Inspire 2026 Faculty on Engineering for Human Health: A Dive into Biomedical Engineering Summer Course
"We are excited about meeting students who are passionate about helping people by developing solutions to problems that affect human health!" - Shayn Peirce-Cottler and Leyf Starling
Engineering for Human Health: A Dive into Biomedical Engineering introduces students to the exciting world of biomedical engineering—where biology, coding, and design come together to tackle some of today’s most pressing health issues. Below, meet Shayn Peirce-Cottler and Leyf Starling, the instructors for this brand-new Inspire course for Summer 2026!
Meet the Instructors:
Q: Tell us about your journey into biomedical engineering (BME) and how you developed your expertise in the field?
Shayn: Growing up as a competitive swimmer, I was fascinated by physiology and how the human body adapts to exercise. Spending what seemed like half my life training in the pool, I was also interested in the mechanics of fluid flow— both the fluid forces that my arm muscles exerted on the water to propel me forward and the fluid forces exerted by my rapidly beating heart to pump blood through the blood vessels that fed my muscles with oxygen, enabling their contraction. In my high school Physics, Calculus, and AP Biology courses, I learned how the exactness of math and equations could bring order and understanding to the “soft and squishy” biology. And, in 11th grade, I learned that the field of biomedical engineering unites these tools and concepts to solve problems for human health. I attended the Johns Hopkins University to earn my Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering. I started performing research in a cardiovascular biomechanics lab as a sophomore, and I fell in love with being in the lab. I pursued my passion for biomedical research by attending graduate school at the University of Virginia, where I earned my PhD degree in Biomedical Engineering. My dissertation research focused on combining math and computation to make predictions about how the body’s smallest blood vessels (the capillaries) adapt to physiological stress and disease. I started my own biomedical engineering research lab at the University of Virginia in 2004, and for the past 21 years I, along with my graduate students and undergraduate students, have continued to develop and use computational tools for identifying new therapies that keep capillaries healthy in order to combat diseases like diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Leyf: I was inspired to take a BME class as an undergraduate student because my sister was a PhD student in BME at the time, and the problems she said she was working on solving sounded meaningful and very cool. After that course, I stayed connected with the field of BME through working in a BME lab one summer, and later working with BME undergraduate students to develop a way to teach about 3D bioprinting. My passion for improving healthcare has continued as I have had firsthand experiences as a patient that have shown me ways engineers can design solutions to help heal, cure, and bring peace and comfort to sick people; I recognize areas where Biomedical Engineers are needed to improve the world.
Q: What knowledge and skills can students expect to learn in Engineering for Human Health: A Dive into Biomedical Engineering this summer?
All: Through this experience, students will gain knowledge about how major diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease impact human health. They will learn about the cellular and molecular changes that cause the disease and how drugs are used to treat the disease. They will do research and run computational simulations to design improved treatments that can achieve even better patient outcomes or even cure the disease.
Additionally, students will gain skills centered around the engineering design process and engineering mindsets, as well as coding, simulation, and computer graphics. They will practice defining and modeling a medical problem, researching relevant information to inform their solution, and working effectively with a team to engineer a solution. Students will also learn to effectively communicate their ideas to diverse audiences.
Q: Do students need a background in biomedical engineering to be successful in this class?
All: No previous background in biomedical engineering is needed! The main things students need to know to get the most out of this experience:
- Be curious: Be curious about how the human body works, how diseases happen, and how engineers can solve problems to make people healthier and cure disease. Also, be curious about other people’s ideas.
- Be comfortable being uncomfortable: you do not need to know the answer right away, and that is okay.
Q: What advice do you have for students interested in taking your class this summer?
All: Ask questions, come ready to engage in the experience, be open to meeting and working with new people who have different backgrounds from you, and be ready to have fun!
Q: What are you most looking forward to about Inspire this summer?
All: We are both excited about meeting students who are passionate about helping people by developing solutions to problems that affect human health!
This course is part of a four-part series: E4 Exploring Exciting Engineering Essentials. Other courses in the series include:
- Mission: Engineering
- Design Thinking & Rapid Prototyping: From Idea to Innovation
- Teamwork and Leadership in Engineering (Leyf is also teaching this course!)