Shared Services, Deviation Management

For my 6-month internship with the University City Science Center, my role was that of the Technical Investment Co-op; a position focused on assisting the Science & Technology group within the science center. The primary function of this role was to assist the Phase 1 Ventures, Digital Health Accelerator, and QED proof-of-concept programs; all of which provide funding for newly formed biomedical companies and academic research teams. As the intern, part of my duties involved communicating with prospective research teams during the application cycles of the Phase 1 Ventures, Digital Health Accelerator, and QED programs. As each program received dozens of applications, I was responsible for assisting in the collection and review of applications. Further, I also worked closely with the funded companies and academic research teams; preparing market research analysis and National Science Foundation(NSF)/National Institutes of Health(NIH) grant preparation.

For my 6-month internship with the Penn Vet Working Dog Center, a component of the University of Pennsylvania, I served as a Research Assistant on an ovarian cancer detection study. As the goal of this study was to identify malignant ovarian cancer tissue using trained canines, my regular duties focused on the preparations, data collection, and canine handling during scent detection trials. Additionally, I performed statistical analysis on the recorded data and presented findings to the principal investigator of the research. Along with working on the ovarian cancer detection study, I also worked alongside the Philadelphia Police Department to train canines to detect narcotics. Using a similar training approach as identifying malignant cancer, we trained scent detection dogs to identify specific compounds; performing data analysis along the way to identify successful or faulty training methodologies.

For my 6-month internship with DSM Biomedical, I primarily worked with the sterile packaging team; performing mechanical testing and validation procedures on sterile packaging materials and equipment. As part of the validations procedures, I would regularly complete tensile testing and vacuum leak testing on sterile pouches sealed in DSM’s clean room manufacturing environment. In addition to performing validations, I also worked alongside experienced engineers to modify clean room packaging equipment. In one case, we had a pouch sealer that was heating incorrectly and burning materials as a result. To solve this, we implemented a shut-off switch for a single heating element, eliminating the uneven heating of packing materials. Further, I frequently worked alongside mechanical engineers to design and fabricate basic fixtures. Using simple machining equipment such as a drill presses, saws, and taps, I created simple designs such as platforms and cases for clean room manufacturing equipment.