education

       State University of New York at Stony Brook
                    M.D./Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering

       University of California at Berkeley
                    M.S. Materials Science and Engineering
                    B.S. Engineering Physics

work experience

07/06-present
  Emergency Medicine Resident, Beth Israel Medical Center, NY, NY
08/00-08/04
 

Graduate Student Researcher, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY
Designed and developed a biomimetic compound-eye sensor for three dimensional optical imaging, with applications in angioscopy and minimally invasive procedures.

01/00-05/00
  Graduate Student Instructor, University of California, Berkeley, CA
BioMEMS: Introduction to Micro and Nanobiotechnology. Taught a course on silicon and polymer micromachining, with an emphasis on bioengineering.
08/98-05/00
  Graduate Student Researcher, University of California, Berkeley, CA
Characterized silicon micromachined nanopore filters made using integrated circuit processing technology for applications such as blood filtration and immunoisolation of pancreatic islets.
05/98-01/99
  Research Associate, Andros Inc., Oakland, CA
Developed testing procedures and characterized novel technologies for use in medical gas analyzers. In particular, worked with LabVIEW software, compressed gas, and pneumatic systems
08/97-05/98
  Head Graduate Student Instructor, University of California, Berkeley, CA
Engineering 45: Properties of Materials. Managed a staff of four teaching assistants and five readers while teaching three laboratory sections of a sophomore undergraduate course on engineering material properties at UC Berkeley.
08/96-05/97
  Research Assistant, University of California, Berkeley, CA
Investigated biomedical microdevice applications in boron neutron capture therapy for the treatment of cancer.

other experience and professional memberships


2005-current American College of Emergency Physicians/ Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association
2005-current American Academy of Emergency Medicine
2003-current Chinese American Medical Society
2002-current The International Society for Optical Engineering
1998-current Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center
2003-2004 SUNY SB Graduate Student Council - Biomedical Engineering representative
2002-2003 Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) Steering Committee
2000-2002 SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine computer support staff
2000-2002 AIDS Community Teaching Outreach Program

HONORS

2002 National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance Competition E-grant ($17,100)
2000 NIH Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) fellowship
1999 Jackson Kee Hu Memorial Fellowship
1999 University of California Block Grant Fellowship
1998 Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award

PUBLICATIONS- BOOKS/JOURNALS

Szema R, Lee L. “Chapter 11: Biologically Inspired Optical Systems” in Biomimetics- Biologically Inspired Technologies, ed. Bar-Cohen Y, 2005: CRC press, pp. 291-308.

Lee, L., Szema, R. “Inspirations from biological optics for advanced photonic systems.” (Cover article) Science. 18 Nov 2005. 310(5751): pp. 1148-1150.

Szema R, Rastegar J, Lee L. “An artificial compound eye for stereoendoscopy.”
J Med Eng Technol. 2004 May-Jun;28(3):117-24.

Tu JK, Huen T, Szema R, and Ferrari M. “Filtration of Sub-100 nm Particles Using a Bulk-Micromachined, Direct-Bonded Silicon Filter,” Journal of Biomedical Microdevices 1:2, 1999, pp. 113-119.

PUBLICATIONS- CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Szema R, J. Rastegar, Haarhoff D, Lee L. “A scanning stereoscope for minimally invasive biomedical applications.” IEEE Sensors Conference, Toronto, Canada (October 2003)

Szema R, Rastegar J, Lee L. “Three-dimensional endoscopy.” Proceedings of the 22nd Southern Biomedical Conference, Charlotte, NC (September 2003).

Tu JK, Huen T, Szema R, and Ferrari M. “Characterization of Bulk-Micromachined, Direct-bonded Silicon Nanofilters,” SPIE Bios ’98 Conference Micro-and Nanofabricated Structures and Devices for Biomedical and Environmental Applications II, 1998.

PUBLICATIONS- ACADEMIC

Szema R. “A Scanning Stereoscope for Biomedical Applications.” Doctoral Dissertation. State University of New York, Stony Brook, 2004.

Szema R. “Characterization of Silicon Micromachined Nanopore Filters for Biomedical Applications,” Master’s Thesis, University of California, Berkeley, 1999.