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Track: Biomedical Engineering
Hometown: Harare, Zimbabwe |
Mambidzeni Madzivire would like to return to her native Zimbabwe one day to apply the biomedical research skills she is gaining at Mayo Clinic. "My country has many problems associated with diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Someday, I would like to be a part of the development of improved health care systems," Mambi says.
Her first exposure to Mayo came as an undergraduate student studying physics at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. Mambi began looking for a summer research internship in biomedical engineering, and an Internet search revealed that the SURF Program through Mayo Clinic College of Medicine accepted international students.
"The SURF Program was great for me," says Mambi. "Not only did I gain research experience in medical imaging, but I also explored the various research areas and career opportunities in biomedical engineering through my interactions with various people. I found the researchers and graduate students at Mayo — even those outside my lab — to be very accessible and happy to share their experiences with me."
Mambi's SURF research focused on helping physicians find noninvasive ways to predict the success of cochlear implants. Cochlear implant surgery is a very invasive procedure for patients, and currently there are few ways to determine beforehand whether a cochlear implant will be successful. Mambi's research examined methods to confirm the viability of the auditory nerve using medical imaging technology before surgery to avoid unnecessary procedures.
In the years before coming to Rochester to participate in the SURF Program, Mambi always thought that she would follow her sister's lead and go to medical school. But her participation in Mayo's SURF Program in 2001 and again in 2002 confirmed her overriding love for research.
"As a child I always loved to take things apart to see how they worked," says Mambi. "My parents would come home to find clocks and other household objects in pieces. I should have known then that I was destined for research."
Mambi currently pursues that goal as a first-year Ph.D. student at Mayo Graduate School. She is still deciding on a research project, and appreciates that she is always reminded of the patients her research will benefit. "I love that biomedical research at Mayo Clinic has a clearly defined purpose," says Mambi. "People here are conducting research that puts the needs of patients first. That is really motivating."
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