UW Bioengineering undergraduate student and peer advisor Lael Wentland has been chosen to participate in the Engineering World Health (EWF) Summer Institute in Tanzania.
The program, which runs from June 14 through August 16 in 2015, trains and places up to 27 program participants to assist 12 hospitals, few of which have dedicated biomedical technical assistance, with critical medical device repairs and other services. Program participants work closely with Tanzanian technicians and medical staff to make equipment repairs, execute training, install equipment and provide additional engineering assistance.
During the first half of the program, Lael will learn how to fix medical equipment in low-resource settings typical of those found in developing countries, and also learn Swahili. For the second half of the program, she will be stationed in a rural hospital where she will fix medical equipment.
As a global health minor and vice president of internal affairs for the UW club Bioengineers without Borders, Lael is excited for this opportunity. “This program is very much in my line of interest,” she says.
Lael, currently a junior, works on protein engineering research projects in UW Bioengineering Associate Professor Wendy Thomas’s lab. In her free time she enjoys Irish dancing, skiing and playing ultimate frisbee with friends.
Learn more about the Engineering World Health Tanzania Summer Institute