BMES Board Spotlight: Juhi Mehta

Meet Juhi Mehta! Juhi is a 4th-year Bioengineering major, Spanish minor and BMES president of the 2022-2023 school year!

How have you been involved with BMES?

I’ve been involved in BMES since my freshman year, when I joined the publicity committee! I had tons of fun making aesthetic graphics for various BMES events. I also began volunteering for the RISE program, and fell in love with teaching kids! This led me to join board as a community outreach chair in my sophomore year. In my junior year, I served as mentorship coordinator and put on tons of fun social events like KBBQ night and Friendsgiving. Finally, this year, I’ve had the amazing opportunity to be president. I love being a part of this organization and giving back to the bioengineering community. It feels so crazy looking back, and I think my freshman self wouldn’t believe it!

What are your primary responsibilities as president this year?

As president, my primary responsibilities include supervising all of our chapter’s affairs as well as leading board in all of our various initiatives. I also work with the School of Engineering and the Bioengineering department to set the overall direction of our chapter and bring awareness to student needs and issues. Rather than working on one specific task, I oversee many different tasks, and do my best to support BMES board and BMES members in any way that I can! I hope to make positive changes to the organization and to continue providing BMES members with opportunities to grow in their academics and career, and connect with other bioEs!

Favorite BMES memory?

It’s hard to pick, but I’d say my favorite BMES memory has to be KBBQ night! It’s always so fun to take a trip to ktown, and the food is always so good! Cooking together is really wholesome and it’s helped me get to know other BMES members super well. Finally, dessert in ktown is always delicious!

One class that you enjoyed and would recommend?

One class I recommend is BE C147! This class is called tissue engineering: industrial and clinical perspectives, and is taught by Dr. Bill Tawil. Dr. Tawil is an incredible lecturer, and the content of the class is very interesting. Each lecture focuses on a different organ, and starts with the basic physiology and the most common diseases of that organ. Next, Dr. Tawil discusses the most common medical solutions to these diseases that are currently on the market. Finally, we discuss up and coming tissue engineering approaches that aim to treat these diseases. I am very interested in tissue engineering, and this class really helped me understand the market as a whole and the future of the industry. Dr. Tawil really takes the time to explore engineer, physician, and patient perspectives, which was very eye opening and meaningful. 

If you have had a research or internship experience, what was the most valuable aspect of the experience for you?

I am currently an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Li’s lab (Cell and Tissue Engineering Lab), and I’ve been working in his lab for 2 years. My research focuses on the effects of immunomodulation and electrical stimulation on direct cardiac reprogramming. Overall, research has been the most important part of my undergraduate bioengineering experience. I’ve been able to explore topics that I’m very passionate about and learn a lot about how to approach scientific problems. More importantly, I’ve challenged myself, and as a result have grown to be a more confident person. I would highly recommend anyone who is interested in research to get involved and email professors asking about open positions! 

If you could instantly become an expert in something, what would it be?

I’d have to say color theory. I love painting, but sometimes mixing the perfect shade can be really challenging! If I could, I’d want to be as talented as the painters on social media who can match the color of any random object within a minute or two.