Ryley McGinnis

Bioengineering student pursues career in lab research

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 15:47:54 +0000

Bioengineering student pursues career in lab research Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/03/2021 - 11:47

In This Story

In early high school, the chance to solve world problems in a lab appealed to junior bioengineering student Medhini Sosale. Since then, she’s known that a combination of field and lab work is what she wants to do for her career, and her time at Mason has given her endless opportunities to explore it further.

Raised in Ashburn, Virginia, Sosale is currently working in bioengineering associate professor Parag Chitnis’ lab, where he is experimenting with ultrasound technology to deliver drugs. Her project is sponsored by the Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research and the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program.

“This semester, I am working on creating a 3D model of the blood-brain barrier of a rat’s brain,” says Sosale. In rats and humans, the blood-brain barrier is a protective boundary that keeps bacteria, fungi, parasites, and other organisms from penetrating the brain. It is an important part of the body’s immune system.

“The barrier is very effective, but if we could find a way to access it to deliver targeted medications through ultrasound, we could limit invasiveness and target specific illnesses,” says Sosale.

In her freshman year at Mason, she started working with bioengineering professor Juan Cebral. Her work with Cebral introduced her to new areas of bioengineering and computational research. “Professor Cebral was running a computational model on how to optimize the treatment of strokes. I was running tests on the model, and I learned that I enjoyed the computational side of bioengineering too,” says Sosale.

“For both of these projects, I learned a lot about neuroscience, and that is something I definitely want to pursue,” says Sosale.

Sosale grew up dancing and playing music and was curious about climate change. She hopes to combine some of her interests in her career and possibly look at the neuroscience and genetic implications of surviving a climate disaster.

Sosale hopes to pursue a PhD in a field like conservation biology. She knows her engineering mindset and skills will prepare her for whatever field she chooses.

Topics

Office of Student Scholarship Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR)

CEC Undergrad Research

Practicing professionalism prepares students for success

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 19:16:34 +0000

Practicing professionalism prepares students for success Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/18/2021 - 15:16

Engineering and technology college courses cover the problem-solving skills successful students will need in their careers. But what those courses don’t always cover is how to get a job.

Ximena Perez hopes to help her fellow SHPE members learn about networking and the career opportunities it opens up. Photo provided.

For senior computer science major and Honors College student Ximena Perez, she found her community in the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) as a member, president, and now as vice president of the student organization.

Perez, who was born in Peru and moved to Virginia when she was 3-years-old, came to Mason because of its proximity to home and its affordability. Her freshman year, she knew she wanted to join Latino organizations, and she found SHPE through connections with former executive board members.

“I gained a lot of mentors when I joined,” says Perez. “It was super awesome to see and learn from fellow engineering students.”

One important lesson Perez learned from her mentors and hopes to bring to current members is the value of professionalism. At her first SHPE annual conference in fall 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio, the organization's professional development side resonated. “The conference was overwhelming but exciting, there’s a huge career fair with recruiters from big-name companies, and I realized there’s a whole world of networking opportunities out there,” says Perez.

And Perez dove in. She sought out opportunities to test her skills and get recognized. One avenue she found was hackathons. “I completed a few hackathons in the last couple of years, like Mason’s Patriot Hacks and Georgetown’s Hoya Hacks,” she says. “At Hoya Hacks, I got to work with students from different schools to create an interactive app for DACA recipients. It was great to meet new people and work on something I was passionate about.”

These types of events are gold mines for building your network and testing your skills, says Perez. And her goal as a leader of SHPE has been to illustrate their value.

While Perez feels her computer science education has provided the foundation for developing her technical skill, SHPE helped her learn how to build her brand and pitch her skills to recruiters. “What you learn in classes prepares you for what you’re doing, but SHPE helps with actually getting the job.”

Marrying her two skills together, Perez feels prepared to enter the workforce after her graduation in May. “My time at Mason has taught me so much—in my courses, in SHPE, and in the Honors College, I’ve been given all of the tools I need.”

Topics

computer science

student organizations

Hackathon

Honors College

Bioengineering student balances athletics and academic success

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 17:49:22 +0000

Bioengineering student balances athletics and academic success Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/11/2021 - 12:49

Bioengineering junior and student-athlete Laura Hodge saw George Mason University as a place for opportunities, and while she admits it sometimes can be hard to juggle her obligations, she believes she made the right choice.

Laura Hodge is a bioengineering student and member of Mason's swimming and diving team. Photo provided.

A Blacksburg, Virginia native, Hodge is a swimmer on Mason’s swimming and diving team and an aspiring bioengineer. For her, Mason checked all the boxes for what she was looking for in a university.

“What drew me to Mason was the opportunity to be a part of different communities like the Honor’s College, the swim team, and the athletics department. I also knew that after graduating from Mason, the number of opportunities in the area would be tremendous,” says Hodge.

