Clemson CECAS Grads

If there has ever been a student who was "All-In" at Clemson University, Dr. Andrea Vera Martinez is it 🐅💯 Last month she graduated with her PhD in Bioengineering, her third Clemson degree after earning a Master of Science in BIOE and a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Biomaterials. Her dissertation was entitled "The Impact of Biomaterial Selection, Porosity, and Topography on the Osteoconductive Potential of Orthopaedic Implants" and her work consisted of studies where human stem cells were seeded onto various orthopaedic structures with different bulk materials, porosities, and surface roughness to study their effects on the expression of markers indicative of new bone formation. Most of her graduate work was done at the CUBEInc Greenville Bioengineering Campus at Prisma Health.

When she was not in the lab, she worked as a Graduate Administrative Assistant in the CECAS Grad Office, planning events designed to help students learn about graduate school resources that can help with the transition from undergrad. This was a personal effort for Andrea, being a first generation college student and the very first in her family to hold a doctoral degree of any kind. She helped create the the CECAS Graduate Student Advisory Board, serving as the BIOE rep for 3 terms and the President for 2 terms. She created and hosted the CECAST Podcast, assisted with STEM All In, attended conferences like SWE and SHPE as the graduate representative from Clemson, and participated in road trips across the state to discuss pathways to graduate STEM degrees at Clemson.

As for her future plans now that she has her PhD in hand, she is conducting interviews with hopes to work in research and development for the medical device industry.

Congratulations to one of Clemson's best, Dr. Andrea Vera Martinez, on her third and final degree, and all the success she had in Tiger Town!

Clemson Engineering, Computing And Applied Sciences Clemson Bioengineering