Breanne Przestrzelski is a University Innovation Fellow at Clemson University where she is pursuing her PhD in Bioengineering with a focus on innovation of biomedical devices and translation thereof through immersion of bioengineers in design and entrepreneurship opportunities. The University Innovation Fellows, a program of the Epicenter and co-managed by Stanford University and Venturewell, has inspired Breanne to share her passions through a variety of initiatives she is helping to bring to Upstate South Carolina, one of which is the NIH-and VentureWell-funded DeFINE Program. Breanne obtained her B.S. in May 2012 (research focus: nanomedicine technology) and her M.S. degree in August 2013 (research focus: glenoid loading and stability of the inlay verus onlay shoulder system) both from the Clemson University bioengineering department.Breanne was a four year varsity collegiate athlete, rowing for the Clemson University Women's Rowing Team, where she learned how to foster her team-centered leadership. Breanne moved on to lead her senior design capstone team to a 1st Place finish in the 2012 NCIIA BMEStart Undergraduate Design Competition for the team's innovation: Assurefit-a chest tube stabilization device. Breanne found her drive for innovation and fascination with design during the development of this technology and seeks to equip students with this same drive through experiential learning. . He has worked for over 25 years as a biomechanical research engineer, and has co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed conference or journal publications in the areas of biomechanics, biomaterials tribology, engineering education, biomedical design and mechanical testing. He directs the Laboratory of Orthopaedic Design and Engineering on the main campus of Clemson University, and in his 7 years since joining the bioengineering faculty, he has graduated 4 PhD students and 15 MS students, and has led or has been a co-PI on numerous multi-disciplinary research teams funded through NASA, DoT, DoD, NIH, NSF, the Gates Foundation, biomedical industry and other regional non-profit foundations. He is an active contributor to many professional societies and review panels, including the NSF, VentureWell, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), and the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) where he is currently the Chair of the Student Affairs Committee. He was a recent guest editor with the Annals of Biomedical Engineering, developing a special issue on Design Innovation in Biomedical Engineering, and has been a business and educational program development consultant with the Coulter Foundation, advising NIH NIBIB SBRI awardees in technology translation.
Ms. Carson Mackenzie Ida Brewer, Clemson UniversityCarson Brewer is a second year student at Clemson University studying Bioengineering. Through many research opportunities in the department, Carson has led a team to the Limbs Summit in El Paso, Texas where they presented a functioning, 3-D printed, lower arm interface that allowed...