Consultant Spotlight - November 2019

How long have you been with miLEAD? 

I joined miLEAD during the fall of 2017, my second year of graduate school.

What is the current focus of your research?

My research focuses on developing tissue engineering methodologies for growing human skeletal muscle. My lab's goal is to create a novel therapy for Volumetric Muscle Loss.

What are your career goals? 

Ultimately, I want my career to focus on advancing medical technology, improving patient care, and increasing access to progressive therapies. I hope to achieve this goal by working in the medical device industry, particularly start-ups, or in a consulting firm.

What roles have you played on projects? 

I have been a consultant for two of miLEAD's projects so far. For one project, I worked with the team to conduct a market feasibility analysis and cost prediction model for our client's novel defense technology. My other project heavily focused on discovering and acquiring collaborators for an automotive software company.

What led you to seek out miLEAD?

Outside of the advanced coursework and innovative research, I've always seen graduate school as an opportunity to explore potential future careers. A fellow lab mate introduced me to miLEAD. I was excited for a chance to learn more about consulting and work with different teams to support local companies and solve unique problems. I wanted to see how I could use my current engineering skills and experiences in projects outside my field of research. miLEAD has ended up not only being an excellent source for getting hands-on consulting experience, but also for career advice in all science fields.

Since joining miLEAD, what skills have you been able to develop?

miLEAD's projects and professional development events have had a great impact on my public speaking and presentation skills. With miLEAD's diverse consultants and clientele, I have gotten quite a bit of experience adapting my research and project presentations to be suitable for all types of audiences and scenarios.

What has been one of your most rewarding experiences thus far working with miLEAD? 

After weeks of working on different components of a project, my team combined all their research into a final market feasibility analysis. One of the components of this analysis was an interactive cost-prediction model. It was really rewarding to work with a team to create a program that not only answered the client's questions, but also allowed them to test out future market techniques. It felt like the miLEAD team had a significant helpful impact on the client's future decisions.