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Sandra Urdaneta-Hartmann

Sandra Urdaneta-Hartmann, MD, PhD, MBA

Associate Professor


Department: Microbiology & Immunology

Education

  • MD - Universidad del Zulia (1998)
  • PhD - Pennsylvania State University (2004)
  • MBA - Drexel University (2009)

Awards & Honors

Teaching

Best Professor, Career-Oriented Programs, presented by Drexel's Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2018

Outstanding Online Faculty Award presented by Drexel University Online on National Distance Learning Week, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2014

e-Learning Technologies

International E-Learning Association (IELA) Honorable Mention, E-Learning Academic Division: "From a brick and mortar classroom to online biomedical science graduate curriculum: The odyssey of MIIM 541S Bacteria and Bacterial Infections" (2016)
    Team Representative: Dr. Sandra Urdaneta-Hartmann
    Course Instructors: Drs. Elise Mosser and Mariana Bernui
    Course Instructional Designers: Krys Adkins and Frances Sun

Bronze medal in the 2018 International Serious Play Awards for CD4 Hunter™, sponsored by the Serious Play Conference

Entrepreneurship

Building Bridges Fellow, young female entrepreneur award sponsored by Women Inventing Next (WIN), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2009

Semifinalist, Wake Forest University Elevator Pitch Competition, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 2008

Elevator Pitch Award, McGinnis Business Plan Competition, Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2008

Fourth Place Winner, Purdue University, Life Sciences Business Plan Competition, West Lafayette, Indiana, 2008

Finalist, 9th Annual “The Big $35,000 Idea” Business Plan Contest. Venture Investment Forum/Ben Franklin Technology Partners (Central and Northern Pennsylvania), State College, Pennsylvania, 2007

First Place Winner, Business Plan Competition, Drexel University LeBow College of Business, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2007

Science

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Lecture Series on Women in Science and Engineering, presented at the LIII Annual Meeting of the Venezuelan Association for the Advancement of Science (ASOVAC) in Maracaibo, Venezuela, November 25-29, 2003

Postgraduate Training / Additional Certifications

Postdoctoral Training

Ruth L. Kirchstein Postdoctoral National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellow, Pennsylvania State University, College of Medicine. Hershey, Pa., 2001 – 2004
Type of Training: Preclinical R&D of microbicides for the prevention of transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) through breastfeeding.
Advisor:  Mary K. Howett, PhD

Dr. Sandra Urdaneta-Hartmann is an associate professor of microbiology and immunology, and the founding director of the Institute for Molecular Medicine & Infectious Disease's Center for Business and Online Development, established in 2012. She is also the director of the interdisciplinary MS in Biomedicine programs offered by the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies.

Dr. Urdaneta-Hartmann received an MD from the University of Zulia, in her native Venezuela (1998), a PhD in microbiology and immunology from Penn State University (2004) and an MBA from Drexel’s LeBow College of Business with a concentration in entrepreneurship (2009)

Academics

Dr. Urdaneta-Hartmann came to Drexel University in 2004, as a scientist researching antimicrobial compounds that inactivate HIV in breast milk. Since then, she has transitioned from being a full-time biomedical research scientist to a career centered in full-time science education and administration with innovation in biomedical education as her goal. Currently, her research is focused on digital game-based learning (GBL). She has recently presented her research in GBL for infectious disease education in undergraduate and graduate programs at the following national and international conferences:

  • The CUNY Games Conference 4.0 (New York, NY Jan 2018)
  • Serious Games Conference (Buffalo, NY. July 2018)

Dr. Urdaneta-Hartmann led the team that developed the award-winning mobile game, CD4 Hunter™, based on how HIV infect T cells.

Dr. Urdaneta-Hartmann is or has been involved in various aspects of educational programs, from program and course designer to instructor of face-to-face, online and hybrid courses in the following topics:

  • Technology development and commercialization
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Biomedical science careers
  • Digital game-based learning of science
  • Introductory concepts in cell and molecular biology
  • Biomedical ethics
  • HIV and general virology
  • Immunology
  • Parasitology

She has a keen interest in mentoring students and in training scientist with interdisciplinary skills on high demand in the evolving job market. To this end, she developed and is director of a series of interdisciplinary MS Programs in Biomedicine in collaboration with other Drexel schools and colleges:

Feel free to email Dr. Urdaneta-Hartmann any questions about the MS in Biomedicine Link to programs.

Dr. Urdaneta-Hartmann has served as a member of the Advisory Council for the College of Science at Notre Dame since 2012.

Research Interests

Game-based learning and other emerging learning technologies in higher education; industry trends and market analysis within biomedical higher education

Research

Early in her career, the NIH and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded Dr. Urdaneta-Hartmann’s research of antiviral compounds that inactivate HIV in breast milk to prevent mother-to-child-transmission of this virus. The process of constructing and implementing online and hybrid curricula within the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies has provided her a renewed view of ways to teach science. As a result, Dr. Urdaneta-Hartmann’s current research and scholarly interests include game-based learning and other emerging learning technologies in higher education, in particular within the life sciences, as well as industry trends and market analysis within biomedical higher education.

