The Wiegand Summer Internship provides an opportunity for a high school senior, who resides in Allegheny County and who graduated in the spring of 2018, to spend 5 weeks learning first-hand about regenerative medicine research and scientific investigations in general.
The 2018 Wiegand Intern was Kaitlyn Wintruba a graduate of West Mifflin High School. Ms. Wintruba will be attending the Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh in the Fall. Her internship was in the Thoracic Aortic Disease Research Laboratory under the mentorship of McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty member Julie Philippi, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Phillippi also has a secondary appointment in the Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering.
Ms. Wintruba worked on a project focusing on The Influence of ECM Biomaterials on Human Smooth Muscle Cell Function. The purpose of the project was to develop a cell culture model to understand how human aortic smooth muscle cells respond to cues from the extracellular matrix.
The Wiegand Summer Internship is made possible through an endowment from Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Wiegand, friends and supporters of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The endowment is designed to provide an opportunity for a high school senior to experience the opportunities and excitement of a career in science and engineering, with a focus on regenerative medicine.
Illustration: Pictured are (L to R): Dr. Julie Philippi, Kaitlyn Wintruba