Bioengineering student earns fellowship to study in Germany

University of Louisville engineering graduate student Young Choi has received a Whitaker International Fellows award to study in Germany.

The prize is for biomedical engineers who wish to gain international research and academic experience and provides round-trip international airfare, a monthly living stipend to cover cost of living, health and accident insurance and tuition reimbursement. As a Whitaker Fellow, Choi will spend a year starting fall 2016 at Helmholtz Institute at RWTH Aachen University, Germany, working on the development of a right ventricular assist device.

Choi is on target to graduate May 2016 with a master of engineering in bioengineering degree from the J. B. Speed School of Engineering.

“This award will allow me to forge new engineering skills and network with world-renowned researchers as well as gain my first research experience abroad and assimilate to German culture and language,” Choi said.

Before heading overseas, he will complete a summer internship with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in White Oak, Maryland.

“I was offered the summer internship with the FDA to develop a mock circulatory system to standardize testing of left ventricular assist devices,” said Choi. The device is typically used for patients with severe heart failure.

Choi says faculty member Steven Koenig, department of bioengineering, helped him compete for the award by setting up meetings with Koenig's colleagues in Germany.

"Through Dr. Koenig’s mentorship and networking opportunities, I was able to achieve this award," Choi said.

Choi is a 2009 graduate of duPont Manual High School and the son of Jung-In and Kyung-Ju Choi of Louisville.

He has earned other prestigious awards during his time at UofL, including the Joseph Henry Award in Translational Bioengineering, which recognizes students who have devised or potentially devised a new medical invention, and the Rolando “Chip” Cheng Jr. Memorial Scholarship, which recognizes students with a humanitarian, innovative and entrepreneurial spirit.