I really enjoyed listening to the different faculty members that came in to speak to us this summer. Not only was it interesting to hear about the research that they all have done / currently do, but it was cool to see how each of them got into science and the many pathways they’ve taken to get to where they are today.
As a biomedical engineer, I personally found Dr. Charlie Gersbach’s talk to be very interesting. I’ve always had a narrow mind about what biomedical engineering really meant, but I realized throughout the talk that genome editing through the usage of CRISPR and other technologies could also fit the term “engineering”, just maybe not in the way we are really accustomed to. In fact, it also makes me appreciate the fact that Duke’s Biomedical Engineering Department does range from research fields such as genetic engineering to brain machine interface development, as it accurately represents and showcases the many applications of the major. Gersbach’s research itself is fascinating as well, as the future of the work being done in this field can have massive potential to treat genetic diseases.
I also learned a lot from Gersbach’s path to where he is now. I am still very unsure about what I want to be doing exactly in the future, but it’s nice to see that many people have the time to explore both industrial and academic fields before settling on something they enjoy doing. I’m excited to see where my experience in research early on takes me, and I’m glad to have had the opportunity to listen to all these professors this summer!
