Alumni Spotlight: Jaclyn Carlson, M.Eng. 2012

Jaclyn Carlson received an M.Eng. in 2012, after working with mentor Dr. Jonathan Black to design a conformable bone graft substitute. This experience sparked her interest in orthopedics and following graduation she worked for a healthcare consulting firm based out of New York City. As a consultant she worked to optimize hospital and pharmaceutical company operations, and during one engagement was sent to Romania for three months to work with a local hospital. However, through this position she realized she desired a more hands on role in healthcare and medicine.

While volunteering at a stray dog shelter in Romania, she decided that veterinary medicine was a perfect way to incorporate her engineering degree, love for animals, and willingness for a hands-on medical role. She transitioned from her consulting job to a research position in a neurotrauma lab at the University of California, San Francisco. Her research focused on adolescent concussion, and this experience furthered her ideas about incorporating biomedical engineering into a career as a veterinarian. Her desire to blend biomedical research and veterinary medicine grew and led her to her current role as a student in the VMD/Ph.D. combined degree program at the University of Pennsylvania. Carlson will pursue this degree with a focus in orthopedics.