2025

About Me – Ellena

Posted on by Ellena Jeon

Hello Everyone!

My name is Ellena Jeon, a rising junior from Baker College, majoring in Bioengineering.

Yesterday, I landed in Nairobi, Kenya after about 18 hours of traveling!  Before leaving my family, I felt a bit nervous about living alone on an entirely different continent, especially in one I had never set foot in before. But this morning, I woke up to the sound of birds chirping, the soft morning light, and beautiful weather—so refreshing compared to the Houston heat. I opened the windows to let the soothing highland breeze in, and this settled my nerves. This quiet moment quickly turned into a growing sense of excitement for everything I’m about to experience here.

Morning in Nairobi

As an aspiring physician with a strong interest in design and innovation, being in Nairobi is so meaningful. It allows me to directly engage with healthcare challenges in a new cultural and clinical context, and to learn from diverse perspectives. I want to learn more about building solutions that are not only technically advanced but also culturally grounded. This summer is an opportunity to learn, listen, and grow as both a future engineer and a clinician.

This summer, I will be getting feedback on 2 projects: the Endometrial Biopsy (EMB) Trainer and the Gastroschisis Bag. The EMB trainer aims to improve how healthcare providers are trained to perform uterine biopsies. We want to specifically improve solid sample compatibility and explore local manufacturing options to ensure its accessibility and sustainability. The second project, the gastroschisis bag, is used to protect the exposed intestines of newborns with this congenital condition. The low cost prototype that we have takes about 15 minutes to create with only 2 materials. We hope to find sterilization packaging options as well as gain feedback from clinicians with this project.

EMB trainer
Gastroschisis Bag

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond the projects, some personal goals I have for this summer are:

  1. Deepen my technical and design skills like woodworking, 3D modeling, and soldering through hands-on workshops at Kenyatta University.
  2. Connect with a diverse group of people, and keep an open mind when encountering different cultures, professions, and healthcare systems.
  3. Exploring Kenya and everything that Nairobi has to offer! So far, the city is lush, vibrant, and lively.

I will be working with the Kenyatta University’s Centre for Design, Innovation, and Engineering (CDIE) and participating in their Medical Device Innovation Summer Program for the first 3 weeks, where I will be learning hands-on skills, conducting needs finding and observing at Kiambu and Thika Hospital. After that, we will continue to identify personal projects, work on host projects, and gain feedback on the devices with the remaining time until the end of July.

Thanks for reading and see you next time,

Ellena

 

 

Habari Nairobi! – Jacey

Posted on by Jacey Denny

Who am I?

My name is Jacey Denny, and I’m an aspiring bioengineer (rising senior Lovetteer) with a passion for making medicine. I’ve always loved tinkering, so naturally, I was drawn to fields like prosthetics and surgical robotics, which puts me under the bioengineering umbrella.

But after coming to Rice and doing work in the Medical Humanities program, I’ve developed a growing interest in the ethical and social dimensions of healthcare. As powerful as new technologies can be, they also carry real risks to us,  scientific, societal, and personal. I want to be part of steering these innovations in a direction that prioritizes equity and impact.

That’s why I’ve come to Kenya: to learn from those working on the front lines of medicine and bring their insights and perspectives back to Houston.

My goals:

to make full use of the three-week Summer Program by:

  • learning all the technical skills by keeping a consistent journal
  • connecting with the other students from Kenya, other parts of Africa, and the rest of the world (especially during tea breaks)
  • keeping in mind the broader tasks of the summer internship (e.g. needs finding reports), since critical information learned here could be used later down the road

and also to grow as an adult person while living in Nairobi by:

  • learning to cook with Kenyan ingredients and Kenyan recipes
  • learning to live on my own
  • keeping myself physically and mentally healthy (even if it’s not on the program schedule by going to the gym, planning fun outings, etc.)

Where I’m going to be working:

Kenyatta University (KU) is holding a three-week Medical Device Innovation Summer Program that I am going to be a part of. Following that, I will continue working with the KU team until the end of July.

I’m thrilled to see what’s in store for us these next two months. 

Signing off,

Jacey Denny

Jacey Denny

Summer Intern in Kenya