M.S. in Personalized Medicine & Applied Engineering

Informational Sessions:

• Wednesday, November 29, 2023 at 5 pm: Link

The M.S. degree in Personalized Medicine & Applied Engineering provides medical students, biomedical, mechanical, and electrical engineers, and computer science majors with the tools to develop innovative 3D solutions for personalized medicine.

Students will learn how to develop and apply 3D technology to address surgical and medical conditions with the goal of personalizing health care treatments to improve clinical outcomes. Courses are taught by both clinical and ladder faculty from Yale School of Medicine and Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science.

Using high-resolution medical imaging, 3D printing, robotics, computer navigation, and extended reality, students will learn to develop truly custom treatments, patient-specific instruments for surgery, and personalized medical devices.

Graduates of the program will be well-positioned to:

• Become leaders in clinical research disciplines focusing on personalized medical treatments, radiological services, and identification of pathology.
• They will be able to run a hospital’s point of care printing services and conduct preoperative surgical planning and custom 3D printed instrument design.
• Develop XR medical education tools.
• Become strong candidates for engineering positions that focus on the development of personalized treatments, the design of custom 3D surgical instruments and guides, custom implant design, tissue engineering, and manufacturing.

The many different clinicians you may shadow:

• Radiology
• Interventional Radiology
• Radiation Oncology
• General Surgery
• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Hand Surgery
• Total Joint Surgery
• Trauma Surgery
• Spine Surgery
• Sports Medicine
• Cardiology
• Electrophysiology
• Pain Management / Block Service
• Vascular Surgery
• Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery
• Anesthesia
• Regional Anesthesia
• Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
• Neurosurgery
• Neurology
• Neuro Intensive Care
• Dermatology
• Emergency Medicine
• Pulmonary Critical Care
• Urology
• Oncology
• Hematology
• Surgical Intensive Care
• Medical Physics

The range of masters thesis projects previous students worked on:

• Brain Tumors: MRI Based 3D Volumetric Analysis of Neurofibromatosis Type 2 Vestibular Schwannomas: Development of a Diagnostic and Visualization Tool
• Cardiology: Applying Machine Learning to Predict Heart Age
• Orthopaedics: Developing a Bone Density Algorithm from CT Scans and X-Rays for Total Knee Arthroplasty
• Vascular Surgery: 3-Dimensional Modeling from Ultrasound of Arteriovenous Fistulas Used for Hemodialysis
• Tissue Engineering: Application of a 3D-Bioprinter: Jet Technology for "Biopatch" Development Using Cells on Hydrogel Supports
• Lung Cancer: A Lung Segmentation Tool For Surgical Planning of Sublobar Pulmonary Resections
• Orthopaedics: Mechanical Effects of Different Fulcrums on Balanced Cable Bone Segment Transport

Jobs that previous graduates found:

• Medical device industry
• Tissue engineering
• Research lab
• 3D Printing Lab
• Medical School

Quotes from current students:

• "The clinical aspect and shadowing really made this program different from other programs that are just course-based; the focus on virtual surgical tools and 3D printing for clinical engineering applications was unique compared to other top BME programs."
• "As a hopeful physician-scientist, I wanted to garner an engineering background in addition to my biology experience to be able to provide better service in healthcare. As I was looking for biomedical engineering Masters programs, I noted that the Yale PMAE program explicitly merged practical clinical application with patient care."
• "The length of the program allowed me to apply to medical school. I really enjoyed the clinical immersion rather than solely an engineering approach like many other programs. There is a collaborative nature with the hospital, the clinical environment and the research labs. The program was flexible to align with my personal interests and goals, but with enough structure that I felt well supported. We have tremendous access to Yale mentors, school resources, and the opportunity to network."
• "This is a terrific program for medical and allied students. You have the autonomy to select your own thesis project and meet all of the faculty through their research pitches."

For questions and further information, contact Drs. Daniel Wiznia and Steven Tommasini.

Curriculum:

The program is 1 full year: Summer (8 weeks) + 1 academic year (Fall and Spring)

Course Requirements: Given that the Master’s program will attract students from many different backgrounds, students will be granted flexibility in terms of elective course requirements, by being able to select the focus of their special investigation projects as well as an optional biomedical engineering industry collaboration project (“internal internship”). For example, students with a strong engineering background may want to focus on medical school focused classes, while medical students may want to focus on engineering related courses. In order to graduate, students will need to take a total of 8 courses, of which 6 courses are required and 2 of the courses can be chosen from Yale-wide technical electives approved by the DGS.

The following six courses are required of all master’s students:

1. ENAS 526a: Clinical Knowledge for an Engineer (summer) An 8-week summer clinical immersion session provides students with early hands-on learning and shadowing of the current 3D innovation landscape. Students will be assigned to a clinical mentor. They will shadow their mentor in the clinics and operating rooms, observing how they incorporate personalized medicine into the treatment of patients.

   This 8-week clinical immersion program starts in the summer before the academic year. This part of the program provides experience in a clinical environment and gives the student a chance to find a clinical mentor for their thesis research. Students will work with their physician mentors to identify causes of preventable medical/surgical errors, device user-related hazards and device failure hazards, with the goal of addressing these preventable complications with medical device design projects. In addition, students will participate in didactics with a structured summer curriculum focusing on needs identification, assessment and risk management. Participating faculty come from all disciplines.

