GMI Student Perspectives | Aedan Mangan: Now It Ends

Reflections from Global Medical Innovation MBE students.

A field on Rice campus with a sign featuring the wording "For your safety, these fields are closed."

If you have not realized yet, all of my blog titles are from movies/shows. They include The Dark Knight, Game of Thrones, The OC (thanks to my sisters), Friday Night Lights (the movie which is better than the show), and Into the Wild. Pretty sure no one’s caught on which is surprising considering how viral these blogs have gone. In all seriousness, I have enjoyed them as an action of reflection and seeing how much we have done over the past year. It’s pretty wild to think back to our first week, traveling to Costa Rica with a group that did not know each other well, and see how far we have come. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone in the program and having the opportunity to learn from not only Dr. Clifton, Sarah, and LaShaune but also people in the cohort: whether that was Ellie holding my hand through mind mapping and anatomy in June or Erik explaining how a building in the center of campus is not symmetrical.

I am proud of what we all have been able to accomplish. All of us have learned so much not only in the realm of medical innovation but also about each other and where we come from. Eddie’s is always open about his expertise in electrical engineering and Duke basketball - here is a link for anyone that did not know Dayton was ranked ahead of Duke at the end of the year. Genevieve has taught me about being Irish, but honestly, hearing her perspective having grown up all around the world has been awesome. Hannah offered a lot of light into why she loves research so much and wants to pursue a PhD.

I am proud of what we all have been able to accomplish. All of us have learned so much not only in the realm of medical innovation but also about each other and where we come from.

Luc’s expertise in coding and willingness to teach concepts is always on display, as well as his knowledge in gaming, sours, and graphic design. Matt has taught us a lot about anime, some of which was requested. But Matt’s positive attitude and hard work especially for PatchVax has been great and is the reason for a lot of the progress we made. Lamiya offers a different perspective as an industrial engineer, and she has taught us about different aspects of Indian culture (especially food). Rocky has always been willing to explain medical concepts, whether it be an in-depth understanding of a procedure, or why a certain year of residency is harder than another. Ellie introduced me to Noah Kahan’s music and has taught me the value in being efficient (still striving to be more like Ellie). Erik’s cooking has been amazing and he has taught me more than I thought possible, also he has the ability to keep things light while being an amazing student and team member.

In terms of project updates, since placing second at the Houston Global Health Collaborative Conference, PatchVax has been focused on an efficient handoff to the McHugh Lab. Dr. McHugh has been a great mentor; I am thoroughly impressed with his work and management style, excited to see how all the projects in his lab progress. For Guide-Ox we are continuing to prototype and will be pitching to both our Healthcare Innovation and Entrepreneurship class as well as Johnson and Johnson’s Center for Device Innovation.

Speaking of CDI, I will be wrapping up work at Ictero Medical (a company in residence at CDI) whom I have been with part-time. I am thankful for the opportunity to have worked at Ictero and with all the people within CDI. The work being done there is captivating, and it is all due to the hard working people who compel it forward.

Graduation will be online (as everything is now), so I am planning on driving back to Ohio in May - and stopping to see my sister in Kansas City. I will be starting with Ethicon in Digital Surgery in July, so I am thoroughly excited for that!


Learn more about our one-year, full-time Master of Bioengineering in Global Medical Innovation.

Aedan Magnan, 2019-20 Cohort, MBE in Global Medical Innovation