Brick Memorial Grad Making Most Of Biomedical Studies

BRICK, NJ — Ian Kanterman first crossed swords with cancer when he was 5 years old, when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Now, as he prepares to graduate from the University of Rhode Island, the Brick Memorial graduate is ready to help doctors battle cancer and a variety of conditions through his planned career in biomedical engineering.

Kanterman was leaning toward computer engineering when he chose Rhode Island, but said that changed at the university's accepted students’ day when a professor introduced him to biomedical engineering.

Kanterman said he realized "I could help people, maybe even a cancer patient," something that was important to him after his childhood battle, which began when his mother discovered a lump one night while changing him into pajamas for bed.

The diagnosis was non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a cancer that starts in the lymphatic system. Days later he was in surgery to have the tumor removed, Kanterman said. He underwent two more surgeries and two years of chemotherapy. In the middle of his treatment, he suffered a stroke, paralyzing some of his left side, but he recovered fully and was able to return to school.

The chemo took his hair, and he wore a black bandana decorated with green aliens to school to cover his head, which led to mean comments from other children.

"They didn’t know any better, and we became friends later,” Kanterman said. Cancer taught him a bigger lesson, however.

"Having cancer taught me to live fuller and more," he said. "I try to make the most out of everything put in front of me."

That has been what he has done at Rhode Island in pursuit of his biomedical engineering degree. He entered the university's International Engineering Program, and last academic year studied at the Université de Technologie de Compiègne in France and interned at the Institute of Image-Guided Surgery in Strasbourg, France, creating a prototype for a device that quickly treats the blood pressure of trauma patients.

"It was a phenomenal experience," he said. "I got to work with people from Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Argentina, Spain and Japan. It was exhilarating."

Kanterman, who has a dual major in French, helped pay for his studies with scholarships from the Lester J. & Marie T. King Memorial Scholarship, awarded annually to a student in the College of Engineering who demonstrates academic excellence and financial need, and the Beatrice S. Demers Foreign Language Fellows Program.

He is a dean's list student, and in addition to his studies has participated in the university's Leadership Institute, has been a tour guide with the university's Office of Admission, a coordinator within the Student Alumni Association leadership team, and an orientation leader. He also raised money for childhood cancer research through the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

Kanterman's senior capstone project has been a silicone wrist, created by him and and two other engineering students, that simulates the 28 pulse patterns used in traditional Chinese medicine to diagnose various diseases. Kanterman said he envisions it as a teaching tool for Western doctors.

"It’s pretty neat," he said. "We used all the skills we learned in college to develop this. It’s very fulfilling."

After graduating from Rhode Island, Kanterman is headed to the University of Twente in the Netherlands, where he has been accepted into the master’s degree program in biomedical engineering. He will be concentrating on neural and motor systems in his studies. The university is considered one of the top technical colleges in the Netherlands.

"URI has been terrific," Kanterman said. "It helped me grow as a person and student. It taught me to be bold, brave and grateful."

"I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything," he said.

Photo by Randy Osga, provided by the University of Rhode Island