Student Spotlights

I am a senior undergraduate student studying Biomedical Engineering, with minors in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and English. Originally from Houston, Texas, I have been attending UNT since 2019 and have been highly passionate about biomedical engineering from day one.

I am currently working with Dr. Moo-Yeal Lee in the UNT Bioprinting lab, assisting in the research and writing for a review paper on brain organoids. I previously conducted research with two other labs, the OrthoBME lab at the University of Florida, where I studied cellular response to inflammatory stimulus and 3D cell culture platforms under Dr. Kyle Allen, and the UNT Biothermal Cancer Detection Research Group, where I assisted Dr. Tae-Youl Choi with human cell culture and maintenance. I currently serve as the Founding Secretary of IEEE EMBS UNT and the President of AEMB UNT.

My research interests are in synthetic biology, specifically the development of therapeutics using genetic, viral, and/or biomolecular engineering strategies. After graduating with my bachelor's degree, I plan to attend graduate school and earn my PhD in Biomedical Engineering. I hope to eventually work in R&D at a large medical company like Johnson and Johnson, designing and testing new therapeutics.

I am an undergraduate student in my senior year pursuing a BS in Biomedical Engineering with a concentration in Bioinstrumentation. I currently serve as President of the Biomedical Engineering Society, and Vice President of the Alpha Eta Mu Beta Biomedical Engineering Honor Society at UNT. I am also working at Safran Electrical and Power as an Equipment Engineering Intern.

I have previously worked in Dr. Yong Yang's Micro and Nanoengineering in Medicine Laboratory, assisting with the research and design of mechanical stretching devices using electromagnets. Prior to this, I served as a Program Manager for HAKing Innovation -- a nonprofit dedicated to teaching STEM to children all across North Texas.

After completing my BS in Biomedical Engineering, with a double minor in Materials Science and Engineering and Mathematics, I am continuing my education with UNT’s Department of Biomedical Engineering. I took advantage of the GradTrack option, which allows me to receive my MS in Biomedical Engineering more quickly as well as enjoy the multiple courses with hands on labs that I am able to take as a Graduate student. The connections I’ve made at UNT and the work I did on my capstone project helped me to become employed with a sponsor from Senior Design and put what I’ve learned into practice.

My name is Rebeca Masdon-Mercado, and I am currently pursuing my master’s degree in biomedical engineering.  I earned my bachelor’s in BME from Johns Hopkins University in 2005 along with a minor in Spanish.  After graduating I worked for a cardiac device company supporting sales staff with the implant and follow up of pacemakers and defibrillators.  Since then, I have worked as a high school Chemistry teacher, a small business owner, and a stay-at-home mom.  I have recently decided to reenter the biomedical industry and have kickstarted my pursuits through UNT’s Master of Science program.  The classes offered have been interesting, challenging, and covering many different specialties within the field.  I was able to work on some independent research with Dr. Jafari exploring the biases in smart devices when gathering health data.  I am looking forward to continuing my efforts and returning to industry after graduation in May 2023.