Spotlight on M.S. in Biomedical Engineering

Andrew Stout (left) holds a container as his student Jordann Powers (right) pours a pink liquid into it.

Student highlight

Name: Jordann Powers
Degree: Master's in Biomedical Engineering
Faculty Lab: Assistant Professor Andrew Stout

What are you researching?
My current research is in expressing animal proteins within plants for alternative protein sourcing.

Why was Tufts the place for you?
The quality of education here is like no other. The Tufts community is composed of kind and generous people, students and professors alike! Additionally I feel this community is rich in diversity, equality, and equity; something that was very important for me when choosing a university as a black woman in STEM.

Best course you've taken at Tufts so far?
Medical imaging was my favorite course so far. Learning the ins and out of how everyday things like MRI and X-rays work was amazing. Especially how these techniques were discovered and the process of going into the market once these big discoveries were made was very enlightening.

What are your career goals? How is Tufts helping you reach those goals?
I hope to one day get my Ph.D. in BME here at Tufts. I hope with the backing of this prestigious university I can one day make a career in industry doing research.

Any advice you’d give to prospective graduate students?
Never be afraid to start your degree wherever you are in life. Whether you're coming straight from undergrad or haven’t been in school in over a decade, there’s a space for everyone here.

Jordann Powers (left) examines a beaker with red liquid inside held by Andrew Stout (right).

Faculty highlight: Assistant Professor Andrew Stout

Assistant Professor Andrew Stout's research goals lie in the emerging fields of cellular agriculture and cultivated meat. As part of the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA), he is interested in engineering cell lines and culture systems for low-cost, large-scale bioproduction of agricultural commodities. His work focuses on the question of how bioprocess paradigms and cell line optimization can be re-thought when applying historically biomedical technologies to food applications. Stout obtained his Ph.D. from Tufts in 2022 through a New Harvest fellowship.