Read  UW BioE Masters of Applied Bioengineering alumni stories

  • UW Master of Bioengineering students on the SoundCheck team standing at their table at a student competition. From left to right: Will Szymanski, Baolin Niu, Krishna Bathini

Building innovation through mentorship

In the rapidly evolving field of bioengineering, the bridge between academic knowledge and real-world innovation is often where novel solutions emerge. The UW Master of Applied Bioengineering (MAB) program actively launches students into the world of medical innovation by challenging them to develop practical solutions to pressing healthcare problems. To guide these innovation pursuits, a structured mentorship initiative pairs incoming students with experienced guides from the very start of their academic journey. Origins and Evolution The mentorship program was envisioned in 2022 by MAB alumnus Sebastian Bibat (MAB ‘20), who later returned to mentor a team in 2024. When Rupak Rajachar joined the Department of Bioengineering as director of the MAB program, he collaborated with Bibat and Hannah Anderson, bioengineering graduate academic advisor, to expand and strengthen the program. Recognizing the importance of continuous improvement, Rajachar solicited feedback from current students and alumni to refine the mentor program. Based on this feedback, Rajachar and Anderson implemented a key change: connecting MAB mentors with new students earlier in the process. Now, students and mentors are matched in June once a student cohort is organized and before they arrive on campus. “Our goal is to build a sense of community as the students prepare for fall quarter,” shared Rajachar. “Our program is only 10 months in length, so we make every effort to help build a sense of community for each student of an incoming cohort.” This timing consideration is especially valuable since many of the students are new to Seattle, [...]

  • Maddalena DiPiazza

Maddalena Di Piazza (‘22)

Maddalena Di Piazza (‘22) currently works for Cepheid, a company specializing in point-of-care molecular diagnostics. She credits the MAB program’s clinical shadowing and capstone requirements with helping to prepare her to tackle real-world challenges within the biotechnology industry. “My job requires me to be creative in solving tough problems, and quickly assess the feasibility of new technologies,” she says. “I can confidently say that I wouldn't be where I am today without my experience in the MAB program.”

  • Christopher Allen

Christopher Allan (20)

After many years as a hand surgeon and surgery instructor, Christopher Allan got his Masters of Applied Bioengineering to expand his research role. Currently a research associate professor in the UW Orthopaedics Musculoskeletal Systems Biology Lab, he’s the principal investigator in a Department of Defense-funded clinical trial, assessing the safety and efficacy of the research team’s negative-pressure wound therapy glove for hand injuries.

  • Sandra Oluoch

Sandra Oluoch (‘20)

MAB grad Sandra Oluoch (‘20) is a scientific data engineer with the Allen Institute in Seattle, WA. She was drawn to the MAB program by a desire to transition from more traditional lab research to computational analysis. “[The program] gave me the skills I needed to network and break into a different career field,” she says. “The internship requirement helped me get my foot in the door in this field.”

  • Jay Walcott

Jay Walcott (’19)

Alumna Jay Walcott (MAB ’19) is in her third year in the joint Ph.D. program at Georgia Tech and Emory. Her research involves bioprinting with stem cells to create cardiac tissues. As a MAB student, Jay enjoyed the clinical rotations. “While the procedures we witnessed were great to see, it was really inspiring to know we were working on projects that clinicians and patients actually cared about,” Jay said.