News Release

Bioengineering undergraduates win NIH awards

August 29, 2023--Two teams of UC San Diego undergraduate bioengineering students won Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) awards from the National Institutes of Health. Now in its 12th year, the DEBUT Challenge calls on teams of undergraduate students to produce technological solutions to a broad spectrum of unmet health needs.

Both projects were completed as part of the bioengineering capstone senior design project. 

Team MiaFit won the National Cancer Institute's Technologies for Cancer Prevention, Diagnosis, or Treatment Prize with a $15,000 award. The team-- Ritika Singh, German Gonzalez, Melina Tsotras and Stella Kotzabasakis-- developed a low-cost expandable vaginal dilator designed to comfortably treat vaginal stenosis, a narrowing and shortening of the vagina that can cause significant pain and discomfort. Learn more in the video they made.

Students Anton Gerasimov, Jay Chok, and Savanna Turner won the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, NICHD Rehabilitative and Assistive Technologies Prize of $15,000 for their adjustable prosthetic socket. The socket is designed to adapt to the daily volume changes in the residual limbs of amputees using force sensing elements and air bladders, avoiding complications associated with poor fit such as sores and skin irritation. Learn more in the video they made.

Media Contacts

Katherine Connor
Jacobs School of Engineering
858-534-8374
khconnor@ucsd.edu