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Berenice E

- Research Program Mentor

MS candidate at Université Denis Diderot (Paris VII)

Expertise

Medical Device Design, Assistive Technology Design, Low-cost Technology, Biomechanics, Synthetic Biology

Bio

Hailing from Los Angeles, CA, I moved to Cambridge, MA to study Mechanical/Biomedical Engineering and Biomechanics at MIT. Currently, I am a master's student studying the life sciences at Université de Paris. My past research project topics include wearable robotics, medical device design, assistive technology, microfluidics, and low-cost biotechnology/health care tools. Outside of research, I am an amateur beer brewer and gardener. To stay active, I weightlift, hike, and play rugby. Plus, I love watching sports just as much as I love playing them. I enjoy cooking and sharing food from my culture.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Transforming the Un-transformables

Electro-transformation is the process of introducing DNA into a bacterial cell by applying an electric field. This enables scientists to make recombinant strains, study gene function and build bacterial libraries. However, the majority of known microbes are un-transformable even with current electro-transformation technology. Here we will explore the electro-transformation parameters neccessary for successful transformation of Pseudomonas mendocina, a Gram-negative bacterium with potential for use in bioremediation. You will learn about the scientific process, how to design an experiment, and how to communicate your results in a formal presentation.

Coding skills

Python, Matlab, Java

Languages I know

Spanish -

Teaching experience

From June 2019 to October 2020 , I mentored undergraduates students on furthering development of an open-source repository for microfluidics and testing a low-cost biotech tool. In the spring of 2020, I co-managed teaching the class and lab components for a graduate synthetic biology course. At MIT I assisted teaching STEM workshops to K-12 students for 4 years.

Credentials

Work experience

Massachusetts General Hospital (2021 - 2021)
Clinical Laboratory Technologist
Community Biotechnology Initiative, MIT Media Lab (2019 - 2020)
Research Associate II
Community Biotechnology Initiative, MIT Media Lab (2018 - 2019)
Undergraduate Researcher
D’Arbeloff Laboratory, MIT (2016 - 2017)
Undergraduate Researcher

Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BS Bachelor of Science (2019)
Mechanical Engineering, focus in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering
Université Denis Diderot (Paris VII)
MS Master of Science candidate
Life Sciences

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