Global Programs Lecture Series

• Date: Jan. 14, 2025
• Time: 10 - 11 a.m. CST
• Virtual (Link will be sent after registration)

Identifying Unmet Clinical Needs for Cancer and Beyond with Rice Bioengineering

Speaker: Casey Howard

Clinical needs finding is a critical first step in the medical device innovation process, ensuring that solutions are developed to address genuine unmet needs. At Rice University's Global Medical Innovation (GMI) Program in Bioengineering and the Center for Innovation and Translation of Point of Care Diagnostics for Equitable Cancer Care (CITEC) POCTRN center, we employ strategies to observe various clinical environments and engage with stakeholders. This approach helps us identify and prioritize needs that can be addressed through technology development, ranging from diabetes management to point-of-care cancer diagnostics aimed at improving equity and access globally.

This presentation will provide an overview of clinical needs finding as described in the Stanford Biodesign Model and how it is applied within the GMI program and the current CITEC grant.

Biography: Casey is the program manager for industry relations and an adjunct faculty member with Rice University's Bioengineering Global Medical Innovation Program. She teaches a clinical needs finding graduate course where students observe clinical care within the Texas Medical Center and beyond. She also co-leads efforts in needs finding associated with the CITEC POCTRN Center.

Previously, she was a senior instructor for eight years in engineering design and clinical experiences in the department of bioengineering at the University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz. Casey obtained a BS in mechanical engineering from Montana State University before completing an MS in Biomedical Engineering with an emphasis on Global Health from Northwestern University. She then relocated to Galway, Ireland, where she completed a Bioinnovate Fellowship focused on needs-based innovation and medical device commercialization.