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Surgical Interventions + Biomedical Engineering

Design, prototype, and implement an operational biomedical innovation in a laboratory setting while exploring modern research, challenges and opportunities.

About this Career Concentration

Campus: Wellesley College | Rising Grades: 10,11,12 | Sessions: Session 2 (Residential): July 21 - August 9
Session 2 (Commuter): July 22 - August 8 | Tuition: Residential: $7,895 Commuter: $3,995

Rigorous application of design and analysis principles to biological systems has yielded medical breakthroughs with such significance that they call into question some of our fundamental assumptions about life as we know it. From human lifespan to gene editing to growing synthetic organs, technological advances have opened the door to a reimagining of what may be possible in our living world. Our only limitation now is our capacity to innovate, test, and scale the best ideas.

In Surgical Interventions + Biomedical Engineering, experience the process of designing and implementing a medical intervention. Learn to interpret medical images and use them to diagnose illnesses and injuries in animal specimens. With a diagnosis in hand, you will design a medical solution, check its viability with scaled prototypes, then surgically implant the device you design and build into your specimen. Through simulated surgeries and connecting with medical experts, you will discover how the latest biomedical technology is being used to create cutting-edge solutions for the most pressing medical challenges society faces today. Gain experience with medical interventions such as: clearing a clogged artery, engineering a replacement MCL, and designing a reconstructive device to heal a bone fracture.

As you practice thinking like a biomedical innovator, you will decide among various options for sharing and scaling technologies, whether it be by launching a biomedical start-up, pioneering a new drug, or conducting clinic research. In Surgical Interventions + Biomedical Engineering, students experience the process of designing and implementing a medical intervention. They will learn to interpret medical images and use them to diagnose illnesses and injuries in animal specimens. With a diagnosis in hand, they will design a medical solution, check its viability with scaled prototypes, then surgically implant the device they design and build into their specimen. Through simulated surgeries and connecting with medical experts, students discover how the latest biomedical technology is being used to create cutting-edge solutions for the most pressing medical challenges society faces today. Students will gain experience with medical interventions such as: a clogged artery, engineering a replacement MCL, and designing a reconstructive device to heal a bone fracture. As students practice thinking like a biomedical innovator, they will decide among various options for sharing and scaling technologies such as: launching a biomedical start-up, pioneering a new drug, or conducting clinic research.

Required Materials: Students must bring closed-toes shoes to the program for certain labs and trips.

Highlights

Decellularize tissue
The final project is a cardiac tissue bioengineering challenge designed in partnership with Dr. Glenn Gaudette, Chair of the Department of Engineering at Boston College. You will perform a lab-based decellularization technique, an essential process for harvesting an appropriate substrate for growing human cardiac tissue.

Case Studies + Medical Ethics
Confront contentious issues in the field of bioengineering through real-world case studies in stem cell research, gene editing, and synthetic biology.

Prototyping
Design and build prototypes of an original medical device using cutting-edge materials and techniques.

Northeastern University Bioengineering Research Lab
Visit a Northeastern University research lab and conduct a strength test of a broken bone, apply a 3D printed orthopedic implant, and retest the strength of the surgically repaired bone — all with the support of a full research lab.