Blynn S
- Research Program Mentor
MD at Stanford University
Expertise
Biomedical engineering; medicine and surgery; medical device design and prototyping; pediatric assistive technology; wearable sensors and rehabilitation; sports medicine and athlete mental health; literature and systematic reviews; health policy analysis
Bio
Hello! I'm a doctor training as a surgical resident at Duke, with a background in biomedical engineering and physics. I studied engineering at Columbia and medicine at Stanford, and have mentored dozens of middle school, high school, and undergraduate students interested in science, engineering, medicine, and surgery. Much of my research has focused on developing medical technologies for children, including vascular catheters, exoskeletons, wearable sensors, and virtual reality environments for children with critical or complex illnesses. I have guided student projects on scoliosis treatments in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, biomedical engineering designs to detect and prevent pressure ulcers, mental health outcomes in NCAA athletes, and state government level food allergy public policies. I enjoy helping students turn their curiosity into a focused project while learning practical skills they can carry into their education and future careers. Together, we can explore medical device design, surgery, rehabilitation, sports medicine, health policy, and more through hands-on prototypes, focused systematic reviews, or analysis of public data. We'll tailor the work to your interests and experience, with potential outcomes such as a manuscript for submission, research presentation, science fair entry, or invention—you don't need prior research or coding experience to get started. I'm passionate about building electronics, writing code, and working with patients; in my free time, I enjoy walking dogs and playing RuneScape.Project ideas
Medical Device Design: From Everyday Problem to Prototype
What everyday healthcare problem could you make easier to solve? Choose a focused challenge, such as opening medical packaging with limited hand strength or organizing home-care supplies. We will explore published research and existing products, define user needs, sketch several solutions, and compare tradeoffs in cost, usability, and accessibility. You can build a cardboard, CAD, or 3D-printed prototype and evaluate it with a simulated task. Your final product will be a design portfolio with a prototype, testing results, and a plan for improvement. No prior engineering experience is required; the scope can grow with your interests. Potential outcomes: Biodesign prototype; design portfolio; science fair project; engineering poster.
Wearable Sensors: Measuring Movement on a Budget
Could an inexpensive motion sensor help us describe how something moves? Explore the engineering behind wearable devices, then use a microcontroller or an existing public dataset to study a focused question about movement. We will learn how to collect or interpret sensor signals, visualize data, and compare measurements against a simple reference. A beginner could analyze a pendulum or model limb; a student with coding experience could explore an openly available movement dataset. Your final deliverable could be a working demonstration and technical report explaining accuracy, limitations, and what would be needed before any clinical use. Potential outcomes: Sensor demonstration or data-analysis notebook; technical manuscript for submission; science fair presentation.
Build a Better Surgical Training Model
How can we make hands-on surgical education more accessible? Choose one practice task, such as tying knots or placing sutures, and investigate the features a useful training model should have. We will compare published designs, select inexpensive materials, and build a nonclinical prototype. You will evaluate practical measures such as cost, durability, and repeatability using a standardized bench test. The project can culminate in a reusable model, illustrated construction guide, and research poster. This is a chance to combine anatomy, materials science, and design without working with patients, animal tissue, or clinical procedures. Potential outcomes: Surgical training prototype; illustrated build guide; design poster; manuscript for submission to a student research journal.
Designing Medical Instructions That People Can Understand
What makes a health instruction sheet clear, accessible, and easy to navigate? Select a narrow topic, such as preparing for a clinic visit or understanding a medical device's published instructions. We will compare publicly available materials using a transparent rubric for readability, organization, illustrations, and accessibility, then design an improved mock-up. You will learn how to turn research into visual communication and explain your design choices. Your final deliverable could be a comparative report and an illustrated guide or interactive prototype. The project evaluates communication; any patient-facing medical content would require clinical review before use. Potential outcomes: Redesigned educational material; interactive mock-up; communication research poster; manuscript for submission.
Virtual Reality in Pediatric Care: What Does the Evidence Show?
