Eric Jumaga
Unfortunately, 15% of couples are infertile with male factors contributing to 50% of the cases. Meaning there are lots of men that can’t live out their dreams of becoming fathers; this is so sad. Eric, a cellular biomedical engineering student, was tasked with solving this problem by developing a testis-on-a-chip. The chip aimed to bring testicles down to the microscopic level, imagine tiny basketballs but way more scientific.
Eric’s co-op began with him learning the basics of cell culture and how tissue engineers work based on their cell’s schedules, not their own. After imaging his cells and perfecting their diet, Eric started working on integrating them into a microfluidic chip.
While at the Laboratory of Microtechnologies for Quantitative Biomedicine, Eric was exposed to a very independent and self-directed style of work. He learned life-long skills while prototyping and iterating through many different testis-chip designs. In the end, Eric did not manage to make the dreams of infertile males come true but his work has been a major leap forward in the right direction. Eric would like to thank those whom he worked with while on his co-op, he states “Their support and camaraderie have added a meaningful and personal touch to my co-op journey.”