2009 Aug Vol. 07 No. 1

MAY 2009 Alpha Eta Mu Beta Vol. 7 No.1 NATIONAL BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING HONOR SOCIETY 2008-2010 National Officers National President MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Brent L. Vernon, Ph.D, PE. Arizona State University [email protected] It is with great pride that I address you. I’d like to express my thanks to the AEMB membership for electing me as your Executive Director president. I am excited about starting my presidency and working Patricia I. Horner to build on the success that the organization has made during the [email protected] presidency of Dr. Teresa Murray and Dr. Herbert Voigt. I am National Student President especially appreciative of our past‐presidents who I have worked closely with over the past years. Melodie Benford, BS Texas A&M University Alpha Eta Mu Beta was founded by Dr. Daniel Reneau in 1979 [email protected] at my alma mater, Louisiana Tech University. As one of the newest National Student Vice President engineering disciplines and honor societies, we are still defining Dominic E. Nathan, MS the vision and goals of the Society. Thank you for riding the ups Marquette University and downs with us. I will focus my presidency upon the following areas: [email protected] - National Student Treasurer Foster ethical and social responsibility of future biomedical engineers concerning product development, translational Shawn P. Carey,BS research, and public policy. Worcester Polytechnic Inst. - [email protected] Increase communication among the chapters. - Promote education and diversity of the next generation of National Student Secretary biomedical engineers, providing guidance for their career Priti Das, BS path, and affecting leadership in AEMB. [email protected] To address the goals, we will host top‐quality ethics sessions at the frontiers of biomedical engineering and bioengineering. National Advisory Board Each year, the participants are amazed at the diversity of opinion Jerry C. Collins, PhD and ethical dilemmas raised. Further, many of the issues raised Vanderbilt University have yet been introduced into public policy; therefore the session Eric J. Guilbeau, PhD also serves to impress upon biomedical engineers the importance Louisiana Tech for us to participate in the debate of how our research impacts Paul N. Hale, Jr, PhD health and disease treatment and public policy. Louisiana Tech Since membership and communication among the chapter is Dean C. Jeutter, PhD a key priority, AEMB realizes that we need to be more responsive Marquette University to our members. Thus, we are examining ways to keep our Teresa Murray, Phd members informed via the newsletter and our updated and Yale University revamped website. We are also developing an Awards Committee to recognize outstanding individuals and chapters, outlined later in Stan A. Napper, PhD the newsletter. Louisiana Tech I am also delighted to be working with the new executive Herbert F. Voigt, PhD board: Dominic Nathan, serving as the Vice‐President, Shawn Boston University Carey as the Treasurer, Priti Das, who is our current Secretary, and Alpha Eta Mu Beta Pat Horner, the executive director of AEMB. They have all been P.O. Box 268 imperative to the success of the organization. Bowie, MD 20719-0268 301-262-1199 Melodie E. Benford www.ahmb.org National Student President 2008 ‐ 2010 AEMB NATIONAL NEWSLETTER Volume 7, Issue 1 Page 1 UNDERGRAD BiographyAA DVISOR FFOCUS STUDENT FOCUS STUDENT FOCUS Name : Brent L. Vernon Position : Associate Professor of Name : Shawn P. Carey Bioengineering, School : Worchester Polytechnic Harrington Department of Institute Bioengineering, Degree : BS Biomedical Engineering Arizona State University Biology Minor Education : BSE Biomedical Engineering Material Sciences Minor Arizona State University PhD in Bioengineering - Utah hawn’s involvement in Alpha Eta Mu Beta began in the State University S spring of his junior year when he was inducted as a Postdoctoral Training in charter member of the Worcester Polytechnic Biomaterials at the University of Institute (WPI) chapter of AEMB. Since then he has Zurich, Switzerland played an active role on campus, serving as president of both BMES and AEMB (2008 - 2009) at WPI. In the fall of 2008, Shawn attended the 2008 National BMES Dr. Brent Vernon currently serves as the director of the Conference in St. Louis to represent his school. There Center for Interventional Biomaterials at Arizona State he was elected National AEMB Treasurer. University. The primary research theme of his lab is the The WPI chapter of AEMB is still in its infancy, development of injectable, in situ gelling biomaterials for having gained their charter in 2008, however through drug delivery and for tissue reconstruction. This work Shawn’s leadership and the support of his executive covers aspects from polymer synthesis, polymer board the chapter has continued to expand in their characterization, bench top testing, and extensive in vivo involvement around campus and