Exemplary biomedical and chemical engineers

Tufts Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering Society (BEaChES) hosted the virtual 2021 Exemplary Engineer Award Night on February 23, 2021 as part of Engineers Week. BEaChES is a student group that fosters community between and within the Departments of Biomedical and Chemical and Biological Engineering, supports the professional development of graduate students, and reaches out to the community in and around Tufts University to promote STEM degrees and careers.

Awarded annually, Exemplary Engineer Awards celebrate the leadership, innovation, and contributions of one faculty member and one student from both the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. This year’s recipients are:

Assistant Professor Madeleine Oudin, Department of Biomedical Engineering

Oudin’s research investigates the role of the various components of the tumor microenvironment in driving tumor metastasis and drug resistance, using an interdisciplinary approach that combines cell biology, microfluidics, intravital imaging, systems biology, and implantable devices. Recent work, published in Science Advances, discovered a new way in which fat promotes the spread of cancer.

Logan Rubio, MS student, Department of Biomedical Engineering

Rubio is a biomedical engineering master’s student studying in Assistant Professor Madeleine Oudin’s lab, and is interested in cell biology and engineering innovations that include organ-on-a-chip technology, vascular tissue engineering, cell-ECM interactions, stem biology, and molecular biotechnology.

Jessica Stieglitz, PhD candidate, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Stieglitz is a chemical engineering doctoral candidate in Bright Futures Assistant Professor James Van Deventer’s lab. She is interested in genetic code manipulation to engineer robust noncanonical amino acid incorporation systems in yeast. She has served on the executive board of Tufts Graduate Society of Women Engineers and received a Tufts Presidential Award for Civic Life in 2020.

Bright Futures Assistant Professor James Van Deventer, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Van Deventer’s research focuses on using protein engineering, synthetic biology, and chemical biology to establish new strategies for treating cancer and other complex diseases. His lab’s efforts are centered on disrupting enzymatic and signaling processes within the tumor microenvironment. He was recently named the Bright Futures Assistant Professor, an endowed professorship gifted by an anonymous donor to recognize promising junior faculty at Tufts.