Instrumental Access Update: Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología
Your support has helped pave the way for Peru’s first bioengineering department to launch degree programs this year!
Bioengineering is a nascent research area in Peru but has immense potential to address environmental concerns like pollution and bioremediation, as well as health risks presented by tropical and infectious diseases.
In hopes of finding creative solutions to these issues–some of Peru’s biggest challenges–Dr. Melanie Cornejo, provost of Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología (UTEC) and pictured above,is spearheading the country’s first bioengineering program at UTEC .
Thanks to an Instrumental Access shipment of lab equipment, Dr. Cornejo and colleagues in the new Department of Bioengineering are now equipped to provide hands-on opportunities for students who are ready to tackle these challenges and more!
“Most courses within the bioengineering curriculum will have an important lab component, which will make great use of the equipment,” Dr. Cornejo says. “Since the curriculum is project-based and the students are faced with real-world challenges from day one, they will use this equipment to prototype and come up with innovative solutions.”
UTEC’s Instrumental Access shipment from Seeding Labs contained 119 lab instruments and supplies donated by 28 US-based corporations worth more than $102,000!
In addition to increasing access for students, the equipment will help Dr. Cornejo make progress on important public health issues using innovative bioengineering approaches.
For example, she is currently working with nanotechnology to find solutions to Peru’s shortage of potable water, which is often contaminated by illegal mining.
“The investment for research is big, which is why the support from Seeding Labs plays such an important role,” she says.
