Honor Society® member
Sarah Antonevich
Research Assistant at The Cardiac Optogenetics and Optical Imaging Laboratory Advisor: Emilia Entcheva, PhD I was awarded $6,000 in funding through George Washington University's Summer Undergraduate Program in Engineering Research (SUPER) and took charge of my own project where I developed a protocol for optimal human cardiac cell culturing with microscopic imaging evidence. My work included cell counting, culture preparation, optical oxygen sensing, and camera-based imaging. After training, I worked to test the differences in oxygen consumption of human cardiac fibroblasts under variable environmental factors. These experimental data were directly used in collaboration with projects within the lab regarding theoretical models to extract oxygen consumption parameters for fibroblast and cardiomyocyte cells and within the department to design long-term perfusion systems to control oxygen environments. My project helped understand the role culture environments have on the proliferation and oxygen consumption of highly metabolically active cells and in designing strategies to provide better oxygenation to grow mature cardiac tissue for regeneration purposes. The abstract for my project entitled "Optical sensing of pericellular oxygen consumption in human ventricular cardiac fibroblasts with implications for optimal cell culture environment" has been accepted and presented at the MIT Undergraduate Research Technology Conference (URTC) (2022), sponsored by IEEE, and my data has been presented at the AHA Scientific Sessions Conference in Chicago, IL (2022). I was also invited to present a lightning talk at GWU's Biomedical Engineering Day (2022) and presented a poster at GWU's R&D Showcase (2023). My abstract was also chosen as one of 16 presenters, and one of 3 undergraduate presenters at the New England Science Symposium (NESS) held at Harvard Medical School (2023). This research is currently being written into a paper which I will co-author. It will be submitted to Frontiers and other journals for publication by December 2023.
- Biomedical Engineering
- Class of 2024
- Rome, NY
Member since June 2023
Education
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Yale University
Personalized Medicine and Applied Engineering
2023 – 2024
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George Washington University
Biomedical Engineering
2019 – 2023
Honors and awards
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New Venture Competition Finalist
Top 10 Finalist for
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President's Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) – Gold
Awarded the Gold PVSA two years in a row (2022, 2023) for over 700 hours of community service between April 2021 and April 2023.
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Baer Award for Individual Excellence in the GW Community
One of four undergraduate students awarded. Awarded by the Division of Student Affairs to students who have enhanced student life and demonstrated integrity and commitment in their overall conduct as members of the campus community.
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Selfless Service Award
Awarded by Delta Epsilon Mu to one member nationally who has dedicated the most time to supporting their community through acts of unpaid service and volunteerism.
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Emerging Leader Award
Awarded by Delta Epsilon Mu to one chapter leader nationally to recognize their outstanding leadership and highlight their efforts to improve chapter operations.
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Individual Outstanding Service Award
Award by the GW Division for Student Affairs to one undergraduate and one graduate student who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to supporting the needs of the community beyond GW through acts of service.
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Travel Award/Travel Fellowship
Awarded the Travel Award to attend the Biomedical Career Services Program and New England Science Symposium in Boston, MA at no cost. Awarded the Travel Fellowship to attend the Summer Venture in Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Goals and interests
- Career goal
Physician
Doctorate – Research- Graduate school interests
MS/MBA
MD
PhD
MD/PhD- Outside the classroom
Classical Piano
Painting
Running
Hiking
Experience
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Research Assistant
The Cardiac Optogenetics and Optical Imaging Laboratory Advisor: Emilia Entcheva, PhD I was awarded $6,000 in funding through George Washington University's Summer Undergraduate Program in Engineering Research (SUPER) and took charge of my own project where I developed a protocol for optimal human cardiac cell culturing with microscopic imaging evidence. My work included cell counting, culture preparation, optical oxygen sensing, and camera-based imaging. After training, I worked to test the differences in oxygen consumption of human cardiac fibroblasts under variable environmental factors. These experimental data were directly used in collaboration with projects within the lab regarding theoretical models to extract oxygen consumption parameters for fibroblast and cardiomyocyte cells and within the department to design long-term perfusion systems to control oxygen environments. My project helped understand the role culture environments have on the proliferation and oxygen consumption of highly metabolically active cells and in designing strategies to provide better oxygenation to grow mature cardiac tissue for regeneration purposes. The abstract for my project entitled "Optical sensing of pericellular oxygen consumption in human ventricular cardiac fibroblasts with implications for optimal cell culture environment" has been accepted and presented at the MIT Undergraduate Research Technology Conference (URTC) (2022), sponsored by IEEE, and my data has been presented at the AHA Scientific Sessions Conference in Chicago, IL (2022). I was also invited to present a lightning talk at GWU's Biomedical Engineering Day (2022) and presented a poster at GWU's R&D Showcase (2023). My abstract was also chosen as one of 16 presenters, and one of 3 undergraduate presenters at the New England Science Symposium (NESS) held at Harvard Medical School (2023). This research is currently being written into a paper which I will co-author. It will be submitted to Frontiers and other journals for publication by December 2023.
