Marco Nino

"In the future I aspire to lead a team in transformative medical device design, whether that be at a medical device company or academic research and development.”

Hometown: San Dimas, Calif.

Year: Second-year PhD student

Program: Biomedical Engineering

Mission Areas: Advanced Manufacturing and Materials, Biotechnology, Environment and Energy

Lab: BioMOST Lab and Syed Mubeen Research Group

Advisors: Suresh M.L. Raghavan, professor of biomedical engineering, and Syed Mubeen, assistant professor of chemical and biomedical engineering

What brought you to the Iowa Technology Institute?

I was looking to engage in research in an environment that is collaborative and interdisciplinary. I knew that the ITI would provide me the opportunity to explore projects outside of my thesis research. 

What do you work on and what do you enjoy most about your work? 

My primary research efforts are focused on studying and developing a novel catheter device that leverages principles from electrochemistry and fluid mechanics to measure blood flow in the heart in vivo with greater accuracy and reproducibility than the current clinical standard. In addition, I also work on simulating blood flow in fusiform cerebral aneurysms using CFD as a tool towards better diagnostics and therapies for patients with cerebral aneurysms. I greatly appreciate that my work may lead to better patient care and innovative medical device design. 

What achievements are you most proud of? 

I am most proud of receiving the Carver Fellowship for my graduate studies. As a first-generation college graduate, I was able to show the younger generation of my family that obtaining a STEM degree is attainable. 

What do you like best about Iowa City? 

Iowa City has the luxury of having a small town feel while having renowned medical facilities and faculty that actively participate in research.