URIs_MOMENTUM_Research_and_Innovation_Magazine_Fall_2024_Mel

URI’S ESTEEMED PROGRAM: PAVING THE WAY FOR NEW UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

written by MATTHEW BRADY ‘25

The University of Rhode Island: An ESTEEMED University

The University of Rhode Island (URI) has many research avenues that students and faculty can engage in, but one of the most profound are the biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences. Leading in this field is Samantha Meenach, the Victor Baxt Professor of chemical engineering, and biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences. She specializes in pharmaceutical engineering, but she is also the director of the URI ESTEEMED (Enhancing Science Technology EnginEering and Math Educational Diversity) program. “This program allows early career undergraduate students to conduct honors level research in accordance with the National Institute for Health (NIH) definition,” Meenach says, noting that the research is both incredibly beneficial not only for student experience, but also for the University’s research enterprise. Engaging a wide range of students The ESTEEMED program is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and trains students interested in the biological sciences and includes a focus on student experience in biomedical, bioengineering, biomedical engineering, and

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