She hasn’t been disappointed. “My favorite part of Mason is all of the friendships and connections I’ve made. I’ve gotten the chance to meet amazing people who have inspired me.”

Bioengineering professors and classmates have opened her eyes to new areas of research. Many engaging professors in the Honors College have pushed her to succeed. And as a member of the swim team, she has gotten to meet like-minded athletes and fellow engineering majors.

Hodge hopes to be an inspiration for others. She is a student-athlete mentor, working with freshman and sophomore student-athletes to lead them through the college transition and teach them time management.

Her motivation has led her to academic success. For the past two years, Hodge has been awarded the Peter N. Stearns Provost Scholar Athlete award, which means she has maintained a 3.75 cumulative GPA.

“It can be overwhelming at times if you let it. Planning is key to keeping on top of things, and the strict schedules for swim keep me in check,” she says. This is what she advises her mentees to do to ensure academic success—make a schedule, stick to it, and keep looking forward.

COVID-19 has modified a lot of aspects of Hodge’s life. Canceled meets have changed her swimming season, and the safety precautions across campus have meant that almost all of her classes are virtual. But Hodge doesn’t let that get to her. “It was a change, for sure, but I think everyone has settled into a new routine. The whole world had to adjust, so I saw this as a lesson to learn.”

Hodge’s biggest piece of advice to incoming Mason students is this: “Find your communities early. It can be hard to get involved later, especially as an engineering major because your classes get harder.,” she says.

“And you never know what could happen.”

Topics

Bioengineering

Department of Bioengineering

Student Athlete

Mason Swimming and Diving

Entrepreneurial engineering student forges his own path

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 19:11:03 +0000

Entrepreneurial engineering student forges his own path Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/04/2021 - 14:11

Topics

entrepreneurship

mechanical engineering

Volgenau School of Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering

internships

Honors College

Daniel Scott Mitchell spent all of the 2019-2020 school year at internships across the country. Tesla was the first of his three internships.

Entrepreneur and senior mechanical engineering major Daniel Scott Mitchell came to George Mason University with a mission to build a toolkit of experiences and problem-solving skills to prepare him for his career. By taking chances on himself, he has more than achieved his goal.

Mitchell, an Honors College student, completed a variety of internships and research assistantships, but his success at starting his own business ventures across the engineering and technology landscape sets him apart. Most notably, he took a leave of absence for the 2019-20 academic year to complete three internships at companies across the United States.

“I have always felt that I learn better by applying knowledge in practice,” he says. “I did different things at each internship, and it was a unique opportunity to work in different areas with different problem-solving skills and mindsets.”

He crisscrossed the continent by first moving to San Francisco to intern at Tesla in fall 2019, then traveled to Boston to intern at a 3D printing company called Formlabs, and finally, he worked remotely for a company called Rivian that makes electric vehicles.

Mitchell sees internships as an opportunity to not only apply your knowledge but to discover what you enjoy, and that is part of the reason why he deferred his formal education.

“Internships are a great opportunity for students to try things out. It is an established agreement between you and a company to learn as much as you can, try and do a good job, and walk away having learned something in a short period of time,” says Mitchell. “You can’t do that with a full-time job.”

Aside from his impressive list of internships in his time away from Mason, Mitchell has always been solving problems and maximizing his time learning and innovating. He enjoys many other entrepreneurial ventures, and he is always looking for a new challenge.

“My motto is ‘I make therefore I am.’ For me, I see a need and I don’t want to wait around for a solution to appear, I want to tackle it myself,” says Mitchell.

It was this mindset that also pushed Mitchell to start a podcast with Mason Engineering alum Farbod Moghaddam, BS ME ‘19. Their podcast—Next Byte—is sponsored by Wevolver, an online knowledge repository and community for cutting edge information on engineering and technology.

“I’m an avid podcast listener, and I saw the need for a podcast that talks about the cutting edge of different fields in engineering and tech that didn’t go into granular details. My friend Farbod and I decided to take it on ourselves. We pitched Wevolver, and they loved the idea. It was in the works for a few months, but we are releasing podcasts weekly now,” says Mitchell.

Mitchell’s interests span the technology and engineering space, but he originally chose mechanical engineering because of its versatility. “It is very interdisciplinary, and I wanted a degree that I thought could give me the skill set I need to solve problems. Mechanical engineering here at Mason has definitely lived up to that,” says Mitchell, who has also served as president of Mason’s chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of American Military Engineers.

Long-term, Mitchell aspires to own and run his own company, but he will take all that he has learned at Mason and in his research, business, and internship opportunities into whatever opportunity comes his way.

“I have a lot of hobbies, passions, and interests,” says Mitchell. “But the one thing I always fervently pursue is to build new things and solve problems.”