can end up working in many different sectors that might surprise you. Research is something that has become high profile over the past couple of years. 5. Is there any biomedical projects you’ve been working on currently? Several! Right now, I’m working on a system to inject bone material for bone repair and reconstruction. I also have be working on growing human hair on hairless rats by injecting them with human skin cells. R: This was very interesting! There's a lot that can be done with biomaterials and the fact machines can be created to help with bone repair is really fascinating. The idea of creating human hair on hairless rats is amazing considering the many things that can be created with human skin cells. 6. How can we replicate the environmental effects? We won’t be subjecting them to environmental effects and then waiting several months for it to take effect. There are labs, like Wuxi Apptec, that take the material and put them in machines set to temperatures of extreme cold, extreme hot, and tropical conditions. This process only takes about a week. R: It becomes a lot more productive and efficient when this process can be sped up. The actual experimentation part can start quicker, so that there is more time to evaluate the results. 7. Can you explain how the Tyveck material protects the product through transportation? Tyveck material is high-density polyethylene fibers, which really just means it is a very strong material. It is difficult to cut open, which is good during transportation. R: The ECM material can be transported all over the world, so ultimately is has to keep its form throughout all conditions. The Tyveck material, being that is it made up of high-density fibers, can serve as an ideal protective covering. 8. Do you know of any other products made with extracellular matrix tissue? ECM has a variety of functions. They can be used for abdominal wall reconstruction, plastic surgery, suture reinforcement, pelvic floor reconstruction. R: Being that the ECM material is made up of collagen, it seems that the material would serve many purposes because it's a tough substance. Human skin cells can attach to the ECM material. 9. What is the process of extracting the ECM material? We get the ECM material from pig intestines. The pig has to be fed a certain kind of food and it needs to be a certain weight before it can be sacrificed. Then the intestines are removed and cut into very thin sheets. These sheets are cleaned off with water and dehydrated with a machine that basically pulls the water out of the material. The sheets are then sterilized and ready to be used. R: There's definitely a certain protocol that needs to be followed precisely so that the ECM material can be fully functional for use. Everything needs to be documented, dated, and signed off. 10. What is the importance of testing the tensile strength of the ECM material? The tensile strength of the material is quite important to the proper functioning of the material. It needs to withstand a certain amount of pressure to be able to work properly. These components must be verified before use, otherwise you risk the possibility of complications. R: Tensile strength is a way of determining if a material is fully functional. It is going to be important to compare the tensile strength of ECM in ambient temperatures and ECM from environmental conditioning.
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Divya B.High School Intern at a biomedical engineering company called Aziyo Biologics Archives
May 2018
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