At the 2019 Annual Northeast Bioengineering Conference (NEBEC), held at Rutgers University on March 20-22, BME PhD student, Bryan Choate, won the 2nd Place Graduate Poster Award for his research with Professor Karen Troy on developing methods to validate a subject-specific magnetic resonance based finite element model to predict strain in the femur. Bryan enjoyed explaining his work on developing a safe technique for estimating bone strength in adolescents and ultimately contributing to research on osteoporosis prevention.

Professor Barabino is a noted investigator in the areas of sickle cell disease, cellular and tissue engineering, and race/ethnicity and gender in science and engineering. She has been a recipient of a multitude of awards and recently became a member of the congressionally mandated Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering in May of 2018. Dr. Barabino consults nationally and internationally on STEM education and research, diversity in higher education, policy, workforce development and faculty development. She is the founder and Executive Director of the National Institute for Faculty Equity.

The Prof. Robert A. Peura Founder Scholarship in Biomedical Engineering provides recognition and reward to a junior or senior, majoring in BME at WPI, who, among other accomplishments, has achieved truly outstanding academic credentials. This year’s recipients are Sarah Boermeester ’21 and Jessica Brewster ’20. The BME Department thanks the Potvin and Peura Families for their generosity to endow these scholarships. 

Everyone has a favorite organ, says Jenna Balestrini ’09, PhD BME. Her mother, a nurse practitioner who treated burn patients, had a special interest in the skin. Her WPI mentor, Professor Kristen Billiar, is partial to the heart.

“I am definitely a lung person,” Balestrini declares. Despite her preference, she doesn’t play favorites in her work at Draper, where she heads the Cell Bioprocessing program, working on tools to create an amazing array of cures for all parts of the body.