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Challenge <p>Biomedical engineering education often overlooks health disparities awareness, a critical component for developing equitable healthcare solutions.</p> Novel Initiative <p>To address this gap, the Biomedical Scientific Education and Equitable Design (B-SEED) program (September 2023–May 2024) was launched as an extracurricular initiative to equip undergraduates with hands-on scientific literacy and an accessibility-focused design approach. Through journal clubs, workshops, health equity speaker sessions, medical device simulations, interdisciplinary mentorship from engineers and physicians, and participation in the National Medical Device Make-a-thon, B-SEED emphasized practical learning, collaborative problem-solving, and equitable design.</p> Reflection <p>Among 21 participants, most of whom identified as women and members of historically excluded groups in STEM, the program achieved a 95% retention rate. By the end of the program, the proportion of students correctly identifying the definition of a health disparity increased from 71 to 100%, readership of 20+ scientific papers more than doubled, interest in graduate education increased from 50 to 88% interested or very interested, and all participants reported feeling prepared to enter a research role. All students indicated that B-SEED improved their scientific literacy, and 12 participants who competed in the National Medical Device Make-a-thon reported feeling better prepared; three of four teams reached the Final 8 out of more than 30 teams, with two teams placing in the top three. Student testimonials highlighted increased confidence, deeper understanding of healthcare inequities, and a stronger commitment to designing accessible technologies. B-SEED demonstrates a scalable model for integrating health equity, mentorship, and experiential learning into biomedical engineering education.</p>

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B-SEED: A Model for Training Biomedical Engineers in Health Equity and Equitable Design

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月7日

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  • Amrita Jai Arora,
  • Ariel L. Lanier,
  • Z. Leah Harris,
  • Olivia L. Lanier

摘要

Challenge

Biomedical engineering education often overlooks health disparities awareness, a critical component for developing equitable healthcare solutions.

Novel Initiative

To address this gap, the Biomedical Scientific Education and Equitable Design (B-SEED) program (September 2023–May 2024) was launched as an extracurricular initiative to equip undergraduates with hands-on scientific literacy and an accessibility-focused design approach. Through journal clubs, workshops, health equity speaker sessions, medical device simulations, interdisciplinary mentorship from engineers and physicians, and participation in the National Medical Device Make-a-thon, B-SEED emphasized practical learning, collaborative problem-solving, and equitable design.

Reflection

Among 21 participants, most of whom identified as women and members of historically excluded groups in STEM, the program achieved a 95% retention rate. By the end of the program, the proportion of students correctly identifying the definition of a health disparity increased from 71 to 100%, readership of 20+ scientific papers more than doubled, interest in graduate education increased from 50 to 88% interested or very interested, and all participants reported feeling prepared to enter a research role. All students indicated that B-SEED improved their scientific literacy, and 12 participants who competed in the National Medical Device Make-a-thon reported feeling better prepared; three of four teams reached the Final 8 out of more than 30 teams, with two teams placing in the top three. Student testimonials highlighted increased confidence, deeper understanding of healthcare inequities, and a stronger commitment to designing accessible technologies. B-SEED demonstrates a scalable model for integrating health equity, mentorship, and experiential learning into biomedical engineering education.