Congratulations to Renata Lawrence on completing her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering at SBME. Renata’s path into the program was shaped by a shift from microbiology and management toward a deeper passion for math, physics, and building technologies that directly impact human health. Throughout her time at SBME, she embraced the program’s multidisciplinary nature—balancing technical learning with hands-on experiences across research labs, design teams, and industry roles. Her experiences reflect a strong interest in translating engineering and data-driven approaches into real-world healthcare solutions, while exploring diverse opportunities in biomedical innovation, consulting, and beyond.
Why did you decide to study biomedical engineering at UBC?
I started off in Microbiology & Immunology with a dual degree in management. I realized after my first year that I was most interested in math and physics, which led me to transfer into Engineering. Biomedical Engineering interested me because no other field puts you closer to building things that directly affect people’s lives.
What do you find so exciting about biomedical engineering?
Biomedical Engineering attracts a lot of students interested in more than just technical engineering work; they want to help people in a direct way and take on the responsibility of building products that directly impact the human body. The students you’re surrounded by are passionate about their own futures, but also about doing good, which makes it a very exciting and fulfilling program to be in.
How do you feel being a part of student groups and SBME shaped your experience on campus?
I got to work as a lead on a few design teams and clubs: the Biomedical Engineering Design Team, UBC EPA, UBC’s Product Management Club, and UBC Formula Electric Design Team. These were all amazing experiences where I got to build, travel and compete internationally with some of the teams. It led me to meet a lot of great people, which is the best part of being in this program.
Can you please share a couple highlights from your time in SBME? Favourite projects? Notable achievements?
Definitely my capstone! My team and I built a machine learning model to automatically classify breast cancer tissues as benign or cancerous, and create segmentation masks around the identified lesions. It was great to work alongside a client and develop a clinician workflow with an amazing team of BMEG students.
I also worked at the Spinal Cord Research Centre and the Centre for Blood Research at the Life Sciences Institute, which was great early exposure to the biomedical field, and an experience I think shaped a lot of what came after, including being selected as one of 20 global recipients of the P&G STEM BOLD Leaders Scholarship.
What was the most fascinating project you got to be a part of, or piece of knowledge that you learned in SBME?
It’s hard to narrow down the last few years into a few highlights, but the best part of being in SBME is that the students are very diverse. Some go into bioinformatics, robotics, or software, others towards entrepreneurship, medical school, or completely unrelated fields. This exposes you to a wide range of possibilities early on.
For example, I started in PFAS removal research and data analytics, which led me towards a strategy-based role at a biotech startup, then into environmental consulting, and eventually into product management. I also got to study abroad in Spain, which was amazing. This exposure was exactly what helped me realize what I want to continue pursuing,
What are your plans for the future or next steps?
There are lots of exciting plans ahead: I’ll be working abroad in Singapore for the rest of the summer, working on a few exciting side projects, and then returning to Canada to work in Management Consulting. I’ll be applying my Biomedical Engineering background on a Healthcare Operations team. It will be a very busy next couple of years, but I’m very excited for what’s ahead!