Building confidence in biomedical engineering: Susan Burrell (KEYS ‘19)
From an enthusiastic high school intern to a first-year graduate student, local Tucsonan Susan Burrell is forging her path in biomedical engineering and health care innovation.
Graduating summa cum laude from the University of Arizona in May 2024, Susan Burrell is now a doctoral student pursuing a biomedical engineering career.
Susan Burrell has always been intrigued by engineering, but the BIO5 Institute’s KEYS Research Internship sparked her deep love for the scientific process and set her on the path to becoming a researcher.
“I learned how much I loved research through the KEYS Research Internship,” said Burrell. “Part of that learning was becoming an independent worker and trusting myself.”
In the five years since her KEYS experience, Burrell has continued to develop her research skills to become a confident scientist. Today, she’s a University of Arizona alumni pursuing her doctorate in biomedical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.
Bridging engineering and biology
Burrell was a junior at Salpointe High School in Tucson when she first heard about KEYS.
Like many other KEYS interns, Burrell had no previous lab experience and felt nervous during the training week, which introduces lab techniques, biostatistics, and science literacy.
“I was involved in an engineering program in high school, but I also liked my biology classes, so I wanted to learn how I could bridge the two,” said Burrell.
Early exposure to research during KEYS helped Susan Burrell (left) decide she wanted to pursue a Ph.D.
With that interest in engineering, the KEYS program placed Burrell in the laboratory of Jennifer Barton, Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Chair of the College of Engineering and director of the BIO5 Institute.
Barton and her lab focus on developing biomedical devices for the early detection of ovarian cancer. Due to the lack of effective screening and diagnostic tools, ovarian cancer is often not detected until its advanced stages, leading to a mortality rate of over 70%.
To address this, Barton’s lab works on creating minimally invasive endoscopes that combine multiple optical imaging techniques to locate and sample potentially cancerous tissue in the fallopian tubes—where cancer cells often first develop.
Burrell’s project involved assisting in the design of an extremely tiny wire for the endoscope, which would sample cells. She worked closely with Ricky Cordova, a 2012 KEYS alum whose own experience had come full circle and became a research specialist in the Barton lab.
“I learned so much about optics and biomedical imaging, which was something I had no idea about beforehand,” said Burrell.
Susan Burrell (left) worked closely with Ricky Cordova (right), research specialist and 2012 KEYS alum, on designing a wire for minimally-invasive endoscope for the early detection of ovarian cancer.
Since there were no established guidelines for the type of wire to use, Burrell and Cordova tested various materials and shapes to identify the most effective design that would be least intrusive and collect the highest number of cells.
“Susan was a huge asset to my lab. Even as a high school student, she possessed strong research skills, organization, and a great positive attitude,” said Barton. “I’m glad she continued research at the University of Arizona and I know she will excel in graduate school.”
Her contributions earned her an authorship credit in a scientific journal—a rare honor for a high school intern.
“I feel like if I hadn’t done KEYS, I wouldn’t have sought out research as much and as early as I did,” said Burrell. “Without that experience, I don’t think I would be pursuing my PhD today.”
Her work as a KEYS intern earned Susan Burrell an authorship in a publication.
For KEYS high school intern to PhD student
Throughout her senior year of high school, Burrell continued to volunteer in Barton’s lab. When she became a Wildcat at the University of Arizona and chose biomedical engineering as her major, she was eager to diversify her scientific skills.
“I was really interested in diagnostics and imaging processes, bridging engineering and hardware to cross over into healthcare,” said Burrell.
A self-described “math nerd,” Burrell became fascinated with ultrasound, noting its similarities to optics in terms of the underlying mathematical concepts and physics.
During her sophomore year, she found a research position in the lab of Terry Matsunaga, professor of medical imaging and biomedical engineering. Matsunaga’s lab develops microbubbles for use in ultrasound imaging, coating them with drugs to serve as both diagnostic and therapeutic tools.
“My undergraduate research experience showed me how you can combine the diagnostic realm and a therapeutic realm to improve patient outcomes,” said Burrell.
She credits that early exposure to research and mentoring for solidifying her decision to pursue graduate school.
Susan Burrell is focused on ultrasound and imaging for her graduate studies.
“When I saw the ins and outs of working in a lab and witnessed how scientists struggle with experiments, I realized they aren’t too different from me,” said Burrell. “That showed me that I might have a lot to learn knowledge-wise, but if I keep learning and pushing myself, I can be like them.”
Today, she is continuing her research in ultrasound and imaging as a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin. Her current goal is to complete her Ph.D. and seek work in the biotechnology industry, but she also plans to return to academia.
“Being a teacher is one of the greatest things you can do,” she said. “I want to continue that tradition of extending my knowledge to others.”