BioE's 2025 Global Social Impact Fellows
This article was written by Juliana M., a Bioengineering undergraduate student and student office worker in the Department of Bioengineering.
This summer, 8 Bioengineering Undergraduate students were involved in Global Social Impact Fellowships through Lehigh’s Office of Creative Inquiry. They traveled to Sierra Leone, India, the Philippines, and Kazakhstan to put their projects into action! We asked them to share their experiences, and here’s what some of them said (view more pictures on our instagram account here):
Lizzie Jenulis '27, Bioengineering Undergraduate Student:
This summer, I traveled to Metro Manila with the Agriwrap team to work on developing eco-friendly packaging alternatives from local agricultural waste products. During fieldwork, we mapped the current state of film usage across the food industry, visited a bioplastic manufacturer, toured an urban farm, and presented our corn- and cassava-based bioplastic film prototypes to potential partners. We also connected with Filipino scientists, government representatives, and students at PlastiCon2025, held at the University of the Philippines Diliman, centered around the theme of "Knowledge to Action: Science-based Solutions to Plastics Pollution".
Eileen Kandie '27, Bioengineering Undergraduate Student: (see picture right)
Mothers of Sierra Leone is a creative inquiry research project dedicated to improving maternal health by promoting health-seeking behaviors through the power of storytelling.
This summer, our team completed a 12-month study on rural film efficacy, conducted community interviews and surveys, and shared our teaching module films across schools and universities.
We were especially thrilled to launch a 6-month filmmaking workshop where local women are learning to use film to share their own maternal health experiences — in their own voices and languages.
#HealthyWomenMakeHealthyCommunities
Emma Jovanovic '27, Bioengineering Undergraduate Student:
Our trip to Almaty, Kazakhstan focused on advancing the TremorTrack project, a wearable system designed to support Parkinson’s disease care through EMG data collection, medication tracking, and improved patient, clinician communication. During the trip, our team conducted fieldwork, met with healthcare professionals, and gathered user feedback to better understand the clinical landscape and patient needs in Kazakhstan. Building on this work, our team has published a paper with IEEE and has presented research poster at the 2025 Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Conference.
River Knoblauch '27, Bioengineering Undergraduate Student: (see picture left)
SicklED is increasing the diagnosis, education, and awareness of sickle cell disease in Sierra Leone. This summer, I participated in the summer mountaintop program, optimizing a low-cost, point of care diagnostic test. In August, we traveled to Sierra Leone for three weeks, collaborating with local nurses, doctors, and advocacy groups to formulate educational material and strategies to expand the knowledge of SCD in community members and health workers. Our team collected data and interviewed 80+ people, ranging from SCD patients, doctors, community members, and family members, which is being used to write a research paper on the experiences and healthcare challenges faced by SCD patients.
Juliana Magarelli '27, Bioengineering Undergraduate Student:
I traveled to India to host the HDSE Leadership Intensive, a five-day program for university students to learn about humanitarian design, social innovation, and sustainable venture development. My teammates and I served as mentors to eight student-led ventures that address local challenges through creative, community-driven solutions. Guiding students through design thinking exercises, stakeholder mapping, and business model development was an incredibly rewarding experience that deepened my passion for global education and impact-driven collaboration.
Apply now! The application deadline is November 2, 2025 at 11:59pm ET
Applications are now open for the 2026 cohort of impact fellows! Learn more about the 50+ projects and apply today at https://creativeinquiry.lehigh.edu/impactfellowships