Outreach takes many forms at the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering. This summer faculty and students participated in the University of Florida Student Science Training Program (UF-SSTP).

The UF-SSTP is a seven-week residential research program for high school students who have completed their junior year and are considering careers in medicine, math, computer, science, or engineering. The program emphasizes research participation with a UF faculty research scientist and his or her research team.

Students engage in the ongoing research of the faculty mentor for 30 hours each week, attend a lecture series on current research topics, and participate in a UF honors seminar class. Students enrolled in a Florida high school can earn dual enrollment credit.

The mentor program provides students and others interested in the biomedical engineering profession access to experienced mentors who can provide valuable career guidance and advice and contribute to professional and personal development.

“I learned how much I truly love teaching people about the field I am so passionate about. Volunteering as an instructor confirmed my goal of entering academia, developing a mentoring relationship, and sharing my experiences to help others determine their goals. As a team, we developed lesson plans, lectures, assignments, and activities for our 12-student class. We also allowed students to interact with a clinician and try to develop a creative solution to a real clinical problem,” said Michaela Mertz, BME Ph.D. student.

UF BME faculty mentors:

• Dr. Kyle Allen – Assistant Professor & Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies
• Dr. Mingzhou Ding – Pruitt Family Professor
• Dr. Jon Dobson – Professor
• Dr. Aysegul Gunduz – Assistant Professor
• Dr. Gregory Hudalla – Assistant Professor
• Dr. Parisa Rashidi – Assistant Professor
• Dr. Carlos Rinaldi – Charles A. Stokes Term Professor & Senior Associate Chair
• Dr. Blanka Sharma – Assistant Professor

UF BME student mentors:

• Ben Goolsby, Ph.D. student, graduate assistant for Dr. Oweiss Karim
• Olivia Lanier, Ph.D. student, graduate assistant for Dr. Peter McFetridge and Dr. Jon Dobson
• Michaela Mertz, Ph.D. student, graduate assistant for Dr. Christine E. Schmidt
• Enrico Opri, Ph.D. student, graduate assistant for Dr. Aysegul Gunduz
• Yash Shah, Ph.D. student, graduate assistant for Dr. Kyle Allen and Dr. Jon Dobson