in the Worcester experiments. community. Members of AEMB were offered the In the classroom, Dr Vernon teaches courses that are opportunity to tutor Worcester-area junior and senior relevant to his research areas of interest, topics in which high school students in math and the sciences as well as he is holds dear to his heart. In particular, he teaches a participate in after-school activities such as the Sophomore level Conservations Principle course, a Junior Microgravity Club. In this capacity, they were able to level Biomaterials course, and a Graduate level Polymeric help students learn, encourage excellence in math and Drug Delivery course. science, and promote the field of engineering. Together Apart from the arena of research and teaching, Shawn and the AEMB chapter have carved out plans for Dr. Vernon has also played an instrumental role in the field the future in which AEMB at WPI will include an on-site of Graduate studies at Arizona State University by serving tutoring program that would benefit BME under as the Director of the Bioengineering Graduate Program, classmen, immersion in community service, collaboration for the last 3 years. He is an active mentor and great role with other honor societies on campus, and more model for bioengineering graduate and undergraduate significant involvement around the WPI campus. students in their academic journeys on campus. In his own words, Shawn says that “My experience Dr. Vernon’s involvement in AEMB began in the early with AEMB has shown me that by becoming involved and 1990s when he was inducted into AEMB, the very first enthusiastic members of Alpha Eta Mu Beta, we will be year that the society had a chapter at Arizona State able to continue to work with our schools, our University. His zeal and enthusiasm for the society did not communities, and industry professionals in an effort to end there and in October 2008, he was bestowed with the spread awareness of our organization and its members, privilege of serving as the National President of the our mission, and the field of Biomedical Engineering”. Society. Shawn will be pursuing something that he is passionate about, a PhD in biomedical engineering at Cornell University in the fall of 2009. AEMB NATIONAL NEWSLETTER Volume 7, Issue 1 Page 2 ALUMNI FOCUS GRAD STUD ENT FOCUS A F Name : Melodie Benford Name : Priti Das School : Texas A&M Employer : The Dial Corporation Degree : PhD Biomedical Engineering A Henkel Company Research : Optical Biosensors Education : BSE Biomedical Engineering Focus Arizona State University Melodie Benford is a graduate student at Texas A&M University under the guidance of Dr. Gerard Coté at the Priti Das graduated from Miami High School from Optical Bio-Sensing Laboratory. Melodie’s research is Globe/Miami, Arizona and was awarded the Arizona State focused on developing biosensors based on surface University’s Provost Scholarship. At ASU, Priti pursued a enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) where she develops degree in Biomedical Engineering, an area in which she is suitable substrates and assays to create biosensors by passionate about. Through the years, Priti has played a detecting the Raman signature of the target molecule. prominent role on the ASU campus. She served as a Currently, her research projects are investigating sensors Fulton School Ambassador of the Ira A. Fulton School of to detect indicators of cardiac disease to aid in diagnosis Engineering and was a founding member of the Arizona and prognosis of a patient in addition to another project in INROADS Association in which she held the position of which her biosensor knowledge is being applied toward President in 2006. It was through this program that Priti Alzheimer’s disease by detecting β-amyloid. was able to obtain her very first internship position Apart form the world of research, Melodie is passionate working as a Research & Development Intern for The Dial about reading, writing, and creative endeavors, and has Corporation for summers of 2005 and 2006. In the done very well in the technical fields. She enjoys working summer of 2006, she was presented the INROADS with people and taking on new tasks. As a result, it is no Intern of the Year award. Priti’s internship experience wonder that she was strongly drawn to biomedical did not just stop at The Dial Corp, and she has also engineering, a new field that has yet to take on its final interned at companies such as Bard Peripheral form. In her reflections Melodie states that when people Vascular/Bard Biopsy Systems and BME Career Alliance. ask “What is biomedical engineering,” so many ideas and In the AEMB front, Priti served as the President of the concepts come to mind it can be overwhelming. Arizona State University Chapter and on the national When Melodie was first invited to join Alpha Eta Mu level, Priti was unanimously re-elected a the AEMB Beta, she was intrigued to learn that as one of the newest secretary for the 2008 term.

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