Lillian Hutchinson presenting poster at annual Biomedical Engineering Society Conference

Author: Lillian Hutchinson | Major: Chemical Engineering | Semester: Fall 2023

My name is Lillian Hutchinson, and I am a sophomore chemical engineering major with a mathematics minor. I am conducting research over the use of collagen hydrogels for disease modeling. My project focused on improving the method of development of a collagen scaffold to act as a model for diseased tissue.

I attended the annual Biomedical Engineering Society Conference in Seattle, Washington to present my project. The conference allowed me to present my work to others in my field and receive feedback and advice for further ways to improve the model. There were even occasions when I was able to give advice to other students pertaining to my procedure for making the hydrogels and imaging the hydrogels. I was also able to attend presentations about the use of hydrogels and disease models that helped put my work into a larger scope. The conference was an opportunity to improve my ability to make and present posters. By the end of my presentation time, I felt more confident speaking about my work to others, even those who are more experienced in the field than I am. Attending presentations not directly related to my work improved my literacy within the biomedical engineering field in general and introduced me to topics I wouldn’t learn about in class. It also helped to solidify what specific type of research I want to do by exposing me to other options.

My future aspirations include earning my Ph.D. studying tissue engineering, so being surrounded by other students and professors working within my field encouraged and inspired me to continue my work. The conference gave me the chance to speak with professors at other universities using hydrogels and other methods of tissue engineering. I was able to discuss my current and future projects with them and relate it to the work they do. These conversations taught me a lot about networking and resulted in me building connections with others in my field. Furthermore, I spoke with graduate students from other universities who gave me advice for achieving my academic goals and improving my capabilities as a researcher. They gave me tips about working in a lab and steps I can take to be prepared for graduate school. Speaking with representatives from graduate schools allowed me to learn about programs I didn’t know existed and summer experiences I can do now to make me a better candidate. I still have a while to go before I apply to graduate school, but I now have more knowledge about the different programs and steps I can take now to prepare.

I am very excited to expand on my work by taking the disease model I developed and analyzing the structural changes to the scaffold when cells are added. I would like to attend another conference and expand upon my presentation skills by building my experience. This conference was a needed step to developing my career as a researcher, and I intend to continue with the momentum it gave me.