Biomedical Engineering Alumni Updates

2001
Emily Downs
After graduation I spent nearly three months traveling the east coast of Australia with a backpack and a bus pass. I then spent three years working as an engineer for B. H. Barkalow, Inc., a biomedical engineering consulting firm in Newaygo, Michigan. I am currently at Stryker Orthopaedics in Mahwah, New Jersey as a project engineer in the Concept Development Department.

Jamie (Beers) Mayo
I was married to Michael Mayo in 2001 and we had our son, Nathan Mayo, in June 2005. I received my master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2003. I am working in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Michigan Hospital.

Kathrine (Johnson) Oxford
I am currently working at Micromedics, Inc., in Eagan, Minnesota. The core products are ENT, the EarPopper, Biomaterial Applicators, and sterilization trays. Check out the website at www.micromedics.com. I’ve been here for 8 months now. I was married on July 26, 2002, to Brian Oxford (a May 2001 Michigan Tech graduate in electrical engineering). We got married in Las Vegas at the Bellagio...it was so fun! We have one daughter, Audrey Oxford, born on December 2, 2003.

Jeff Klein and Shanna (Marks) Klein

Jeff Klein:  After graduation (December 2001), Jeff took a job at Heraeus Vadnais in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota, as a manufacturing engineer. Heraeus manufactures specialized medical coils for use in pacemaker leads and other medical applications. In April 2006, he changed jobs moving to Enpath Medical as a manufacturing engineer at the Leads Technologies facility. Here he works on process and yield improvement projects, as well as being a member of a few new project teams, assisting with manufacturing related topics early in the development stage.

Shanna (Marks) Klein:  After graduation (May 2001), I took a job in Spirit Lake, Iowa, working for Brown Medical Industries as their sole R&D engineer. They manufacture external orthopedic devices, specializing in finger splints, walking casts/boots, knee/ankle/wrist braces, and many other products sold through distributors, hospitals and also sold directly to the public through phone and internet sales. In October 2002, I moved back to the Minneapolis area, where I grew up, and took a job with Catheter and Disposables Technology in Plymouth. Here I was an R&D engineer developing the processing to manufacture dialysis catheters, pacemaker accessories, urinary catheters, stent delivery systems, among other various projects. In June 2005, I took a job as a contract engineer at Guidant Corporation in Arden Hills, Minnesota, in their Leads department. I was working on a project in which, due to supplier discontinuation of a component, re-verification and re-validation for the entire line of pacemakers leads products needed to be completed. Recently, I have changed jobs again. In September 2006, I moved to Enpath Medical in Bloomington, Minnesota, as a manufacturing engineer at the Leads Technologies facility. Here I am currently working on numerous projects related to process and yield improvement on the pacemaker leads and adapters manufactured.

As for our personal life, after being together since early in our freshman year at Michigan Tech, we got married on the island of Maui in April 2004. We currently live in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, and our first child, daughter Melia Jaclynn, was born in January. We spend our summers riding off-road motorcycles and competing in timed enduro races. Other hobbies include kayaking local lakes and streams, hiking/camping on Isle Royale, and downhill skiing.

Aaron Chalekian
I’ve been married now for three years to my wife Maren—no kids yet, though Maren seems to think our dog, Tess, is our child. I went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for graduate school in mechanical engineering. After graduate school we moved to St. Paul, Minnesota where I worked as a design engineer for OakRiver Technology. I was there for a little over a year before going to work for Boston Scientific. Note: Michigan Tech gave me a great foundation in engineering to go on to higher education and a challenging career in medical devices. I couldn’t have picked a better place to go into engineering. Michigan Tech is a 10 on my list!

Melissa (Brown) Roberts
After working several years in Chicago, I returned to Michigan Tech and am currently a PhD student working with Dr. Jeremy Goldman with a research focus on lymphatic microcirculation. The faculty in the BME department inspired me to pursue a career in academia and I lecture for Tech’s Department of Engineering Fundamentals. I live with my husband in our home
in South Range.

Ed Bergeron
I graduated from med school at Wayne State University School of Medicine and am currently in my second year of residency in downtown Detroit at the Wayne State/Detroit Medical Center residency program. I’m trying to determine what kind of doctor I want to end up being and how much specialization I want. I would love to do thoracic surgery, however I’m not sure about the seven more years of residency and training that I’d need to do.

