News & Events

Biomedical Engineering Symposium

Goergen Hall, Sloan Auditorium (rm. 101)

Please join us for an Alumni Panel Discussion as part of Meliora Weekend. Light refreshments will be served. Please visit www.rochester.edu/melioraweekend for a full list of events. 

Biographies

Jason Condon graduated from the University of Rochester with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering in 2004 and went on to complete a master’s degree in biotechnology at the University of Pennsylvania. He accepted a position as an associate engineer at Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson before being promoted to supervisor and then scientist in 2011. Condon led the development of a broad range of biopharmaceutical production processes while at Janssen, including processes to make therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, cell therapies, and vaccines. He rejoined the University of Rochester as an adjunct assistant professor in 2015, teaching a course in bioprocess engineering that he designed. Condon is currently a project manager at Vaccinex, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of human therapeutic monoclonal antibodies and other targeted biological therapies. There, he is responsible for the development and clinical supply of Vaccinex's products.

Breana Roides earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering from the University of Rochester in 2008 and 2009 respectively. She then went on to receive her MBA from Purdue University in 2011 and accepted a full-time position at Johnson and Johnson Vision Care (JJVC) in Jacksonville, Fla. While at JJVC, Roides held a number of marketing roles, including consumer and professional marketing, as well as strategic account management. Recently, she relocated to Boston, Mass. to work in the orthopedic division of Johnson & Johnson DePuy Synthes. Her career has been a combination of both upstream product development and downstream brand marketing, launching a number of products for the company with total sales equaling over $100 million. Her passion is in bridging the gap between engineering and business.

Elisabeth (Betsy) Swovick graduated from the University of Rochester with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering in 2010. Shortly thereafter, she landed a job at Bausch & Lomb as a chemical process engineer where she worked to create efficiencies at their sterile ophthalmic manufacturing facilities.   After Valeant Pharmaceuticals' purchase of Bausch & Lomb, she quickly found a new position with Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division as process excellence specialist. In this role, she utilized (change to past tense if this is a former position) lean six sigma strategies to lead cross-functional continuous improvement projects at an over-the-counter pharmaceutical plant. While at Johnson & Johnson, she also spent time as an interim manufacturing supervisor and has since been promoted to senior business improvement specialist. (is this her current position? It’s confusing, as you mention that she’s also currently a process excellence specialist.)

Sean Virgile graduated from the University of Rochester with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering in 2010. He is finishing up his doctorate in bioengineering at the University of Maryland (UMD) in the Photonics Biosensing Lab. While at UMD, he co-founded Diagnostic anSERS, a start-up company that is commercializing ink-jet printed chemical sensors invented at UMD. After investigating its potential in anti-counterfeiting, forensics, and medical diagnostics, Diagnostic anSERS was awarded a $150,000 Phase I SBIR grant from the National Science Foundation to build a roadside "Marijuana Breathalyzer." 

Kerry Wang graduated from the University of Rochester with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering in 2010. She was an intern with Stanford Biodesign in the summer between her junior and senior years and after graduation took a position as a clinical development intern with Intuitive Surgical. She became a clinical design engineer with the same company, working to enhance and improve the da Vinci surgical robot by evaluating safety and efficacy. She has recently been promoted to senior clinical engineer and continues to work in product development to refine the capabilities of the da Vinci Robotic system and future products.