In the Media

Publications

Full-Length Papers

"The current climate for digital game-based learning in higher science education"
C.L. Brown, M.A. Comunale, B. Wigdahl, and S. Urdaneta-Hartmann
FEMS Microbiology Letters, Volume 365, Issue 21, November 2018

“Digital Gaming, the HIV Replication Cycle and Biomedical Graduate Education”
C. Brown, A. Foster, B. Wigdahl, and S. Urdaneta-Hartmann
Proceedings 2016 European Game Based Learning Conference (e-book, open access), pp. 75-81. E-book ISSN: 2049-100X

“The State of Sexual Health Education in U.S. Medicine”
*S. Criniti, M. Andelloux, M. B. Woodland, O. C. Montgomery and S. Urdaneta Hartmann
Am J Sex Ed.; 9(1):65-80, DOI:10.1080/15546128.2013.854007, March 13, 2014

“A nipple shield delivery system for oral drug delivery to breastfeeding infants: Microbicide delivery to inactivate HIV”
*S.E. Gerrard, M.L. Baniecki, D.C. Sokal, M.K. Morris, S. Urdaneta-Hartmann, F.C. Krebs, B. Wigdahl, B.F. Abrams, C.V. Hanson, N.K. Slater, and A.D. Edwards
Int J Pharm.; 434(1-2):224-34, (Epub May 24, 2012) PMID: 22634141, Sep 15, 2012

“The 2010 Annual Sex and Gender Research Forum at Drexel University and Drexel University College of Medicine: an institute for women's health and leadership initiative. Introduction”
O. Montgomery, M. Follen, and S. Urdaneta-Hartmann
Gend Med.; 9(1 Suppl):S1-6. No abstract available, Feb 2012, PMID: 22340637
Erratum in: Gend Med.; 9(2):137, Apr 2012

"Knowledge and attitudes among women and healthcare providers about HIV transmission and breastfeeding" (Abstract No. P63)
*R. Rasal, N. T. Nguyen, S. L.Welles, G. Alleyne, L. Coleman, E. Aaron, M.Follen and S. Urdaneta Hartmann
Journal of Women’s Health, 20(3):477-478, 2011

"Biochemical Analysis of Breast Milk treated with Alkyl Sulfate Microbicides to Inactivate HIV-1"
Urdaneta Hartmann S., Wigdahl B., Neely E. B., Berlin C. M., Schengrund C.L., Lin H. M., and M K. Howett
J. Hum. Lact., 22(1): 61-74, PMID: 16467288, 2006

"Alternative Modified Infant Feeding Practices to Prevent Postnatal Transmission of HIV-1 Through Human Milk: Past, Present and Future"
Urdaneta Hartmann S., Berlin C. M., and M. K. Howett
J. Hum. Lact., 22(1): 75-88, PMID: 16467289, 2006

"Inactivation of HIV-1 in breast milk by treatment with the alkyl sulfate microbicide sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)"
Urdaneta S., Wigdahl B., Neely E. B., Berlin C. M., Schengrund C. L., Lin H. M., and M. K. Howett
Retrovirology, 2: 28, PMID: 15888210, 2005

"Alkyl Sulfate Microbicidal activity in a Commonly Used Vaginal Preparation"
M.K. Howett, E. Neely, M. Ward, S. Urdaneta, and L. Fang
XV International AIDS Conference, Monduzzi Editore. Bologna, Italy. pp. 91-94, 2004

Digital Media (Mobile Games, Apps, Animations, etc.)

CD4 Hunter™ Trailer, published on Drexel University College of Medicine’s YouTube channel (May 25, 2017): promotional trailer for CD4 Hunter, the mini-game.
Role on Project: Director/Manager/Subject Matter Expert
Trailer Development Team: Carla Brown, PhD (game designer), Vincent Mills (coder and artist), and Andrew Bishop (artist and animator). 
Publisher: Drexel University College of Medicine

CD4 Hunter™ for iOS and Android devices, available on the iTunes and Google Play app stores (June 1, 2017): an educational mobile mini-game to teach how HIV infects CD4+ T cells
Role on Project: Director/Manager/Subject Matter Expert
Game Development Team: Carla Brown, PhD (game designer), Vincent Mills (coder and artist), and Andrew Bishop (artist and animator)
Publisher: Drexel University

Malaria Invasion™ animation clip (September 2017): a 36-sec animation of the process by which Plasmodium falciparum merozoites invade red blood cells
Role on Project: Director/Manager
Animation Development Team: Carla Brown, PhD (designer) and Andrew Bishop (artist and animator)
Publisher: Drexel University College of Medicine

Malaria Invasion™ for iOS and Android devices (work in progress): an educational mobile mini-game to teach Plasmodium falciparum merozoites invade red blood cells
Role on Project: Director/Manager
Game Development Team: Mary Ann Comunale, EdD, MS (game designer), John Harvey (game designer, coder and artist), and Andrew Bishop (artist and animator)

Chapters in Books

"Efforts to Prevent Mother-to-child Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type I Through Breast milk:  Past, Present and Future"
S. Urdaneta, C.M. Berlin and M.K. Howett
In L.K. Pickering, A.L. Morrow, R.J. Schanler and G.M. Ruíz-Palacios (Editors).  Protecting Infants Through Human Milk:  Advancing the Scientific Evidence Base. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology Series. Vol 554, pp. 475-480.  Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.  New York, NY. PMID: 15384628, (2004