NSF Research Traineeship program
Human Centered Design and Manufacturing
The ASU NRT program’s integrated and interdisciplinary training model includes the following components.
Curriculum
Stipend- and non-stipend-supported Doctoral NRT trainees are required to complete four NRT core courses from the list below and attain a grade of at least a B (with a total of 12 credit hours, counted as electives, in students’ programs of study).
| Course name | Course number | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Population Health Ethics | POP633 | This course will explore the emergence of health ethics, its philosophical, historical, and political development, its relationship to the field of human rights, and its future. Emphasis will be placed on developing a mastery of the current literature on the subject and on formulating novel approaches in public health ethics. During the first three weeks of the course, we will consider theoretical issues in health ethics, including how to define morality, various general moral theories, the definition of bioethics and methodologies used therein, and theoretical approaches specific to public health ethics. In the following weeks, we will apply these ethical concepts, principles and theories to a number of specific topics and cases in public health. This is a reading and writing intensive course, and students should be prepared to engage in serious dialogue each week in class. To be successful in this course students will have read all readings prior to class and come prepared to discuss the ideas and concepts from the readings. |
| IT for Healthcare Innovation | HCI544 | Information technology is transforming the delivery of healthcare today. Learners will study strategy formulation theories and apply concepts as they develop a proposal for digital transformation to address a specific healthcare area of concern. Learners will gain insight into the technologies that are reshaping industries today, plus gain an understanding of the IT asset and the role of IT organizations in healthcare innovation. Topics covered include: digital transformation, design thinking, the IT asset, strategy formulation, and IT governance. |
| Health care Policy and Innovation | HCI550 | Intro. to political, organizational, and economic dimensions of health care policy, emphasizing strategies for innovative policy and practice. |
| Compliant Biomedical Product Development | HSD/MAE598 | This course will convey the critical need to apply biomedical engineering ethics principles in the design, manufacture and commercialization of biomedical devices and systems, all the while remaining compliant to local regulations and safety requirements. |
| Medical Device Regulation and Development | HCR552 | Comprehensive examination of the regulatory framework for the design, development, approval/clearance, and marketing of medical devices in the United States throughout the product lifecycle. |
The NRT core courses establish the foundation of understanding and knowledge that NRT trainees will use as they continue in their degree programs and in their NRT biomedical devices and implants projects. Additionally, NRT core courses are an excellent opportunity for NRT trainees to organically network, build connections, and spark collaborations with other members of the NRT network.
Research Training
Students will work with their research advisor on topics related to biomedical devices and implants. As part of NRT traineeship, the students are required to have a chapter of their dissertation dedicated to one of the research thrusts covered by this program as listed below:
- Human-technology interface in medical devices
- Ethics in research and innovation
- Law and policies in research and technology
Applied and Experiential Learning
Mayo Clinic Residency: NRT trainees are expected to spend one semester long (for a certain number of hours) as Mayo residents working or shadowing a doctor. The residency area of expertise will depend on their device application and research area. This could potentially be shadowing a medical doctor who is collaborating with the students’ respective research advisor or conducting a component of their research project as Mayo.
Graduate-Undergraduate Mentorship Program: The NRT trainees will be required to participate in the Graduate-Undergraduate Mentorship (GUM) program. This is a summer/semester long mentorship program for graduate students to train an undergraduate student, who is participating in the Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative (FURI) or the Summer Research Initiative (SURI) and looking to gain hands-on lab and research project experience.
NRT Orientations and Retreats: NRT orientations and retreats are annual meetings that occur. Orientations will occur at the beginning of fall semester and retreats occur at the end of each academic year. Students are expected to attend these meetings and may be asked to present a poster at the retreat event.
Professional Development activities: NRT will have a monthly seminar series where the students will have the opportunity to present their work, brainstorm with other NRT participants and team, and participate in invited guest lectures and seminars.