BioE Student Summer Check-in: Joe Amitrano
This article was written by Juliana M., a Bioengineering undergraduate student and student office worker in the Department of Bioengineering.
Joe Amitrano is a PhD student in Professor Seshadri's lab who has spent his summer in the lab mentoring undergraduates, chasing fellowship deadlines, and planning a wedding at the same time!
Joe joined the Seshadri lab in 2023 after finishing his undergraduate degree at Lehigh. He has always been interested in the applications of Professor Ramamurthi’s research, and his project now spans both labs: the engineering side lives with Seshadri, and the clinical application connects to Ramamurthi's work. His thesis focuses on developing a point-of-care biosensor for cardiovascular disease, specifically targeting abdominal aortic aneurysms, or AAAs. AAAs are largely asymptomatic but dangerous, and currently, patients are only monitored sparingly through imaging and CT scans. Joe's goal is to develop something closer to a home glucose monitor: a device that lets patients take their own readings and send data directly to their electronic health record, enabling continuous longitudinal monitoring rather than infrequent snapshots. This summer, he's been working toward patenting the biosensor prototype and hoping to get it in front of human samples soon.
This summer, Joe also took on the role of mentor to a group of five STEM-SI undergraduate students and a Rossin scholar, each working on projects that orbit his broader research interests. The Rossin scholar is developing a low-cost in-house electrode, a derivative of Joe's biosensor work, while the STEM-SI students are continuing projects such as: a biodegradable menstrual pad designed for low and middle-income countries. The pad project grew out of Professor Seshadri's Equitable Innovations course, which pushed Joe to think about how engineering can reach people who are often left out of the conversation. He developed the initial biodegradable polymer and prototype, and it has since become something of a passion project. He's looking forward to finishing the prototype and seeing where it goes.
Between running experiments in the clean room, submitting manuscripts, and putting together an American Heart Association predoctoral fellowship application, Joe's summer has been full. For students thinking about a PhD, Joe's advice is to pursue what actually excites you. He did two internships before committing to graduate school, which led him to realize that he cares a lot about being hands-on with science and taking real ownership of a problem. He encourages students to pursue whatever lines up with their curiosity, go to conferences, and figure out what they do and don't like along the way.