2002
Lisa (Winniki) Neuendorff
I married Jonathan Neuendorff, Michigan Tech Forestry class of 2002 (BS) and 2004 (MS), on August 16, 2003, at Horseshoe Harbor, Keweenaw County, Michigan. No kids, no pets. I earned a master’s in Biomedical Engineering at Ohio State University in 2004, and now work for the US Army as a civilian test engineer. I’m the joint program manager, Nuclear Biological Chemical Contamination Avoidance, in the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

Bryan Howard
I am currently pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering, applied biomechanics at the University of Utah. Married Becky in 2000.

Erica (Peters) Schwartz
Right after graduation I worked at Stryker Instruments. In fall of 2004 I married Tim Schwartz (ME 2002). We moved to Maryland for his job at NASA. Since moving here I worked for GE Healthcare until they divested that part of the business, and then I worked on the same products but for Ohio Medical (based in Gurnee, IL). A few months before Ohio Medical closed down the Maryland site I changed jobs to work for BD Diagnostics. Currently I am working at BD developing diagnostic equipment.

2003
Wade DePas
I have just recently moved back to the UP to work for Pioneer Laboratories, Inc., in Marquette, Michigan. Previously, I worked for DSI, A Division of Transoma Medical, in technical services. DSI makes biological sensors that are used to collect data from humans and animals, as well as the associated hardware and software.

Rachel (Haner) Bareither
I went directly to graduate school for BME at Rutgers University. I received my master’s degree at the New Jersey Center for Biomaterials. and received my master’s degree under the direction of Dr. Joachim Kohn at the New Jersey Center for Biomaterials.  My thesis was titled “In Vitro Exploration of the Biological Activity of PEG-dihydrazide: Analyzing a Wide Range of Test Systems and Previous Experiments”. My work focused on cellular interactions with biomaterials and microfluidic devices.  After graduating, I worked at the Massachusetts General Hospital System on a project for eight months and am currently working at Merck and Co., Inc., as a biochemical engineer. I live in New Jersey and married Chad Bareither, Michigan Tech alumnus (mechanical engineering ‘03) on August 20, 2005. We have a dog, Oscar. We enjoy spending time in New York City.

Melissa Hasenbank
I am now a graduate student at the University of Washington in Seattle, pursuing a PhD in bioengineering. Outside of the laboratory, I enjoy running, hiking, and exploring the Pacific Northwest.

Matthew Barron
After graduation, I went to work for Kimberly-Clark in Neenah, Wisconsin, in their Skin Science Research Department. In Fall of 2006, I entered the PhD program in biomedical engineering at Michigan Tech, working with Drs. Seth Donahue and Jeremy Goldman. On October 6, I married Katie Stream (‘03) in Ishpeming, Michigan.

Jessica Swanson
I started working for DSI, a division of Transoma Medical in Technical Services in November 2003. I worked in that department until September 2005, when I accepted a sales position. Currently, I am the rep for the US Plains States and Canada in the research division (animal products). Responsibilities include travel to the various locations in my territory to meet with current and prospective customers to inform them of current and future DSI product offerings that meet their research needs. I represent DSI at conferences and tradeshows in my territory and also organize various workshops and user group meetings in my territory where customers learn about different ways to use our products.  Our customers are Ph.D. level researchers at universities, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, biotechs, and contract research organizations.

2004
Lianne Miller
I earned my master’s in ME and worked with Dr. Jeremy Goldman. I’m continuing to pursue my double life of engineering and bike racing. I’ve landed in Colorado Springs and am working as a test engineer at Schlage Lock. In my spare time, I’m training and riding my mountain bike.

Sara (Mantila) Roosa
After graduation (May 2004), I began my graduate work at The University of Michigan in BME and focused on bone tissue engineering. I completed my Master's of Engineering in May of 2006, and went on to Purdue University where I'm currently working on my Ph.D. in BME. My lab is focused on orthopaedic biomechanics, and I'm studying mechanotransduction in bone using bioinformatics principles and tools. After all of this education, hopefully I will know what I want to do when I grow up.My husband, Scott (Civil Engineering,   2004), and I were married in Houghton on September 1,2007 and we live in Indianapolis.

