October 17, 2024

The co-op program was a big reason Stephanie Bieder chose Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions for her undergraduate degree.

Bieder hoped that going to school and working in a city like Philadelphia would allow her to apply what she was learning in the classroom to helping people in medically underserved communities.

“I actually came into Drexel as a nursing student and switched to health sciences,” she said. “I realized I was really drawn to how the health sciences degree introduced us to a deeper aspect of these sciences that have an effect, day to day, on our bodies and on the population.”

To her surprise, it was a research project that tied everything together for Bieder—her academic curriculum, her work and where she did her co-op program.

For the past five years, along with being a full-time student, Bieder worked as an emergency medical technician (EMT). As an EMT, she frequently encountered people who were living with chronic kidney disease and other conditions.

When presented with an opportunity to take on a research project at Drexel that was focused on chronic kidney disease, Bieder jumped at the chance.

“I love when it all connects,” she said.

Bieder explained that it’s one thing to study a subject, but delving into the research is what took her educational experience to a higher level.

“It was really cool to make so much of my learning applicable to things like pharmacology, which medications these patients take and the impact of these treatments on other aspects of their physiology,” she said.

Bieder was taking a research test trial class during the 2023 summer term taught by Michael Bruneau, Jr., PhD. It was there that she learned of a research project that explored the effects of aerobic exercise on blood pressure in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Bieder had already completed a required introductory course in research methods. Now she would get to apply those techniques to this specific project, working independently under the guidance of Bruneau.

Bieder’s project was a continuation of studies conducted by previous Drexel undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers at the Mid-Atlantic chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Bruneau is a past president and continued to be involved with the organization.

“When I was looking for a co-op in the fall, I decided I wanted to keep working on that research and further it along,” Bieder said.

So in the fall session of her senior year, Bieder continued her research under the mentorship of Bruneau, this time as a co-op student in the Health Sciences Department’s Clinical Exercise Physiology Laboratory.

Bieder dove into the research, a meta-analysis of data from 26,000 studies around blood pressure and chronic kidney disease. She honed her research skills, working with Drexel librarians to collect and comb through studies from a number of databases and with Bruneau to perform calculations on the statistics they found.

“About six months after I started the research, we found that patients with chronic kidney disease did see a reduction of their systolic and diastolic blood pressure with aerobic exercise,” Bieder said.

Bieder later had the honor of presenting a poster of her research project at a conference for the Mid-Atlantic chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine.

“It was amazing being able to talk about my research and exciting to share my findings,” she said.

The project was also entered for consideration in the chapter’s Undergraduate Research Award.

Bieder graduated in June with a degree in health sciences and a minor in science, technology and society.

She appreciated making deeper connections between what she learned in the classroom and the impact of physiology, science and research on people’s health.

Bieder’s hands-on research training gave her a better understanding of how to conduct her own studies, as well as how to analyze studies done by others and use that information to provide improved care.

She enjoyed doing research so much, she accepted a position conducting drug trials for a company in her hometown of Westchester, NY, starting this fall.

Bieder’s future plans include enrolling in graduate school to become a physician assistant, building on the foundation Drexel has provided.

“My education has given me such a deep and thorough understanding that how a patient is doing goes beyond what’s on the surface,” she said. “I want to treat my patients, not just their symptoms.”