Abstract
RBSA Honorable Mention.
Main text
Above image: Daphna Fertil
As a child, each visit to see my father revealed more wires connecting him to machines, gradually obscuring the vibrant person I had known. Eventually, he seemed to disappear entirely, replaced by the relentless beeping and glow of monitors. His kidneys were failing, and those wires and machines had become his lifeline. After his passing, my mother, a recent immigrant, set aside her own health to work and support our family. It wasn’t until her quality of life deteriorated that she began to seek care, by which time she required surgeries to address the damage glaucoma had caused to her vision and injections to manage her early-onset osteoarthritis. As a Black girl still learning English, I felt helpless in these moments, and the experience left a lasting impression, fueling my determination to improve care for those facing similar health challenges.
What started as a passion to relieve people’s suffering transformed into an interest in medical products. I was captivated by the life-saving role that small devices like pacemakers play in sustaining health. My enthusiasm grew further when I discovered the work of scientists like Dr. Erin B. Lavik’s team, whose nanotechnology innovations are designed to reduce internal bleeding in trauma patients, enhancing their recovery outcomes. Biomedical engineering, I realized, provided a unique blend of research and healthcare impact.
While in college, I sought a more direct connection to biomedical engineering. This led me to a summer at Lehigh University in Dr. Lesley Chow’s lab, where we designed modular biomaterials for tissue engineering. My project involved 3D printing peptide-functionalized scaffolds that directed cartilage and bone tissue formation for the treatment of early osteoarthritis. Creating stable, multi-layered scaffolds from polycaprolactone required meticulous trial and error, but overcoming printing errors and finally achieving a 70-layer scaffold was a breakthrough moment for me. Through the challenges, I found joy in lab work, growing more excited each day to discuss science and receive feedback. This experience affirmed my interest in research and instilled in me resilience in problem-solving.
Before joining the lab, I assumed research naturally led to better quality care for all; however, discussions in the lab revealed the underlying bias of patient selection, research funding, and a lack of diversity in the field, which contribute to disparities in care. Some discoveries lack effectiveness with the Black and Latinx communities due to this imbalance. This continued my desire to work to eliminate the inequalities I see to help those I grew up around. This realization deepened my desire to ensure the work I pursue is inclusive and accessible to all. I became committed to designing therapies with the end user in mind, making sure they are accessible across diverse patient populations.
Outside the lab, I worked to foster a supportive environment for underrepresented students in STEM as an executive board member for both LEADERS (Leadership and Enrichment Academy for Diverse Emerging Researchers and Scientists) and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). Additionally, I collaborated with the student government to implement a mental health initiative focused on destigmatizing mental health, particularly within the STEM community.
Through these experiences, I became aware of the financial inequalities that affected my and others’ learning experiences. To address this, I continued working with the student government to develop a digital database of required textbooks accessible to all students and encouraged departments to keep essential texts on reserve in the library. My goal was to ensure that resource gaps did not contribute to the decline of minorities in STEM, recognizing the importance of diverse scientists within the field.
In Dr. Kaitlyn Sadtler’s lab at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, my interest in regenerative medicine deepened as I explored the intersection of engineering and immunology. Using a volumetric loss mouse model, I studied muscle regeneration to guide device modifications that reduce negative immune responses. My previous work exhibited the potential of biomaterials for treating various ailments, but I hadn’t yet fully considered the immune system’s responses to implanted biomaterials and medical devices, like pacemakers, that are essential for many patients in underserved communities. Health disparities often mean that underserved communities have limited access to advanced, immune-compatible devices, and I saw this work as a way to begin addressing those inequities. Working on these projects, I began to see how biomedical engineering could directly address healthcare disparities by improving accessibility and efficacy.
These experiences have deepened my commitment to using science for social impact. As a Black woman in STEM, I am driven to bridge healthcare access gaps, ensure that innovations reach vulnerable communities, and bring research from the lab to real-world applications. I am dedicated to building an inclusive, diverse scientific community focused on health equity—where advancements in technology benefit all.