Palm Springs, CA Local Awarded 2017 Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., Travel Fellowship

Nicole Friend, a senior studying Bioengineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), was recently awarded a 2017 Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., Travel Fellowship.

Named in honor of a distinguished member of the Society For Biomaterials (SFB), the Travel Fellowship was created to promote diversity, inclusion and success within STEM fields. The Fellowship provides undergraduate students with the resources needed to become a member of the Society For Biomaterials and attend the 2017 Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minn. Fellows are paired with a mentor to serve as a guide as well as to advise them in pursuing advanced degrees and their career goals.

A Palm Springs, CA. native, Friend is studying ways to use extracellular matrix derived hydrogels to treat cardiovascular and liver disease. She learned about the fellowship and SFB from one of her UCSD research mentors, Dr. Karen Christman.

“I wouldn’t have known about SFB or the fellowship if my mentor hadn’t told me about it,” said Friend. “This fellowship helps to publicize the meeting and will make it possible for me to attend and participate in a networking opportunity that I wouldn’t have had a chance to otherwise.”

After she completes her undergraduate degree, Friend aims to pursue a Ph.D. program in biomedical engineering with research focused on biomaterials and tissue engineering, however, she is still deciding which school she is most interested in.

“I look forward to observing and taking note of the research being conducted at different schools at the conference,” said Friend. “This will help me decide which Ph.D. program I ultimately want to pursue.”