September 13, 2012

Biomedical Engineering students Claudia Gutierrez (BS/MS ’15) and Tony Yu (BS/MS ’14) received the prestigious Whitaker International Undergraduate Scholarship to conduct research in Switzerland and China respectively.

Claudia will be working as a research assistant in the Laboratory of Lymphatic and Cancer Bioengineering under Dr. Melody Swartz at the internationally recognized École Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne. It was during her coop at the medical device company Rex Medical that Claudia first experienced the importance of international and cross-cultural communication in research: She traveled to Argentina and Chile with a team of physicians and engineers, and being fluent in Spanish was able to translate between Rex Medical and interventional neuro-radiologists during pre-clinical trials of a novel device.

Claudia participated in the STAR (Students Tackling Advanced Research) Program at Drexel’s Vascular Kinetics Laboratory (PI: Dr. Alisa Morss Clyne) and plans to pursue an MD/PhD with the PhD in Biomedical Engineering after graduating from Drexel.

Tony will be conducting part of his Master’s research in the Shanghai Key Tissue Engineering Laboratory at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) under the mentorship of Drs. Yilin Cao and Wei Liu. SJTU is a Drexel partner, and Tony is the third Drexel student who will be going to this lab. His Master’s research focuses on the creation of a biocompatible scaffold that will promote angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels within the body. He is conducting the first half of his Master’s research at Drexel’s Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at Drexel (PI: Dr. Kara Spiller) and plans to leave for China in the spring.

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The Whitaker International Program sends U.S. biomedical engineering (or bioengineering) students and graduates overseas to undertake a self-designed project that will enhance their careers within the field.  Along with supporting grant projects in an academic setting, the Whitaker International Program encourages grantees to engage in policy work and propose projects in an industry setting.

For more information please visit the Whitaker website or contact Cindy Schaarschmidt, Asst. Director of the Drexel Fellowships Office.