Megan (Ballard) Pline
After graduation from Michigan Tech, I began a Doctorate of Physical Therapy program at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. I recently graduated (June 2007) and began working for the University of Michigan Health System as an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist. I married Kevin Pline (Mechanical Engineering 2003) May 21, 2005.

2005
Megan Killian
Upon graduating in Spring '05, I moved to Bozeman, Montana, where I worked on a Master of Science in movement science (biomechanics) at Montana State University. Living in Montana allowed me to take advantage of my love for the outdoors, especially in activities like rock climbing and endurance trail running. I spent a lot of my free time traveling and racing, and competed in my first marathon in Napa Valley, California in March '07.  After graduating from MSU in May, I moved back to the UP and started doctoral research with Dr Tammy Haut Donahue. My focus has switched from the gross analysis in movement science to the molecular level of biomechanics, in which I am studying the biochemical effects of mechanical loading on meniscal tissue.

Jason Prudom
I was married in August of 2006 on Martha’s Vineyard. My wife, Alina, is from Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and we’re living here in Boston, Massachusetts. I’ve been working at Serica Technologies (formerly Tissue Regeneration, Inc.) for a year now as an R&D engineer. I’m in the process of applying to post-bac programs out here so that I can finish the required courses to enter medical school.

Mark Griep
I graduated with my biomedical engineering BS degree in May 2005 and a week later started my PhD work with Dr. Friedrich in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. My work focuses on the creation of a bionanosensor system, and, as such, has major components in microbiology and electrical engineering. I’ve been told by our DARPA contacts that they are impressed with how ME students can work so well in these diverse fields, but I had to tell them it was my biomed background that allowed for the smooth transition into this multidisciplinary project. Apart from my PhD, I’ve mainly been building a small vacation cabin out on Rice Lake and trying to learn Mandarin Chinese. Then, after all this is done, I’ll probably head out to get a job and finally join the real world!

Meghan McGee
“Meghan received her bachelor’s degree in 2005, and is now starting the third year of her PhD, studying the effects of hibernation on bone structure and strength. Since her advisor
(Dr. Seth Donahue) is on sabbatical this year, Meghan currently spends most of her time sleeping at her desk...um... I mean...working tirelessly with boundless enthusiasm...”

Emily Haglund
I am currently pursuing a master’s in biomedical engineering at Purdue University. My focus is on development of a nanomedical system for specific cell targeting and therapeutic gene delivery. Currently, my focus is on ex vivo diagnostics for breast cancer.

2006
Greg Anthon
I am here at Michigan Tech, obtaining a master’s in electrical engineering, and working with Dr. Michael Neuman.

Dona Bondy
A few weeks after graduation, I started working as a product analysis engineer with Boston Scientific in Maple Grove, Minnesota, a medical device  manufacturer that specializes in “less-invasive” medical devices. My current position is in the Complaint Investigation Group. My group receives returned products from the field that have failed. I analyze the failure mode and drive investigations in order to determine the root cause. Interestingly enough, a month after I began working for Boston Scientific, my father had a massive heart attack and is alive today because of the devices that my company designs and manufactures. The products that I work with every day literally saved my dad’s life. It really makes me realize how important and rewarding my job is.

Eric Minner
I am now earning my PhD in biomedical engineering at Michigan Tech, working with Dr. Ryan Gilbert.

2007

Emily Ongstad
After I graduated in December 2007 with my B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, I began working full-time in Dr. Jeremy Goldman's Tissue Engineering lab at Michigan Tech. In Dr. Goldman's lab I'm leading studies involving electrocautery and the role of macrophages in lymphangiogenesis.  I'm waiting on decisions from graduate schools to see where I will begin studies for my PhD in Biomedical Engineering next fall.

Matt Nielsen
I am currently pursuing a PhD in biomedical engineering and will begin working with Dr. Megan Frost in 2008. I was married to Shaye Miller in August 2006 in Commerce Township, Michigan. We toured Ontario, Canada before coming up to Michigan Tech.