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Katherine Anne S

- Research Program Mentor

PhD at Columbia University

Expertise

Orthopedic Devices, Tissue Engineering, Morphogenics, Biomechanics, Mechanobiology, Finite Element Analysis, Medical History

Bio

Recently received my PhD in Vioengineering from Columbia University where I worked in the Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Lab, studying how the structure of articular cartilage makes it such an effective load bearing and friction reducing tissue, and working towards creating clinical solutions for the treatment of osteoarthritis. I have prior experience researching lipid mediated inflammatory signaling in the eye in the Gronert Lab and the mechanics of intervertebral disk degeneration in the O'Connell Lab at UC Berkeley. Aside from my applied research, I have a deep interest in medical history, and completed a history minor in undergrad with a focus on the history of biology as a field of study. Outside of the lab, I enjoy birding, climbing, and most power tools.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

How Biology Became Itself

The history of biology is fraught with scandal, infighting, and big personalities. In this project you will examine how spheres of influence shape what we know, and how it is shared by analyzing the transition between natural history and biology. In this project you will learn about the center-periphery model for the generation of scientific knowledge and various scientific societies shaped our ideas of what species are and how they change over time and explore who gains and who loses out through the structure of scientific research.

Design Your Device

Go through the engineering design process to identify a need and work to generate a potential solution. Learn in an applied way the steps a medical device must go through before it comes to market, and work to develop an idea that you think might be currently unmet.

Building Bodies

Tissue engineering is a huge topic of interest in the field of biomedical engineering, but so far we have not been able to transfer the technology from lab to clinic. In this project you will select a tissue of interest, examine the relevant tissue engineering literature, and try to identify what next steps might be in developing better tissue constructs and look to the morphogenesis of the tissue for possible avenues of advancement.

Coding skills

MatLab, ImageJ, Slicer3D, R

Teaching experience

TA for senior biomedical design course Spring 2021, and supported teams through medical device conceptualization, design, and production. I have also been a mentor in the biodesign immersion experience at UC Berkeley helping incoming seniors conduct needs finding rotations at SF Bay area clinics and overviewing the engineering design process.

Credentials

Education

University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
BS Bachelor of Science (2017)
Bioengineering
Columbia University
MS Master of Science
Biomedical Engineering
Columbia University
PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Biomedical Engineering

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