THE DOCTOR IS IN: UH ENGINEERING STUDENTS
FIND MEDICAL MENTORS
Summer Internships Explore Hands-on Research at The Methodist Hospital
HOUSTON, Aug. 12, 2005 – In a joint effort with The Methodist
Hospital (TMH) in the Texas Medical Center, University of Houston
biomedical engineering students have been gaining exposure to career
possibilities in the medical field.
Initiated by Dr. Mike Lieberman, director of The Methodist Hospital
Research Institute, this program provides summer internships for
students in biomedical engineering, each of whom is assigned a mentor
and given a $5,000 stipend. In its inaugural year, the program allows
the interns to take a participatory role in their mentors’
research, covering topics such as hematopathology that deals with
blood diseases, neurointerventional radiology that is dedicated
to central nervous system vascular diseases and endovascular radiology
that looks at arteries and veins from the inside.
This summer, interns will be working in the labs of pathologists,
neurologists, radiologists, cardiologists and neurosurgeons. Of
the program’s eight participants, five are UH undergraduate
students – David Wallace-Bradley, Eugene Chaung, Nilou Ebrahimi,
David Panthagani and Alina Raza.
“I have always been interested in medicine, but endovascular
radiology was something I hadn’t been exposed to,” Ebrahimi
said. “The best part of this is becoming familiar with the
different fields of biomedical engineering. All of us who are interns
see now that there are so many different fields we can go into and
still use our engineering knowledge to solve problems.”
Additionally, what students are learning in their respective labs
at TMH can be directly applied in a classroom setting. Matthew Franchek,
a mechanical engineering professor and director of UH’s biomedical
engineering program, likens the complementary learning to being
enrolled in two universities.
“In our biomedical engineering program, the goal is a student-centered
experience, and this is what we’re doing,” Franchek
said. “At UH, students are learning the engineering sciences,
life sciences and mathematics. Methodist is pulling it together
in context and teaching them medical science.”
While research is the main focus of these internships, the students
also improve their communication skills through developing presentations,
abstracts and posters. Dr. Patricia Chévez-Barrios, director
of the ophthalmic pathology program at TMH, organizes weekly lectures
for the students that detail the origins of the mentors’ projects
and how each researcher is dissecting his or her problem. The mentors
give the first lectures, but the students conduct the final portion
of the sessions, explaining their objectives and detailing the work
they’ve accomplished.
“Another advantage of the program is the students’
experience in a professional setting,” said Veronique Tran,
UH assistant professor of biomedical and chemical engineering. “Being
on location at Methodist gives the students the opportunity to network,
meet physicians, researchers and scientists, and to directly observe
where their research is applied. Our goal is to eventually engage
every UH biomedical engineering undergraduate student in research
or other ‘real world’ experience, such as summer industry
internships.”
Observing the application of their research assists students with
what Franchek calls “just in time” learning. The students
learn theory during the academic year, and the application of their
studies in this summer internship reinforces what they’ve
learned, better preparing them for the upcoming school year.
“At the end of the day, we are producing students who are
second to none,” Franchek said. “We are helping to create
students who are capable and unique, and we’re extremely proud
of this program. We are creating the next generation of scientists
and engineers and physicians, and it’s a labor of love. This
is a cross-disciplinary experience and an interdisciplinary education
where students are the clear winner, and because the students win,
society does, too.”
The University of Houston System and The Methodist Hospital recently
signed a 30-year partnership agreement to expand health science
and medical education programs, as well as enhance health care for
the community. The affiliation between the two institutions allows
them to share resources, educational opportunities and participate
jointly in research efforts and technology transfer. Since the strong
ties between mathematical and physical science and academic medicine
are vitally important, such collaboration is a key to the translation
of biomedical science into new therapies and prevention strategies
for patients.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research
and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university
in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
About the Cullen College of Engineering
UH Cullen College of Engineering has produced five U.S. astronauts,
ten members of the National Academy of Engineering, and degree programs
that have ranked in the top ten nationally. With more than 2,600
students, the college offers accredited undergraduate and graduate
degrees in biomedical, chemical, civil and environmental, electrical
and computer, industrial, and mechanical engineering. It also offers
specialized programs in aerospace, materials, petroleum engineering
and telecommunications.
About The Methodist Hospital
The Methodist Hospital is one of the nation’s largest private,
non-profit hospitals with 935 operating beds. The Methodist Hospital
is affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian
Hospital. Dedicated to providing the highest level of patient care,
Methodist is the site of numerous medical breakthroughs, such as
the world’s first multiple-organ transplant in the 1960s,
gene therapy for prostate cancer, and the first islet cell transplants
in Texas. The hospital is named among the country’s top hospitals
for heart and heart surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, urology,
otolaryngology, ophthalmology, gynecology, psychiatry, orthopedics,
and nephrology in U.S. News and World Report’s annual guide
to America’s Best Hospitals. Methodist was recently named
one of Solucient’s top 15 major teaching hospitals. Methodist’s
medical staff includes hundreds of physicians listed in The Best
Doctors in America.
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