Mar 2022 – Jun 2023
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Undergraduate Learning Assistant
Department of Biomedical Engineering, George Washington University Provided academic and personal support to students in second-year seminar course. Helped to grade projects and provide advice with using programs such as CAD modeling (Solidworks) and MATLAB. ● Worked closely with professors in the department to increase student engagement and provide necessary materials for later success in the required Senior Capstone Design projects.
Volunteering
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Team Captain of Senior Capstone Design Project and Development of Medical Device My group and I were tasked with finding a novel treatment method for palmar hyperhidrosis, a mentally debilitating disease that is characterized by excessive sweating of the hands. We worked to design a fabric glove that would house electronics and conductive panels to alter the skin’s permeability to sweat. The hope of the design was to allow the patient to access normal day-to-day activities and “personalizing” the current based on the severity of their symptoms at any point during the day. As the Team Captain, I encouraged my team to apply to the New Venture Competition. I joined online Reddit groups and the International Hyperhidrosis Society to gain a greater understanding of the need for our product. Our poster was accepted into the International Societies for Investigative Dermatology Meeting in Tokyo, Japan (2023) and our abstract will be published in the Fall Edition of the Journal for Investigative Dermatology entitled "Dry-Five: An Anytime Solution to Hyperhidrosis."
Department of Biomedical Engineering, George Washington University
Aug 2022 – Jun 2023
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Co-founder, STEM Tutor When I stumbled across the LAYC, I became the designated STEM tutor for the elementary-high school students in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC. As a tutor, I utilized my Spanish communication skills to increase access to STEM education and resources for the bilingual youth seeking academic support. I also noticed first-hand how over-worked parents can make or break a student's confidence and internalized ability to pursue higher education. Because of this, I aimed to create The STEM Project as a way to provide mentorship for both students and parents. I remember what it meant to me to have mentors at university that would expose me to all different sciences, from biology to computer programming. After all, I was only exposed to engineering after joining college which led me to switch my major. After learning to build a trusting relationship with the students, I realized that they had a natural curiosity for science and math, but only doing homework and practice problems was not as engaging. My team and I led the first workshop series entitled the “Marvel of Microscopes.” I was able to secure microscopes, microscope cameras, and computers to teach students about making slides and understanding the microscopic world. It was amazing to see the students continually asking me questions about the different bacteria they saw on the screen after looking at swamp water. One girl continued on to ask if she could swab her cheek and see her own cells under the microscope.
Latin American Youth Center – The STEM Project
Apr 2022 – Jun 2023
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Health and Safety Institute-certified (HSI) High Performance Adult and Pediatric CPR, Advanced First Aid, and Basic Life Support Instructor remember playing the infamous BeeGees song "Stayin' Alive" on full volume, so that people from down the hall would stop and see what the commotion was about. I realized that creating a safe and engaging environment to learn about serious subjects would give students the confidence and ability to use the skills they learned in high adrenaline situations. It is one thing to learn the skills, but it's another to feel as though you can use them. I taught over 500 students, and through these efforts GW was named a HeartSafe campus by the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation (NCEMSF). I became the main point of contact for all CPR/AED classes through the EMeRG agency. I also endorsed over five members of the agency within one semester (2022) to serve as CPR instructors. I made it my mission to create as many knowledgeable bystanders on GW's campus as possible.
Health and Safety Institute, EMeRGE
Nov 2021 – Jun 2023
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Assistant Supervisor for Quality Assurance (2022), EMT Attendant (2020-present) and Driver (2022-present) EMeRG is a collegiate EMS agency that offers free, basic medical care and transportation for all members of the GW and surrounding DC communities. The ambulance is staffed 24/7 during the academic year. Beginning as an Attendant, I was responsible for all patient care and transport, such as taking vitals, splinting, and stretcher operations. I was later endorsed to Driver by agency preceptors and now am responsible for all radio communications and maneuverability of the ambulance, in addition to the training of new probationary members in these skills. I was voted to take on an Assistant Supervisor for Quality Assurance role due to my attention to detail. Through this position, I ensured that all of the medical medical charting of our agency's crews were accurately completed which was valuable in the writing of the application for our agency to gain the Collegiate EMS Gold Award at the NCEMSF Conference (2022).
