Online Session Locator

Session Description

The ASEE Biomedical Engineering Division partners with the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Education Committee to invite all members of the biomedical engineering community together for a panel and small-group dialogue about the future of the biomedical engineering workforce, what we are doing to prepare our students, and what the gaps are.

For those interested in: Academia-Industry Connections

Moderated by

1. Dr. Sarah Ilkhanipour Rooney and Dr. Aileen Huang-Saad

Speakers

1. Youseph Yazdi

   Johns Hopkins University

   Dr. Youseph Yazdi is Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design (CBID). CBID is a center in the Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Engineering, focused on the design and development of solutions to health challenges in developed and developing regions of the world. Dr. Yazdi also headed the Johns Hopkins - Coulter Foundation Translational Partnership, and is the Innovation Core Director and PI for Neurotech Harbor, a program focused on supporting innovative solutions to neurological diseases. Dr. Yazdi is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, with a secondary appointment in the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business.

   Prior to his arrival at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Yazdi was Corporate Director in Johnson & Johnson’s Corporate Office of Science and Technology, where he was responsible for the creation and management of external and internal partnerships that funded and guided early-stage health care innovation. Dr. Yazdi is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and a recipient of the Johnson & Johnson Standards of Leadership Award.

   He holds a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Rice University, as well as an MS in Electrical Engineering and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He also earned an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

2. Dr. James Warnock

   University of Georgia

   Dr. James N. Warnock joined the faculty of the University of Georgia College of Engineering in 2017 as the founding chair for the new School of Chemical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering. In addition, he currently serves as interim director of the Engineering Education Transformations Institute. Dr. Warnock is the Co-Director for Education and Workforce Development for the NSF Engineering Research Center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies (CMaT, https://cellmanufacturingusa.org/). Before coming to Athens, Dr. Warnock served as a professor and associate dean for academic affairs at Mississippi State University’s Bagley College of Engineering.

   He has earned international attention for his work in advancing the field of engineering education. Dr. Warnock serves as adjunct director for ABET, the engineering college accreditation board. In this role he supports the planning, production and execution of the organization’s professional-development programming and directs all activities related to educational offerings and workshop-facilitator training.

   Dr. Warnock earned a bachelor’s degree in biological science from the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. He earned a master’s in biochemical engineering and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, before completing a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

3. Jeannie Stephens Epps

   Terumo Medical Corporation

   Dr. Jeannie (Stephens) Epps is Director of Applied Technology & Evaluation at Terumo Medical Corporation, where she focuses on early-stage concept feasibility and innovative product development. Prior to Terumo, Dr. Epps was an Assistant Professor and Director of Clinical & Corporate Relations in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Delaware. In this role, she fostered relationships between the University and clinical and industrial collaborators, developed new curricula for the undergraduate program, and mentored students. She was a recipient of the UD Excellence in Undergraduate Advising and Mentoring Award. Dr. Epps has also worked at Synthes to organize and facilitate new product development research of biomaterials for bone graft substitutes to expand the DePuy Synthes family of products and at NIST to evaluate polymers for tissue engineering applications.

   She earned her Bachelor's degree in textile engineering from Auburn University and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Delaware. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Rice University.

4. Dave Gutekunst

   NIH NIBIB

   Dave Gutekunst, Ph.D., joined NIBIB in June 2022 as a Program Director in the Division of Interdisciplinary Training following a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship (STPF) at the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR). Prior to joining NIH, Dr. Gutekunst was an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training at Saint Louis University. His research explored lower extremity musculoskeletal injury mechanisms, with a focus on connections between biomechanical loading and estimates of tissue strength derived from biomedical imaging.

   Dr. Gutekunst received his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, his master’s degree in health and exercise science from Wake Forest University, and his doctoral degree in movement science/biomechanics from Washington University. He also completed postdoctoral research training in the Department of Orthopedics at the Mayo Clinic, where he was a non-tenure track assistant professor of biomedical engineering.

5. Aftin Ross

   FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health

   Dr. Aftin Ross is the Senior Special Advisor for Emerging Initiatives at the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). In this role, she provides leadership for and coordinates on a range of emerging public health issues for CDRH including medical device cybersecurity, respiratory protective devices, personal protective equipment (PPE), and incident response. As part of these efforts, she collaborates on a national and international level with scientists, other external stakeholders, and government officials on a wide range of regulatory and scientific issues.

   Dr. Ross earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland Baltimore County where she was a Meyerhoff Scholar. She completed her graduate work at the University of Michigan earning a master’s and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering where she focused on the surface modification and characterization of thin film, reactive polymer coatings generated by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) for sensing, diagnostic, tissue engineering, and click chemistry applications. Then Dr. Ross completed a post-doctoral fellowship as a Whitaker International Fellow in Karlsruhe, Germany. In 2016, she completed the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, an executive education program in the Harvard School of Public Health and Kennedy School of Government and in 2019 she became a certified Six Sigma Green Belt. She has received numerous awards, including recognition from the FDA commissioner, for her work in medical device cybersecurity and incident response.