How has virtual reality been studied to support children during a particular healthcare experience? We will narrow the question to one setting or outcome and develop a structured literature review. You will learn to search research databases, apply inclusion criteria, extract study findings, and assess limitations such as small samples or inconsistent outcome measures. Depending on the available literature and project timeline, the result could be a focused systematic review or an evidence map. Your final paper and infographic will explain what the research suggests, where findings disagree, and what a stronger future study might look like. Potential outcomes: Focused review manuscript for journal submission; evidence map; research poster or science fair presentation.
Returning to Sports After Injury: A Focused Evidence Review
How do researchers decide when an athlete is ready to return to sport? Choose one injury, sport, or age group and examine the tests and outcomes used in published studies. We will build a focused review question, document a reproducible search, and compare how studies define readiness and successful return. You will practice reading scientific papers, organizing evidence tables, and distinguishing a research finding from a clinical recommendation. Your final deliverable could be a review paper and visual summary highlighting evidence gaps. The project uses published research and does not involve assessing or advising individual athletes. Potential outcomes: Review manuscript for journal submission; evidence table; sports-medicine research poster.
AI in Medicine: How Fair and Convincing Are the Studies?
When a study claims an AI tool performs well, what should we ask next? Pick one narrow application, such as identifying a finding in medical images, and review how published studies evaluate their models. We will compare datasets, performance measures, representation of patient groups, and testing on data from other institutions. You will learn to recognize common sources of bias and explain why strong performance in one dataset may not generalize. Your final product could be an evidence review and a student-friendly checklist for evaluating medical AI claims. No coding is required, with optional analysis for students who want it. Potential outcomes: Critical review manuscript for submission; medical AI evaluation checklist; research poster or science fair presentation.
Who Gets Included? Representation in Clinical Trials
How well do clinical trial participants reflect the people a treatment is intended to help? Choose a single condition and a small, clearly defined set of trials using public trial registries and published results. We will develop a consistent approach to extracting eligibility criteria, participant characteristics, and reporting gaps. You will learn to distinguish missing information from evidence of exclusion and consider the limits of any comparison population. The project can produce a descriptive research paper, evidence table, and infographic. This is a practical introduction to research methods and health equity using public information rather than individual patient records. Potential outcomes: Descriptive research manuscript for submission; data visualizations; health-equity research poster.
School Emergency Preparedness: Comparing Policy and Practice on Paper
What do school emergency policies actually require, and how clearly are those expectations communicated? Choose one topic, such as access to automated external defibrillators or heat-illness preparedness, and compare a manageable sample of states or districts. We will identify official sources, record their dates, and build a rubric that separates legal requirements from recommendations. You will learn document analysis, source verification, and how to describe policy differences without assuming they prove differences in outcomes. Your final deliverable could be a policy brief, comparison matrix, and proposed questions for future research. Potential outcomes: Policy brief; policy comparison matrix; research manuscript for submission; presentation for a school or community audience.
When Children Outgrow Medical Devices: Designing for Growth
How can an assistive device accommodate a child's changing size and daily needs? Choose one noninvasive device component, such as an adjustable handle or mounting system, and investigate the design challenges through published literature and existing products. We will define requirements, compare adjustment mechanisms, and create a CAD model or physical mock-up. You can evaluate range of adjustment, ease of assembly, and material cost with bench tests. Your final deliverable will be a design report and prototype explaining tradeoffs and next steps. Prototypes are for demonstration, with no patient testing or claims of clinical effectiveness. Potential outcomes: Biodesign prototype or CAD model; bench-testing report; design portfolio; science fair project.
Designing Health Reminders People Want to Use
Can a reminder be helpful without becoming another notification people ignore? Choose a focused routine, such as taking activity breaks or preparing questions for a medical appointment, and explore research on reminders and behavior change. We will compare approaches to timing, wording, personalization, and user control, then design a small app mock-up or notification prototype. You will create a simulated evaluation plan that considers usability, privacy, and notification fatigue rather than assuming reminders improve health. Your final product could be an interactive prototype and research-based design report. Coding is optional, and the project can be tailored to your experience. Potential outcomes: Interactive app mock-up or coded prototype; research-based design report; science fair presentation; usability study proposal.