Engineering-to-Medicine

Are you an engineering student considering medicine? Feeling unsure about the application process or how to make yourself stand out as an applicant?

SBME and CUBEC are collaborating to host an Engineering-to-Medicine panel to answer these questions! In this panel, seven UBC medical students with engineering undergraduate backgrounds will discuss their journeys entering medical school and leveraging their engineering skills to thrive in a fruitful yet challenging environment.

Attendees will gain perspectives on:
● Navigating the med school application process as an engineering student
● Leveraging their engineering skills to stand out as an applicant
● Balancing academics, extracurriculars, and well-being during engineering vs. med school
● Transitioning from engineering into the medical field

Come for the insightful panel and stay for the food and socializing after! The event is on Wednesday, April 29th, from 12:00 – 2:00 PM at the Gordon B. Shrum Building, room B1009.

Panelists:

Mary-Jo Weir Weiss: A second-year UBC medical student studying in Vancouver. She did her bachelor’s in engineering at Carleton University in biomedical and mechanical engineering, where she also did research with the Impact Lab. Then she moved west and did a Master of Applied Science at UBC in mechanical engineering with a biomedical concentration with the Stoeber Lab.

David Mackay: A second-year medical school student at UBC. He completed his BMEG degree in 5 years and worked as a research technician for a year before starting med. He did not do co-op but instead found summer research opportunities and worked part-time in his final school year.

Stephanie Quon: She recently finished her second year of med school at UBC. She completed her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at UBC and graduated in 2024.

Eric Liu: A second-year medical school student at UBC. He studied Engineering Science (Biomedical Systems) at the University of Toronto.

Coralie Tcheune: With a background in biomedical engineering, Coralie is passionate about bridging technology and medicine by translating research innovations into meaningful and tangible patient care. She is particularly drawn to hands-on, procedural work and aims to specialize in plastics or orthopedic surgery. If you happen to find her in her non-academic element, she’ll likely be reading, writing stories, engrossed in a film (either watching or producing) or lifting heavy things at a gym.

Joyce Xi: A first-year medical student at UBC and a former SBME undergraduate (2021-2025). During her time in SBME, she contributed to initiatives supporting neurodivergent youth in STEM, women’s health, and the UBC Bionics design team. She is passionate about the overlap between engineering and medicine and enjoys mentoring engineering students interested in medical careers.

Samuel Lasinski: A first-year medical student in the Vancouver Fraser Medical Program at UBC. He received his Bachelor of Engineering in Bioengineering from McGill University and his Masters of Applied Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto, where his thesis focused on the scalable production of aligned collagen biomaterials.

https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6LsRw9DONJrXCPI