Emergency Medical Response Group at George Washington University (EMeRG)
Aug 2020 – Jun 2023
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Crisis Counselor, Peer Support ● Volunteer remotely to provide a free 24/7 texting hotline for anyone in crisis within the United States. ● Trained in reflective listening, collaborative problem solving, and crisis management to bring texters to a calmer state. ● Dedicated 300 hours and helped over 250 texters. ● Accepted into the 2022-2023 Peer ResourceSupport cohort and trained in nationally available mental health resources to support other Crisis Counselors on the platform, work closely with shift supervisors to manage texter inflow and activate active suicide rescue protocol.
Crisis Text Line
Mar 2020 – Jun 2023
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Treasurer (2021-2022), Secretary (2022-2023), and Member (2020-present) As the pandemic began in the middle of my prospective new member process, I took it upon myself to reach out to members and promote virtual gatherings to maintain the sense of community. Elected as Treasurer during the 2021-2022 school year, the transition from online learning to in-person classes was swift and unrelenting. Towards the middle of the year, membership attendance fell at a fast pace. I pushed our chapter to take greater advantage of study spaces on campus to create a social, yet academic setting. I decided to send out a poll to create a spreadsheet of all the pre-health classes taken by each member to create an internal tutoring program within the DEM chapter. This way, any member in need of extra help or looking for advice could be paired with another member. As Secretary (2022-2023), I helped fundraise over $1,000 for Children’s National Medical Center. I encouraged the use of our funds not only for social events but to showcase the excellence of our membership and philosophy by encouraging speaker panels and collaboration with other pre-health and engineering organizations, such as the Engineer's Council. Through these collaborations, the chapter is hoping to create a research symposium that connects students from the school of Arts and Science, the school of Public Health, and the Engineering school. Through my work on the leadership board, I was chosen as one of two delegates to represent the chapter at the 2022 DEM National Convention (Seattle, WA).
Delta Epsilon Mu
Jan 2020 – Jun 2023
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First-chair Gusli (2020-2023) and Sekunda Balalaika (2022) I play the gusli, a Slavic folk instrument which I picked up for the first time in 2019. I perform with the WBS orchestra, the largest Slavic music and traditional Russian instrument orchestra in the US. I attend weekly rehearsals and participate in over a dozen musical concerts per year. I helped to plan the four large annual fall and spring concerts with 300+ attendees each. I took initiative and sold CD copies of our concerts, raising over $1000 for Ukraine humanitarian relief. As the leader of the orchestra's Youth Initiative, I increased high school and college membership by offering free Russian tutoring, instrument rental, and affordable lessons. Through my work with WBS, I was awarded and sponsored by the national BDAA Youth Initiative Fund (Michael Kolos/Walter Kasura Scholarship Fund) to attend the 2022 BDAA National Convention (Asheville, NC) where I played the sekunda balalaika in the national BDAA orchestra. I attended music workshops, daily four-hour rehearsals, and helped plan the Festival of Slavic Music concert which sold out with 100+ attendees. I also suggested to donate all proceeds from the ending concert to Ukrainian relief efforts which was met with great enthusiasm from the board members. We eventually raised over $1500. As the only undergraduate member of the association, I was asked to lead a workshop about youth recruitment methods for the other slavic orchestra members and convention attendees.
Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra and the Balalaika and Domra Association of America National Orchestra
Oct 2019 – Jun 2023
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President (2021-2022), Co-President (2020-2021), Freshman Representative (2019-2020) As President of GreenGW, GW's umbrella sustainability organization, both during virtual instruction and after the return to campus, I became extremely aware of the unsustainable acts that became a habit during quarantine. I knew that it was especially important to reinstate the composting initiative on campus as everyone adjusted to an in-person lifestyle. I knew the option to make sustainable choices again was necessary to combat the dilemma. I led meetings and multiple campus initiatives, such as promoting local DC farmer's markets and educating students on fast fashion. However, membership fell significantly. I led the initiative in partnering GreenGW with GW’s Textile Museum and collaborated with GW fashion organizations to create a “Trashion Show” where people would create makeshift clothes out of usable garbage. I learned that creative thinking can often make sustainability and other initiatives easier to digest and reach a broader audience. Through this, I was able to recruit 50 new members and spread awareness about existing green initiatives around the GW campus and greater DC area.
GreenGW, GW’s umbrella sustainability organization
Sep 2019 – Jun 2023
Languages
- English (US) Fluent
- Russian Fluent
- Spanish Advanced
Additional information
Organizations
