Experts will present the current state and best practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in BME programs, then lead an active discussion to support participants interested in enhancing their programs and to identify possible areas of collaboration and opportunities to drive educational research in this field.
Brian Helmke is currently an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Virginia. He received his B.S.E. in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, B.S.Econ. from the Univeristy of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, and Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego. His research interests include cardiovascular physiology, cellular mechanobiology, and nanotechnology-based biomaterials. He is also interested in technology-enhanced teaching and in experiential learning for undergraduates in science and engineering.
Michele J. Grimm is the Wielenga Creative Engineering Endowed Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University. Grimm completed her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and engineering mechanics at Johns Hopkins University in 1990 and her Ph.D. in bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania in 1994. She has spent a large part of her career focused on curriculum development and enhancement of student learning in engineering.
Karin Jensen is a teaching assistant professor in bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before joining UIUC, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Sanofi Oncology in Cambridge, Mass. She earned a bachelor's degree in biological engineering from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Virginia.
Rachel Childers is an assistant professor and chair of undergraduate studies in the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. She developed and teaches all of the junior-level biomedical engineering lab courses (six different core areas) within the department.
Sara Schley is a research faculty member in the Department of Research at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). She comes to NTID from the Department of Special Education (Deaf Education Graduate Program) at Hunter College in New York. She has conducted research on young women’s attraction to and retention in science and math fields, and on the relationship of family resources to language and cognitive development and fertility patterns across generations. Her dissertation research at Harvard University involved the bilingual language development - American Sign Language (ASL) and written English - of elementary school children.
Joe Le Doux is the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Learning and Experience in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Dr. Le Doux's research interests in engineering education focus on problem-solving, diagrammatic reasoning, and on the socio-cognitive aspects of the flipped and blended learning environments.