{"335981":{"#nid":"335981","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Emily Evans: Where Biomedical Engineering Meets Medicine","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch1 dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EEmily Evans plans to join the Peace Corps, and perhaps go on to become an emergency room trauma surgeon. But first, she\u2019ll finish up her undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech. Evans is in her third year as BME student and only recently declared herself as pre-med, but she\u2019s been drawn to medicine since she was a little girl.\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy mom has a Ph.D. in neuropsychology and works at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, where I\u2019m from,\u201d Evans said. \u201cI learned from her early on that medicine comes with long hours and high stress levels, but it pays you back tenfold because it\u2019s so intensely rewarding.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEvans\u2019 mother works with patients who have experienced a traumatic brain injury, helping evaluate the condition of their brains and determining which skills they\u2019ll likely be able to recover. Evans, on the other hand, wants more of a hands-on role.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI want to be the doctor that sees the patient as soon as he\u2019s wheeled into the E.R.,\u201d Evans said. \u201cThose high-pressure, life-or-death situations are what drive me, because your actions lead to instant results.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat craving for immediate, tangible results has lead Evans to shy away from the research side of the field pursued by many of her peers. Scientists might spend years in the lab working on a single study, she says, only to make a small advancement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter her freshman year at Tech, Evans completed a research internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She analyzed cross-sections of brain tissue, working to understand the relationship between circadian rhythms and drug dependency. The technical skills she learned are useful, Evans says, but the experience helped her decide that long-term research isn\u2019t for her.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead of spending time in the lab, Evans has devoted the past year to volunteering in the emergency room at Grady Memorial Hospital in downtown Atlanta. She transports patients, changes sheets, and lends a hand wherever possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe doctors and nurses in a trauma setting can always use more help,\u201d Evans explains. \u201cIf I can take some of the workload off of them, it means they\u2019re able to see more patients and maybe even save another life. That\u2019s rewarding, and it makes a difference.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Evans, serving others is a passion. She says it\u2019s sometimes difficult to find a balance, because preparing for the possibility of medical school requires investing the majority of her time in her own education.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s why, after graduation, she plans to take a hiatus from her studies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI plan to serve in the Peace Corps for two years, hopefully working in some sort of medical setting in a developing country. Medical school will always be waiting for me when I get back.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat is, if she ultimately sticks to her pursuit of a medical degree. Evans also enjoys the research \u0026amp; development aspect of biomedical engineering, which she\u2019s been exposed to through her courses at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIn 2015, she\u2019ll pursue an internship with a biomedical engineering company to test the waters.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI would love to intern with a company that produces medical devices, communicating with doctors to see what works and what could be improved,\u201d Evans said. \u201cIt\u2019s a job that melds two of my passions\u2013engineering and medicine\u2013so I\u2019m interested to see if it\u2019s something I enjoy.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEvans says finding what you love is all about trying new things.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENo stranger to adventure, she spent a semester studying abroad at Georgia Tech-Lorraine in France. The experience expanded her worldview, she says, and pushed her toward a vocation that will allow her to work globally.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith so many different career options, Evans says the advisors and faculty within the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering have been an enormous resource.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSally Gerrish is amazing,\u201d Evans said of the college\u2019s manager of student, alumni and industrial relations. \u201cShe\u2019s always there to share personal advice and connect you to helpful people. If she doesn\u2019t have an answer for your question, she\u2019ll find someone who does. She has an incredible network of contacts.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBetween networking, volunteering and\u2013oh yes\u2013studying, Evans feels confident she\u2019ll wind up in the right place.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWhether it\u2019s in the E.R. of a local hospital or working on the ground in a third-world country, I know my career will be built on the foundation I\u2019ve received at Georgia Tech,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m ready to contribute something big to the world.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pub\/emily-evans\/a0\/111\/642\u0022 target=\u0022_self\u0022\u003EConnect with Emily Evans on LinkedIn\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWritten by Chris Calleri\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Emily Evans plans to join the Peace Corps, and perhaps go on to become an emergency room trauma surgeon."}],"uid":"27960","created_gmt":"2014-10-21 15:39:50","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:19","author":"Chris Calleri","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-10-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-10-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"335991":{"id":"335991","type":"image","title":"Emily Evans","body":null,"created":"1449245201","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:06:41","changed":"1475895048","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:48","alt":"Emily Evans","file":{"fid":"200507","name":"emily-12_2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/emily-12_2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/emily-12_2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":89243,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/emily-12_2_0.jpg?itok=Vcim23Yx"}}},"media_ids":["335991"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1612","name":"BME"},{"id":"166847","name":"students"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EChris Calleri\u003Cbr \/\u003E Communications Manager\u003Cbr \/\u003E Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E Georgia Institute of Technology \u0026amp; Emory School of Medicine\u003Cbr \/\u003E 313 Ferst Drive, Suite 2120\u003Cbr \/\u003E Atlanta, GA \u0026nbsp;30332-0535\u003Cbr \/\u003E Phone: \u0026nbsp;404.385.2416\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}