USC Viterbi Undergraduate Handbook 2024-2025

Biomedical Engineering The interdisciplinary field of biomedical engineering (BME) combines elements of engineering (electronics, systems analysis, mechanics) with the life sciences (biology, physiology, biochemistry) to define and solve problems in biology and medicine.

INTERESTED IN PRE-MED? ● BME programs can adapt to include most medical school prerequisites, while also providing applied technical training beyond the basic life sciences. JOIN ONE OF BME’S STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS ● The Associated Students of Biomedical Engineering (ASBME) ● MEDesign POPULAR STUDY ABROAD SITES ● Queen Mary, London

● University of Queensland ● University of Melbourne ● University of Galway ● University of Edinburgh

RESEARCH

CAREERS Rhea Choudhury Class of 2019, Biomedical Engineering, Healthcare Studies Minor Systems R&D Engineer at Edwards Lifesciences

Dr. Jennifer Treweek LAB: Treweek Lab

RESEARCH FOCUS: Systems neuroscience and biomedical imaging RESEARCH PROJECT: Imaging how neural networks adapt to chronic stress

I design, develop and test products that monitor patients in the ICU. Think of every hospital scene where there’s a beeping machine displaying the patient’s heart rate — my work is centered on making sure those machines display key patient information, are user-friendly to nurses and physicians, and that all the connected sensors that collect anatomical data directly from patients are accurate. I’m lucky that my role is hands- on and cross-functional. I get to work in an actual research lab, designing, testing and perfecting products for most of my day. Coming out of college, I really wanted a position where I could exercise my love of engineering and problem solving, while feeling like I was still making a tangible impact in the healthcare world, for patients. An R&D role, especially on the kinds of monitoring products I work on, allows me to fundamentally shape the products that go out into hospitals, and simultaneously learn from cutting edge industry experts about the progress of the field as a whole.

COURSES: BME 202 (Control and

Communication in the Nervous System) FUN FACT: My first formative research experience as a Caltech undergraduate was in Prof. Rich Roberts laboratory. In my new lab in USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, we are "neighbors" on MCB's 2nd floor. NON-ENGINEERING: I've been to the highest point in 48 of 50 states in the US (and "above the treeline" in all 50)

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USC VITERBI SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

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