PhD Advisor: Mario Romero-Ortega
1st Year MD/PhD Student
Roberto is a current master’s student studying Cellular and Molecular Medicine (CMM) at the University of Arizona. At the conclusion of this degree, he plans to begin his first year of medical school here at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. He was first introduced to biomedical engineering during a summer research internship at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ. Here, I had the incredible opportunity to witness first-hand the unique dynamic that can exist between both researchers and clinicians. His research project at Barrow sought to address the rise in post-operative surgical consequences due to excessive retraction force with the creation of a multi-purpose surgical suction device engineered with force-monitoring capabilities. For the completion of this endeavor, he was not only tasked with incorporating the proper engineering foundations for how the device would function but also format it appropriately based on surgeon preference and use. Interacting with both investigators and physicians in this manner revealed to me not only the uniqueness of both perspectives but more importantly, the beauty that can arise when they are combined together. This experience among others has led him in pursuit of the MD/PhD path. Roberto’s current research involves prototyping different design strategies for an effective in-vitro peripheral nerve construct with regenerative capabilities and muscle innervation.
Research Interests
Nerve Regeneration, Peripheral Nerve Modeling, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs)
Contact
rdiazbrown@arizona.edu