Peer Mentor Program
The Center for Injury Research and Prevention's (CIRP) Peer Mentor Program was established in 2018 by former CIRP graduate student and Injury Science Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) student Ethan Douglas, MSE. This program connects current or recent graduate-level students with REU students to help them learn more about the process of applying to graduate school, choosing a career track, and completing research.
The program includes:
- Assistance with technical work
- Guidance with asking their mentors difficult questions
- Advice on preparing their graduate school applications
Meet CIRP's Current Peer Mentors
Madeline Griffith, MS
Madeline joined CIRP in 2020 as a Research Project Engineer after working as a Graduate Student Research Assistant at the Center since the fall of 2018. During her time as a student at CIRP, Madeline studied and completed a master’s thesis on driver kinematics during takeover in an autonomous driving scenario. Madeline’s research interests include pediatric biomechanics and child passenger safety, in order to understand injury prevention in the automotive safety field. She received her BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 2018, and her MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020.
Sicong (Grace) Ren, PhD
Sicong (Grace) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow working under the supervision of Kristy Arbogast, PhD and Christina Master, MD, FAAP, CAQSM, FACSM. As part of the Minds Matter Concussion team, Dr. Ren studies the qualitative and quantitative physiological outcomes following sports-related concussion among children and adolescents. At the Center for Injury Research and Prevention, she works on several research projects that aim to examine post-concussion recovery. Dr. Ren is particularly interested in utilizing mHealth and data-driven approaches to advance the management of pediatric concussion.
Elizabeth Silvestro, MSE
Elizabeth is the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Hospital Additive Manufacturing for Pediatrics (CHAMP) 3D Lab Team Lead. She has a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, focused on the development of pediatric simulation phantoms. Elizabeth is also a member of CHOP's Innovation Ecosystem team and the Pennsylvania Pediatric Medical Device Consortium.
Former Peer Mentors
- John J. Burns III, BS, bioengineering MSE student at the University of Pennsylvania
- Gregory Chingas, MS, biomechanics innovation engineer in residence, Hospital for Special Surgery
- Ethan Douglas, MS, product scientist, Zelus Analytics
- Colin Huber, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow, Emory University
- Divya Jain, PhD, postdoctoral fellow, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Sarah O'Brien, BS, assistant product manager, exida
- Kristen Scudder, MS, freight program manager, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
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