IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 4

Women to Watch

Where the Heart Is

California where she received a Ph.D.
from the University of California, San
Francisco, and Berkeley Joint Bioengineering Graduate Group and then comVaried interests lead to biomedical research
pleted post-doctorate work in polymer
chemistry and nanotechnology at the
University of California, Los Angeles.
Currently an assistant professor
of bioengineering at the University of
California, San Diego (UCSD), Christman
alternates between being in the classshe recalls. "I'd always been fasciroom and being in the lab, where
nated by medicine but becomshe works on the specialized
ing a physician didn't quite
Christman working toward
research she began as a gradfit." But when she met a girl
treatments for cardiovascular disease
uate student. "I think a lot of
in her dorm who was a biowhat motivates me to do the
engineering major and saw
work I do is the grand scale
the types of classes offered,
With a humanitarian focus to her pioof the problem," she posits.
she k new she'd found a
neering research in regenerative mediWith cardiovascular disease
match. "I saw that I could
cine, recent New Innovator Award
Karen Christman
the leading killer in the westcombine all the fields that
winner Karen Christman is not only
ern world and such a large part of the
I really liked," she continues. "And I
using her engineering expertise to forpopulation afflicted by it to some degree,
knew I wanted to go to grad school to
mulate a scientific breakthrough but
"I think it would be the most satisfying
get more knowledge and create new
to better the lives of all of us. Christthing that something you develop would
technologies to help patients." After
man's research examines myocardial tisreally get used and help patients."
Northwestern, Christman moved to
sue and techniques for regenerating the
myocardium after a patient
has a heart attack. "Most of it
involves creating new materials for the treatment of heart
attacks and heart failure," she
explains. Her eventual goal
is to find a comprehensive
treatment for heart attack
victims-a world-changing
Christman's ultimate
feat that she may be well on
goal is to uncover
her way to discovering with
a comprehensive
a lre ady grou ndbre a k ing
treatment for heart
attack victims.
research.
Christman received her
B.S. in biomedical engineering from Northwestern
University through a twist
of fate. "I didn't even know
that bioengineering existed
when I first entered college,"

The Heart of the Matter

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2009.932506

4

IEEE womEn In EngInEErIng magazInE

june 2009

1942-065x/09/$25.00©2009IEEE

Photo courtesy of karen christman

w



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009

IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - Cover1
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - Cover2
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 1
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 2
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 3
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 4
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 5
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 6
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 7
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 8
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 9
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 10
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 11
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 12
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 13
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 14
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 15
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 16
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 17
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 18
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 19
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 20
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 21
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 22
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 23
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 24
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 25
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 26
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 27
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 28
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 29
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 30
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 31
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 32
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 33
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 34
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 35
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 36
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 37
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 38
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 39
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - 40
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - Cover3
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2009 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_december2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_june2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_december2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_june2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_december2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_june2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_december2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_june2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_june2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_december2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_summer2008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/womenengineering_winter2007
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com