Hello all before updating you on the first two weeks of GMI, I wanted to quickly introduce myself. My name is Aedan Mangan; I am from Cleveland, OH. I attended the University of Dayton majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Human Movement Biomechanics. Outside of engineering, I enjoy traveling, trying new things, and playing rugby.
The past two weeks have been busy for sure, but very fun! The 2020 cohort assembled in Houston on June 3rd where most of us met for the first time. After meeting each other, we hit the ground running. Dr. Clifton and Sarah reviewed our responsibilities for the next few weeks as well as the rest of the summer. We chose our projects for the Medical Device Bootcamp in Costa Rica.
Monday afternoon we flew out of Houston for Costa Rica. Tuesday-Friday GMI students worked with Costa Rican students from various universities on developing a medical device for a specific need. We learned not only a great deal about the biodesign process, but also about effectively communicating across cultures and working as a team!
My favorite part about the first week was getting to know our Costa Rican teammates. Hearing their perspective was eye opening and learning about their culture was invaluable.
Over the weekend, the GMI group traveled to Manuel Antonio National Park. We were able to see some of the awe-inspiring biodiversity, and enjoy the sun. Some of us did not last as long in the sun but were able to find refuge in the dense tree cover.
The second week was headed up by Paul Fearis of Duke University who focused on Insight Informed Innovation. Along with learning a great deal about the front-end of innovation, we were able to observe in Costa Rican hospitals!
Ellie and I flew back to Houston on Friday June 14th and started work the following Monday. We will be interning at the Center for Device Innovation for the rest of the summer (https://jnjinnovation.com/cdi) while observing on Fridays at various hospitals in TMC. I am excited for the summer and looking forward to seeing the GMI cohort in August!
Learn more about our one-year, full-time Master of Bioengineering in Global Medical Innovation.