Advice on Biomedical Engineering for Canadian students

-please only email us if you are Canadian. We don't have experience on applying from other countries

The disciplines of Biomedical Engineering

(from the Handbook of Biomedical Engineering):

Biomechanics
Biomaterials
Biosensors
Physiological Modeling, simulation and control
Biomedical Instrumentation
Rehabilition Engineering
Prosthetic Devices and Artificial Organs
Medical Imaging
Biotechnology (including tissue engineering)
Biological Effects of EMF

Related Courses at Waterloo

These courses are the courses the Adrienne and Faisal took. It is not comprehensive.

Kin 200, General Anatomy, Dr. Ranney
Kin 250?, Motor Learning, Prof. Williams
Cive 460, Orthopaedic Bioengineering, Prof. Medley (Brodland)
SD 444, Biomedical Engineering, Stashuk

Prereq's for grad school and/or medschool. Most MD programs (but not biomedical engineering programs) require labs for organic and biochem. There are also Honours versions of the chem courses.
Bio 273, Physiology I
Bio 373+Bio 373L (lab), Physiology II
Chem 266+Chem 266L, Organic Chemistry I
Chem 267+Chem 267L, Organic Chemistry II
Chem 237+Chem 237L, Biochemistry

Cognitive Science Courses:
Psych 256 Cognitive Science
Psych 207 Cognitive Processes
Psych 307 Cognitive Neuropsych

How to do Undergrad Research

Figure out what you are interested in - look at journals such as IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology
Talk to profs - go smooze, ask them about their research . You can find them by cruising university websites
URA (Undergraduate Research Assistantship) - term time
Co-op terms at Waterloo and other Universities - I did my sixth term at the University of Alberta
NSERC Undergraduate Student Reseach Assistantship www.nserc.ca

One mistake I made was to not look outside Systems for URA opportunities. If you are interested in mechanical or electrical physiology, try Kin or Science. If you are interested in the brain and cognitive processes, try psych or maybe phil. If you are interested in biomechanics or prosthetics, try mechanical and civil. Cruise web pages to find opportunities.

The following people are individuals we know who may have opportunities. It is not comprehensive:
Dr. Stashuk, SD - EMG (muscle signal) processing
Dr. Michael Dixon, Psych - neurological functional studies
Dr. Rick Hughson, Kin - heart rate monitoring and variability
???, Math - supposedly there is a guy in Math doing modelling of cerebrospinal fluid
Dr. Jernigan/Dr. Feiguth/Dr. Clausi, SD - medical imaging

Grad School

US News ranks Graduate school in the USA
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/march31.htm

Faisal applied to:
Johns Hopkins
MIT/Harvard Joint division of Health, Sciences and Technology, program in Medical Engineering
Berkeley
Duke
Georgia Tech

In Canada, many schools have biomed programs. Look for schools that also have med schools because more clinical resources are available:

Toronto
McGill
Queens
Western
UBC
UNB
Alberta
Calgary

What grad schools are looking for:

Breadth!!! Biomed is a huge field and the ability to learn and integrate many things is crucial
High marks - 75%+ in Canada. mid-80s in the US
Research experience. Being an author on a scientific paper is gold. One friend who didn't get an interview for Harvard/MIT's Medical Engineering program said they told him they were looking for "research experience back to first year, or preferably earlier"
NSERC scholarships - www.nserc.ca - NSERC is based on academics, research experience and research objectives. It is based on two years of marks before applying (usually 2A,2B,3A,3B, but if you went on exchange, 1B,2A,2B,3B). Usually the cutoff is around 81-84%. Having a journal article or conference paper is very helpful. Be very specific when you do the research proposal, even if it isn't what you want to do. Drop names of people in the field and specific techniques.

Questions and answers

1. GRE

I took the GRE back in August before starting 4A. The earlier, the better, even the summer after 2nd year. It tests basic skills so more university doesn't help. www.gre.org. The general test is usually enough, but check with the particular schools you are applying too.

2. I have low first year marks. Can I still do BME?

If the rest of your terms are consistently good, it is usually not a problem.