Elena Liguori
Class of 2021
Research Associate at LeanMed, LLC.
Market Associate at SciVelo
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Before pursuing her MsMPE, Elena attended the University of Pittsburgh for her undergraduate degree in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Applied Fitness. During her undergraduate, Elena completed a clinical research internship at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh analyzing the effectiveness of the Diabetes Transition Clinic’s interventional program to bridge the gap in education and care for teens with Type 1 diabetes as they enter adulthood. She also served as a business analyst intern at Grant Street group designing interactive help modules for product websites. Currently, Elena is interning as a research associate with LeanMed, LLC, a start-up working to provide a solar-power oxygen generation device for use in lower- and middle-income nations. She also works as a marketing and communications associate with sciVelo, Pitt’s Office of Translational Development.
Changing Paths to Change Lives
When I was in the fifth grade, my younger sister was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. After that day, her life and the life of our whole family could never be the same. Initially, everything was complicated and scary. Soccer practice was dangerous. Snacks were a challenge. Finger pricks were constant. Shots were drawn up and administered again and again. All the parts of life that we had lived without a second thought now required planning and caution.
Within months, my sister began to use an insulin pump, which made her new life as a diabetic much more manageable. Now, she wears the pump almost every minute of every day, and it has freed her. The little machine hooks onto her pocket and a tube extends to her body via a cannula. No more carb-conversions, less guess-work, fewer shots. The way that little machine has transformed her life is incredible. Within days of receiving her pump, my sister’s life returned to almost normal. That is when I knew that when I grew up, I wanted to help people like my sister, to lighten the load of those who bear heavier burdens of handicap or disease.
I attended engineering summer camps through high school and was intrigued by biomedical devices. When it came time for college, I chose to attend Penn State’s Biomedical Engineering Program, as well as Schreyer Honors College and the Leonhard Engineering Scholars Program. I loved the engineering experience, however the University itself was not a good fit for me.
"The way that little machine has transformed her life is incredible...
...I wanted to help people like my sister, to lighten the load of those who bear heavier burdens of handicap or disease"
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So, I transferred to Pitt for my second semester of my freshman year. In the tumult of the transferring process, I changed my major to biology intending physician assistant or medical school. By the time sophomore year rolled around, I was having some second thoughts on my decision not to pursue engineering. The second thoughts persisted, but I thought I was too far along my path in the bio program to switch anything. As much as I loved the material I was studying, I could not help but feel there was a second half of my brain that was not being engaged.
The summer of junior year, I interned at Children’s Hospital in the Endocrinology Department and worked with the Diabetes Transition Clinic. I loved everything I saw there, but my favorite part was learning about all the new continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps. Still, I continued on my biology path, assuming I had missed the boat on bioengineering.
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Coming to graduation and feeling dissatisfied with my post-grad options, I found the Pitt2Pitt Program through an email. Scrolling through, I was shocked to see the Masters in Biomedical Engineering as an option for me. My heart skipped a beat, and I knew that I had to apply.
"Bioengineering will allow me to use my God-given gifts to do good. Hopefully through designing products like those my sister uses, I will make people’s daily lives just a bit less difficult"
The bioengineering field allows me to utilize my practical, mechanical mind and my in-depth biology education in conjunction with creativity and interpersonal skills to help others. Bioengineering will allow me to use my God-given gifts to do good. Hopefully through designing products like those my sister uses, I will make people’s daily lives just a bit less difficult.
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Through the MS-MPE Program, I hope to get broad exposure to and experience in the many facets of medical product engineering. I plan to build engineering skills onto my biology-based background, acquiring both the hard and soft skills to use my unique educational path to be the best bioengineer I can be. I am very excited to start working on projects that will help to make other people’s lives better. I also hope to gain insight into where I am best suited to begin my career after graduation. Currently, I feel that I have so much more to learn before I can even begin to plan my post-graduation career, but I feel sure that this program will give me the experiences I need to make that decision with confidence when the time comes.
