A group of undergraduate researchers led by MatSci seniors Vara Gunananthan, Tyler Lee, Andrea Wat, and Jay Kim, received the prestigious WSE Dean’s Design Award for Materials Science and Engineering at the 2026 Whiting School of Engineering Design Day. They designed a sutureless mitral valve prosthesis for patients with severe mitral annular calcification to reduce operating times during open-heart surgery and improve patient outcomes.
The team was chosen out of 10 total projects from materials science and engineering students.
The group consisted of Vara Qi Gunananthan, Tyler Lee, Jay Kim, Andrea Wat, Admy Palacios-Gonzalez, Isabella Davis, Yucheng Sun, Olivia Smith, Sophia Cheng, Katalin Maji. They were advised by Associate Materials Science Teaching Professor Orla Wilson, Assistant Research Professor in Materials Science Thomas Garrison, and Michael Robich, Regional Medical Director of Banner Health and former Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.