BMES Board Spotlight: Anya Bekhtel!

Meet Anya Bekhtel! Anya is a 4th-year Bioengineering major and one of our Cell Team Project Managers — read on to learn more about her!

How'd you hear about BMES?

Before I started college, I was looking at the list of engineering clubs to figure out what orgs I wanted to join and found BMES! I then got to talk to some of the current board members when I went to the Enormous Activities Fair the Fall Quarter of my freshman year.

How long have you been involved with BMES?

I've been involved in BMES since my first year, largely through technical projects! I joined EKG Build Team my first year where I learned the basics of circuitry and coding, then expanded on those skills through Robotic Hand Design Team my second year. I've also been involved in mentorship and love passing on advice and talking about my experiences with first year BioE's trying to figure college out :)

What are your primary responsibilities as Cell Team Project Manager (PM)?

As Cell Team Project Manager, I help underclassmen gain confidence in their wet lab skills and get prepared to join a research lab. This year, we have modified the curriculum to include presentations on lab techniques, worksheets to practice lab skills, lab protocol walkthroughs, and journal clubs.

What do you enjoy most about your position?

I love having the opportunity to connect with all the underclassmen and help them be better prepared for their time at UCLA :)

What's one thing you've learned from being in your position?

To be VERY creative. The task of turning a lab-based technical project into something worthwhile in a completely remote learning environment was a little daunting at first. But it's been such a privilege to work closely with Justin Chen (the other Cell Team PM) and find ways to pass on what we know virtually and get students prepared for research.

Which family are you in?

Guanine!

Favorite BMES memory?

Technical Project Presentations at the end of my sophomore year. The structure was kind of like Capstone Symposium, and it gave me the opportunity to talk about my work to my friends and wander around to learn about the cool projects the other technical teams had been working on. 

Favorite class you've taken at UCLA?

BE 188 (Biomedical Instruments) with Dr. Gu. Half of the class involved lab experiments and learning about different sensors, which the other hand was lecture on different instrumentation techniques. The class gave me a good basis on the different types of imaging techniques available to physicians and what the limitations are with the current technology. I also really liked the content in Dr. Kasko's Introduction to Biomaterials course (BE CM178) and Biochem 153A.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I'm a big coffee fan, and love trying new coffee shops in LA. In the last year, I've gotten into cooking and yoga, and rediscovered my love of reading and embroidery.

Describe yourself as a Care Bear.

I would want to be a purple Care Bear with a flowers belly badge that allows me to keep my plants alive! I'm really not good with house plants :/

Anything else you'd like to share?

If you read this far I hope you have a lovely day and get some time to recharge <3