Engineering World Health

   In May 2011, I started a UCSD chapter of Engineering World Health with two other Bioengineering undergraduates with the goals of exposing undergraduates to medical technology and global health through hands-on design projects. During my third and fourth year at UCSD I led a total of 4 project teams to develop cost-effective lab equipment for HIV clinics in resource-limited settings. As the lead manager of the EWH project teams, I taught project management and design thinking skills, coordinated fundraising for our projects, and managed our design lab space and equipment.

Design Project

• HIV medication prevents the retrovirus from replicating, but the virus may mutate over time and gain drug resistance
• Anti-retroviral therapy stops working for 10% of HIV patients each year
  
• Early detection of drug resistance is critical to prolonging life expectancy and preserving efficacy of 1st line HIV medication
• Collaboration with the UCSD Center of AIDS Research
  
• Develop Cost-Effective Lab equipment to detect early onset drug resistant forms of HIV
• Collaborating with Eduardo Mondlane University Hospital

Accomplishments

• Placed 2nd Place in 2012 EWH National Design Competition 
• Raised $6K+ in undergraduate research grants
• Opened an undergraduate bioengineering design space
• Published in the UCSD Journal of Undergraduate Research
• Led team to build <$50 lab centrifuge for Mozambique Hospital

Design Submission

Visit the EWH site

News

UCSD wins 2nd Place in EWH 2012 National Design Competition

RNA Extraction

PCR Thermocycler

Gel Electrophoresis