Biomedical engineering and biomaterials science graduate schools provide many challenging opportunities for research, internships, and volunteering in the biomedical field.
Biomedical engineering research opportunities
The nationally ranked Biomedical Engineering Department at SUNY in Stony Brook, Long Island, is the highest ranked BME department in the SUNY system. In 1997, the university became the manager for the nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), a top federal research lab. As a result, graduate students are able to utilize the lab's research instrumentation as they pursue their M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.
The Center for Cardiovascular Biomaterials at Case Western Reserve University is a unique graduate school biomaterials and biomedical engineering research opportunity operated in conjunction with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the University of Cincinnati. The pioneering program is designed to address the need for collaboration among key areas of engineering and medical expertise and to allow students to capitalize upon the diverse strengths found across these institutions.
Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri, offers interdisciplinary M.S. and Ph.D. programs in biomaterials with a strong biomedical research component. The Master's program requires at least six credit hours of research. Biomaterials research topics have included adjustable intraocular lens, cellular biomechanics, glass beads for medical application, antibacterial glasses, and bio-enamel on titanium.
Penn State's departments of bioengineering and chemistry and the Hershey Medical Center host a Biomaterials and Bionanotechnology Summer Institute for upper-level undergraduate students and first-year graduate students to provide interdisciplinary biomedical research experience and training designed to better prepare them for the research portion of their graduate studies.
Biomedical internship programs
At Purdue University's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering in West Lafayette, Indiana, graduate students can apply for a biomedical internship in research, product development, manufacturing, operations, regulatory affairs, marketing, sales, finance, or public relations. At the completion of the internship, both the student and the company evaluate the experience, and the student presents a project summary to peers.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's Summer Internship Program provides an independent research experience under the direction of established Hopkins researchers. This exposure to biomedical and/or public health research encourages students to consider careers in science, medicine, and public health.
Funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, the Hopkins biomedical internship program increases students' understanding of fabrication techniques and biomaterials knowledge on the micro- and nano-level. This knowledge can be used to better understand biological systems and to help design materials to better interact with these systems.
Volunteer opportunities in biomedical engineering
Opportunities to volunteer in the field of biomedical engineering are abundant. Students are advised to talk to their graduate adviser about volunteering. Joining professional associations for biomaterials and biomedical professions is also an excellent way of networking and learning about volunteer and internship opportunities in the industry.