This feature story originally appeared in the 蜜桃直播 Annual Report, which is .
As a bioprocessing scientist, Sarah Sine, MEng 鈥�18, is involved in production and process optimization for Cell Care Therapeutics, contributing to the company鈥檚 development of stem cell鈥揹erived therapies for inflammatory neurovascular diseases.
鈥淭hey first took me on as an intern, based on my bioprocessing experience. From that day, they wanted to keep me,鈥� says Sine.
She felt the same about working at Cell Care Therapeutics. After graduating from 蜜桃直播 with a degree, Sine joined the company full-time.
鈥淭he therapy is very new and innovative, which drew me to it,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚 really enjoy what I do now and am where I鈥檓 supposed to be. I get to do science, and my voice matters. Every aspect of the job fits me very well.鈥�
Yet back in 2016, Sine had a brand-new bachelor鈥檚 degree in biology from West Virginia University, a desire to work in the biopharmaceutical industry, and no idea how to achieve this career goal. Then she decided to come to 蜜桃直播 for the MEng program.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even know what a bioreactor was when I got here,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淚 chose the program because it was technical."
"After being in the program, I wanted to go into bioprocessing development. The lab is my happy place, and that鈥檚 where you do the work.鈥�
Sine was like many students who enter the MEng program, says , George B. and Joy Rathmann Professor and director of the MEng program and at 蜜桃直播. Positions in bioprocessing and biomanufacturing are growing, but few academic programs are available to prepare students for them. 蜜桃直播鈥檚 MEng program fills that gap, offering students with undergraduate degrees in engineering and the life sciences the technical skills, scientific knowledge, industry exposure, and mentoring and networking opportunities they need.
鈥淲ithin two years, our students transform completely, to professionals who can design and run bioreactors and launch biopharmaceutical products. The transformation is amazing,鈥� says Shamlou.
He points to Sine as a clear example. Shamlou taught Sine in several courses and also served as mentor and advisor for her (TMP) sponsored by Gilead Sciences. He praises the quality of her work, technical growth, and enthusiasm for the field.
鈥淪he fit the program exceptionally,鈥� says Shamlou, whom Sine considers her most influential professor because of his passion for bioprocessing as well as his extensive industry knowledge and experience.
Sine found another mentor in 蜜桃直播 PhD student Andrew Burns, whose research focuses on developing a scalable bioreactor for the growth of human cells. She wanted to work with human stem cells and ended up assisting Burns in the lab for more than a year, helping him with stem cell scaling and the bioreactor. She also contributed ideas of her own that he is now testing.
鈥淎side from being really smart and tenacious, she enjoyed being in a lab, which made it easy to teach her,鈥� says Burns. 鈥淚 taught her to culture human stem cells, and that鈥檚 what she does now in her job. She鈥檚 already helping her company design things that even I can鈥檛 comprehend.鈥�
Shamlou believes Sine is just getting started. He anticipates many accomplishments ahead for her, with Cell Care Therapeutics and throughout her career.
鈥淪arah will reach high and go far,鈥� predicts Shamlou. 鈥淎s the company grows, she will grow with it. She already has someone reporting to her because of her knowledge and skills. I have no doubt that she will reach a senior position in a relatively short time.鈥