2. ENAS 527a: Personalized Medicine Seminar. This course is broken up into three models.

• Module 1: Rules and regulations. Basics of medical devices, FDA Regulation, QMS, Design controls, Clinical trials, stats, ethics, IRB, HIPPA

• Module 2: Introduction to image analysis and image processing, Medical imaging, image acquisition,  Image management, PACS, DICOM, Image processing algorithm development

• Module 3: VR/AR/XR, Medical education, Simulation, Diagnostics, Procedures, CCAM, YSM simulation center

1. ENAS 528a: Biomedical 3D Printing. This course is broken down into 3 modules.

• Module 4: 3D Printing, 3D Models, Surgical instruments, Point of care printing, Bioprinting, Quality management, printing validation

• Module 5: Surgical planning, 3D anatomic model creation, Use of CAD with 3D models, Surgical planning tools, Model validation

• Module 6: Image guided intervention, Computer navigation, Robotics, Interventional Medicine

1. ENAS 990a and b: Special Investigations; Masters Thesis Research: ENAS990 is an opportunity to work with a physician/surgeon or research scientist on the development of a personalized 3D treatment, either a medical device, 3D solution or point of care manufacturing modality. It's a yearlong 3D healthcare capstone research project within a YSM or SEAS lab focusing on developing point of care 3D printing technologies. A dedicated instructor will oversee the thesis research projects by facilitating a structured process with milestones, reports and presentations. The students will be required to present biweekly updates in a group presentation format. The instructor will facilitate these interactions with the clinician mentors.
   
   Each student will have a clinical advisor that will provide the student with a broad clinical challenge. The advisor will most likely be established during the summer clinical session. The student will have to develop a prospectus that includes a description and background of the research problem, a research question with a well-defined purpose, and detailed summary explaining the clinical relevance, significance and impact of the research. This prospectus will be due within the first 4 weeks of the course, and will be reviewed by a panel consisting of the faculty steering committee. The student will have a choice of several clinical advisors, and will be assisted by the ENAS990 course director, through a meet and greet as well as discussions, to find the best fit.
   
   We foresee that many students may have a combined MD / MS thesis, similar to medical students in the Masters in Health Science program. For the MS, the research would have to be within the personalized medicine discipline and be conducted during their Master's program. To receive combined credit for their MD thesis, the thesis would need to meet all of the MD thesis requirements, including that it would be overseen by a primary YSM mentor, or a YSM faculty member who is willing to sponsor the thesis in their Dept if the primary mentor is not a YSM faculty. The proposal would also need to be reviewed by the YSM OSR educational group to obtain formal approval.

2. ENAS 990b: Special Investigations (spring semester for Masters Thesis)

3. ENAS 529b: Medical Device Design: A semester long course exploring the biodesign innovation process, FDA regulation, ISO requirements, use of finite element analysis, medical device failure analysis, industry fieldtrips, industry discussions. While learning about the regulatory framework and design principals required to develop a medical device, students will work with clinical mentors in solving a clinical problem with a novel medical device.

Electives:

There is no set list of electives. Electives may be any graduate class offered by the GSAS, School of Management, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, and School of Law as long as they are consistent with the mission of the program (subject to director approval).

Potential electives include, but are not limited to:

ENAS 532a and b: Industry collaborative 3D Design Project - Fall and Spring (Can be taken in addition to or in place of ENAS 990a and b). Teams of 2-3 students will be paired to work on 3D medical innovation projects with biomedical engineering companies, industry leaders of personalized medicine. This course will serve as a potential "route to employment" by providing students with a year-long internship / "internal interview" with a biomedical technology company's engineering team. These projects may involve the student developing novel software, hardware, manufacturing validations, medical devices, surgical instruments, or 3D printing modalities. Some companies will limit their projects to engineering students due to the project scope.

ENAS 531b: Medical Software Design

ENAS 912a: Biomedical Image Processing and Analysis

MGT 992a: Healthcare Strategy

NURS 511a: Clinical Applications of Human Anatomy

ENAS 600a or b: Computer-Aided Engineering

ANAT 100a or b: Human Anatomy and Development

MGT 657b: Creating Healthcare and Life Science Ventures

YSM Investigative Medicine Courses
IMED 625: Principles of Clinical Research
IMED 630: Practical and Ethical Issues in Clinical Investigation
CDE 650e: Introduction to Evidence-Based Health Care & Medicine
IMED 645: Introduction to Biostatistics

Location:

The Masters in Personalized Medicine and Applied Engineering takes place in person in New Haven, CT at Yale University. Clinical components are taught at the Yale School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Hospital. Engineering components are taught at the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science. Courses and lab work are conducted throughout campus, as many of the faculty share responsibilities between the Yale School of Medicine and the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science.

Logistics:

Applying: The application process for 2023-2024 opens on August 15 and the deadline for applications is December 15, 2023. Check the Yale GSAS website for details.

Requirements: Applicants will need three letters of recommendation and their college transcript (medical school transcript is required for medical students). The GRE is optional.

Tuition is set by the GSAS. There is no financial assistance available for students enrolled in the Master's degree program. Further, due to the course work, students typically cannot devote sufficient time to be eligible for research funding. However, several of our Master's students perform a teaching fellowship for undergraduate courses and receive compensation for this work.