On Monday, Oct. 9, Professor Kristen Cardinal kicked off her 17th straight year of MEDITEC projects with Edwards Lifesciences.
Edwards Lifesciences is a global leader in heart valve replacement and repair products and has been a MEDITEC partner since 2007. The first year of the program included just three projects, quickly increasing to 10-12 projects per year. Professor Cardinal works with Edwards each year to solicit and scope projects ranging from material testing to device design to cell-based assays and more. She also matches the projects with students across the College of Engineering, including many biomedical engineers, as well as mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, industrial engineers, materials engineers and more. The past three years have also included a few cross-disciplinary projects with ITP and BMED students working together.
The Edwards Lifesciences partnership has brought over $800,000 in funding for more than 160 projects involving nearly 500 students over the past 17 years. This year, Professor Cardinal and the Edwards team kicked off 11 projects that will be worked on by students ranging from second- and third-year undergraduates to many senior undergraduate students.
In June, Professor Cardinal and the team of students will present their final outcomes at Edwards’ global headquarters in Irvine.
