Intern Spotlight

1) Please tell us about your career goals.

My career goal is to become a well-rounded and human-centered Biomedical Data Science Researcher, engaging in impactful, life-saving research across the medical field. I continue to learn more as the realm of data science expands with Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. These tools, if leveraged properly, have widespread potential to improve the work of physicians and healthcare providers, as well as ensure equitable and efficient care for all.

I have learned throughout my career that biomedical engineers are uniquely placed at the intersection between innovation and service. The skills we’ve been blessed with are an opportunity to contribute to the common good if used responsibly. Since working here at IBT, I’ve witnessed the leverage of technology and research for improving patient’s lives, and I’m inspired by the team’s constant passion for their work and service.

With so many new developments across the field, I want to be a voice of service, passion, and human-centeredness. We could make all the advancements that we want, but it’s only when we focus on who we can help with them that they truly reach their full potential.

2) Tell us about your internship (i.e., day-to-day responsibilities, special projects/clients, and work culture).

As a research intern, my work started with doing a lot of background research into the upper-limb prosthetic industry, including recent developments with prosthetic control strategies, how these have been evaluated in the past, and what the most optimal control solution entails. From there, I helped design research protocols for evaluating different control strategies and comparing them to each other. After that, I designed hardware and coding setups for each of the control strategies we’re interested in so they can work with our experimental setup. The first-run data collected from these setups gave us initial insights that helped inform next steps for the study.
Throughout the following fall and spring, I continued to lead the research project as an intern (also through MTIP!). This mostly involved recruiting participants to join the study and running experiments with them with the finalized hardware and coding setups for the experiment. Aside from collecting quantitative data and analyzing their results for publication, I also held small, informal interviews with each participant about their experience, what they enjoyed and observed on their end, and insights they might have as to improvements for each strategy. Especially in the healthcare field, patient perspective is vital in ensuring the best possible care for all. Indeed, the insights that participants provided helped inform a new focus for our project to make prosthetic control more intuitive with IBT’s novel control system, **Glide**. I even learned a few new strategies for conducting robust and informative research. I currently remain with IBT as a research intern, leading the next phase of the study with **Glide** evaluating more novel strategies for improving the performance of upper-limb prosthetic control strategies for all users.

The work culture at IBT demonstrates a commitment to collaboration and working directly with the people they serve. I knew as soon as I learned this that I would love the opportunity to work with them. Since starting here, I’ve witnessed firsthand the passion and dedication motivating everyone’s work. Whether it be brainstorming a new testing setup or clamoring together to fix a patient’s device, I’ve found it an extreme pleasure to learn from and work with such people-driven individuals.

3) Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I heard about the IBT Internship (and in turn MTIP) through a career fair hosted by another summer internship opportunity run by Johns Hopkins: the InBaltimore Internship program. The program sought to get Hopkins students involved with companies and organizations right here in Baltimore, giving students the opportunity to use their skills and expertise locally. What drew me most to IBT in particular was their service-minded focus to the work they do, ensuring that everyone that benefits from their work gets to live a full life. After talking with a representative at the career fair, I submitted my application, and got an email a while later inviting me to a project that IBT had been working on. I met with Dr. Chris Hunt, and the work he described was very fun and engaging. I’ve been enjoying my work here ever since!

4) Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?

Handshake or other job board

5) What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?

I’ve really enjoyed the level of ownership I’ve been granted through this internship process. Much of the work I do is self-driven, which motivates me more to put in a lot of effort and dedication to everything I put out. Even when there’s a seeming lull in work, the freedom allows me to find something new to delve into that may open up a new discovery.
Additionally, I’ve enjoyed getting to know everyone at the office. I’ve gained invaluable connections and opportunities to collaborate with people at every level and department of the company, from the CEO to fellow ground-level engineers (and their accompanying pets, which is a huge bonus). The small company culture enables me to ask questions, pursue curiosities as to how the biomedical engineering and design process works in relation to its patients, and get help wherever needed.

6) How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I believe I have made an impact through the research that I have conducted with IBT. Being here has taught me the invaluable role that research plays not just in the advancement of knowledge but also the service of humanity. My work involves designing robust and professionally conducted research studies meant to garner the full scope of prosthetic use. The data and metrics I collect help give insight as to how novel prosthetic control systems operate and work for each patient. Furthermore, by having conversations with those that I conduct experiments with, I gain clarity about the patient perspective of care that provides invaluable context for the research we conduct. With these sets of information combined, IBT has been able to publish its findings and give more concrete recommendations to the patients they serve. Additionally, these results have led to the design of new and improved strategies for making prosthetic control more intuitive for its users, which I continue to help research into. I am extremely thankful for such an opportunity to serve the Baltimore community through my research.

7) What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience (i.e., Internship search, Resume, or Interview tips)?

My biggest piece of advice is to know your worth! The internship search was initially quite intimidating for me, especially being in a field that demands quite a bit of experience and industry knowledge. However, when you know who you are and what the skills you have gained have best equipped you to do, you can enter that search with increased confidence and focus as to what you want to learn and contribute to. Take note of all your experiences, involvements, and skills (not just the fancy resume ones) and how they contribute to the holistic picture of who you are as a prospective member of the work force and a person. Ensure that your resume properly reflects this as much as possible.
And, above all else, resolve to consistently live out this vision in everything that you do! Let that shine through in your applications and interviews. Then, what you have to contribute won’t just be a collection of skills and experience, but a holistic vision of dedication, determination, and passion.