Bertila Bruka '25 is a recent Stevens alumnae who studied biomedical engineering, and along the way she found a research path that led her straight into Alzheimer’s disease work. In this episode of Find Your Flock, she talks with Dr. Sandra Clavijo about her classes, joining a lab,and doing real research before graduation.
They discuss how biomedical engineering coursework builds the foundation for health research, how early lab experiences change the way you think about science, and why working on Alzheimer’s is both challenging and motivating. Bertila also shares how the transition to Stevens shaped her perspective, her resilience and her long-term goal of proving people wrong to pursue a Ph.D.
If you are a student trying to figure out how a major turns into a career, or you are curious about what it takes to join research in a complex health field, this episode gives an honest look at how that process actually happens.
Find Your Flock is a podcast from the Schaefer School of Engineering and Science at Stevens Institute of Technology that highlights student journeys in STEM.
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🔬 About our Biomedical Engineering Bachelor's program:
- Bachelor's: https://www.stevens.edu/program/biomedical-engineering-bachelor-degree
🔬 About the Department of Biomedical Engineering:
- https://www.stevens.edu/bme
🎧 Follow Find Your Flock for more student journeys:
Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/4ZZ1voMlZxJbvbXgQ5DGY7Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-flock/id1811444054
About Find Your Flock: https://www.stevens.edu/find-your-flock-podcast