Meghana Munipalle

Meghana Munipalle (she/her)

Graduate Student, Biomedical Engineering

McGill University

Created On: May 29, 2023
Sector:
Engineering,  Healthcare,  Science
Education Pathway: University
Related School Subjects:
Biology,  Anatomy,  Biotechnology,  Computer Science,  Health,  Technology & Engineering
Readability:
8.0

Learn About My Career

I am a graduate student working towards my PhD in biological and biomedical engineering.

I was born/grew up in: Michigan, USA

I now live in: Montreal, QC

I completed my training/education at: Honours B.Sc. in Physics at the University of Toronto, M.Sc. in Biophysics at the University of Guelph, PhD in Biological and Biomedical Engineering at McGill University (in progress)

What I love about scientific research is that there's never really a strict set of instructions! Every day is different. As I work towards finding out something new, I read scientific papers, talk to my supervisor and lab colleagues. As part of my current research, I make use of computer simulations and models. I use them to study biomaterials that will help to heal damaged tissue in the vertebrae of the spine.

At the beginning of the day, I usually make a quick to-do list of tasks I'd like to get done by the end of the day. If I've been running computer simulations for the last few days, I take a day to look at all the results and see if there's anything interesting. As a computational scientist, I tend to spend a lot of time coding (and troubleshooting when things go wrong!).

My current research project is in biomedical engineering. I set up and run simulations of a biomaterial that can help repair damaged spinal tissue. This type of research is still relatively new. As a result, there are a lot of decisions that I and my colleagues make on our own! I try out different computer models, different software, and different algorithms to find out which tools will help us move forward.

I entered Grade 9 with the intention of going to medical school and becoming a doctor. In fact, I left high school with that path still in mind. In grade 12, however, my amazing physics teacher sparked my interest in physics. I ended up choosing that as my major. I took biology as my minor and did other necessary pre-med courses on the side.

About halfway through my second year of university, I realized I didn't want to go to med school. I still loved biology and wanted to keep doing it. But I had very little idea of what careers you could have that combined physics and biology! I spent a year and a half keeping up with my subjects but not knowing what would come after I graduated.

In the summer after my third year, I decided to do a research project in computational biophysics. I was only planning to get an idea of what research was like. I ended up absolutely loving the field and everything about it! My supervisor and lab members were a joy to work with. I was able to really improve my programming skills, something I'd only been doing for fun until then! That summer project is the reason I'm in grad school now, doing what I do.

I've completely fallen in love with what I do. I have so many interests: biology, physics, healthcare, and so on. My skillset as a computational scientist allows me to participate in very interdisciplinary projects. This brings together everything that I love about science. I'm particularly fond of applying programming to scientific problems. I also enjoy figuring out what to do when my code goes wrong. It feels like a puzzle, and it's very fun to solve. One of the most rewarding things about doing science is that I get to our scientific knowledge of what I am investigating.

A huge part of what attracted me to science in the first place was the idea of contributing to something much, much bigger than any one person. Ultimately, we do what we do so that we can help people. Whether that's in the short term with an important medicine or in the long term with sustainable food production to support a growing population. My current project is in regenerative medicine. This is something that many, many scientists around the world are working on at the same time!

Lately, I've been doing some creative writing to help me de-stress and take a break from work. I've also been learning a new language and trying out crocheting! My friends and I enjoy listening to music together and playing video games together as well.

Keep an open mind! It may seem like there are very few things you can do with knowledge and experience in a certain subject. I've learned that it isn't at all as strict as I'd thought. Don't be afraid to explore different subjects or take a break from school to work in a position you find interesting and useful, even if it seems “out of the way”!

What I do at work

What I love about scientific research is that there's never really a strict set of instructions! Every day is different. As I work towards finding out something new, I read scientific papers, talk to my supervisor and lab colleagues. As part of my current research, I make use of computer simulations and models. I use them to study biomaterials that will help to heal damaged tissue in the vertebrae of the spine.

At the beginning of the day, I usually make a quick to-do list of tasks I'd like to get done by the end of the day. If I've been running computer simulations for the last few days, I take a day to look at all the results and see if there's anything interesting. As a computational scientist, I tend to spend a lot of time coding (and troubleshooting when things go wrong!).

My current research project is in biomedical engineering. I set up and run simulations of a biomaterial that can help repair damaged spinal tissue. This type of research is still relatively new. As a result, there are a lot of decisions that I and my colleagues make on our own! I try out different computer models, different software, and different algorithms to find out which tools will help us move forward.

My career path is

I entered Grade 9 with the intention of going to medical school and becoming a doctor. In fact, I left high school with that path still in mind. In grade 12, however, my amazing physics teacher sparked my interest in physics. I ended up choosing that as my major. I took biology as my minor and did other necessary pre-med courses on the side.

About halfway through my second year of university, I realized I didn't want to go to med school. I still loved biology and wanted to keep doing it. But I had very little idea of what careers you could have that combined physics and biology! I spent a year and a half keeping up with my subjects but not knowing what would come after I graduated.

In the summer after my third year, I decided to do a research project in computational biophysics. I was only planning to get an idea of what research was like. I ended up absolutely loving the field and everything about it! My supervisor and lab members were a joy to work with. I was able to really improve my programming skills, something I'd only been doing for fun until then! That summer project is the reason I'm in grad school now, doing what I do.

I am motivated by

I've completely fallen in love with what I do. I have so many interests: biology, physics, healthcare, and so on. My skillset as a computational scientist allows me to participate in very interdisciplinary projects. This brings together everything that I love about science. I'm particularly fond of applying programming to scientific problems. I also enjoy figuring out what to do when my code goes wrong. It feels like a puzzle, and it's very fun to solve. One of the most rewarding things about doing science is that I get to our scientific knowledge of what I am investigating.

How I affect peoples’ lives

A huge part of what attracted me to science in the first place was the idea of contributing to something much, much bigger than any one person. Ultimately, we do what we do so that we can help people. Whether that's in the short term with an important medicine or in the long term with sustainable food production to support a growing population. My current project is in regenerative medicine. This is something that many, many scientists around the world are working on at the same time!

Outside of work I

Lately, I've been doing some creative writing to help me de-stress and take a break from work. I've also been learning a new language and trying out crocheting! My friends and I enjoy listening to music together and playing video games together as well.

My advice to others

Keep an open mind! It may seem like there are very few things you can do with knowledge and experience in a certain subject. I've learned that it isn't at all as strict as I'd thought. Don't be afraid to explore different subjects or take a break from school to work in a position you find interesting and useful, even if it seems “out of the way”!

When I was a student I enjoyed:

  • Foreign Languages
  • Literature and Language arts
  • Science
  • Technology
  • Computer Science
  • Music

When I was a student, I would describe myself as someone who:

  • Liked helping people
  • Was motivated by success
  • Liked being given free range to explore my ideas
  • Liked reading
  • Engaged in volunteer activities
  • Felt great satisfaction in getting good grades

Related Topics

Biomedical Engineering Careers Computer Programming Computers Engineering Health Careers 11 Health Careers 12 Public Health Research Methods Scientific Practices

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