Five Years Out: Welcoming back the class of 2018

This year marked five years since the Meinig School's inaugural undergraduate class graduated. In June we welcomed them back for their first reunion at Weill Hall and learned what they've been up to.

From left to right: Eric Cole, Jordan Harrod, Esther Chen, Allison Byrne, Julia Telischi, Daniel (Alex) Marburgh, Kelly Wilson, Eric Kaden.
From left to right: Eric Cole, Jordan Harrod, Esther Chen, Allison Byrne, Julia Telischi, Daniel (Alex) Marburgh, Kelly Wilson, Eric Kaden.

From left to right: 

  • Eric Cole (BME minor) is completing a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. His main project is in the Emory Neurosurgery department, designing AI that can interface with brain recordings in real-time to provide personalized deep brain stimulation treatment for patients with Parkinson's disease. He hopes to continue working in academia to apply this methodology to treat a wide array of neurological and psychiatric diseases. 
  • Jordan Harrod is a Ph.D. candidate in medical engineering and medical physics at the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program. Her research focuses on applying neuromodulation to clinically relevant challenges, and using neurotechnology and machine learning to develop new tools for brain stimulation. In her spare time, Jordan is actively involved in science communication via her YouTube channel, which focuses on engaging the public on artificial intelligence, as well as on Twitter, Tiktok, and Instagram. 
  • Esther Chen completed medical school at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY, and started residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, where she will be for at least the next four years. 
  • Allison Byrne stayed at Cornell for her M.Eng. in BME and works in regulatory affairs at medical device company Stryker, supporting new product development in U.S. and global markets.
  • Julia Telischi worked for Stryker in their R&D department in Cork, Ireland, before starting medical school at the University of Miami. She just finished her third year and is about to begin a research year at the NIH where she will be investigating pathologies of the auditory and vestibular systems. She plans to apply to ENT residencies after medical school. 
  • Daniel (Alex) Marburgh moved to Houston and began working at NASA’s Johnson Space Center as a biomedical flight controller in mission control, supporting the health of astronauts aboard the International Space Station. This includes a range of responsibilities from troubleshooting medical hardware to collaborating with surgeons to establish and implement medical requirements. Recently he moved to Denver, where he will continue his work for NASA remotely. 
  • Kelly Wilson is a biology and physiology teacher at Balboa High School in San Francisco.
  • Eric Kaden is a J.D. candidate at Emory University School of Law.