The biomedical engineer Mar Cervera (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1998) is studying a master’s degree in Bioelectronic Engineering, thanks to a postgraduate scholarship from the la Caixa Foundation, at the prestigious ETH Zurich, a university that has 21 Nobel Prize winners, including Albert Einstein. After moving with his family to Madrid, Cervera graduated from high school with honors and completed a degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Carlos III University, receiving an excellence scholarship. In addition, she completed an exchange year at the Georgia Institute of Technology, among the top three in the United States in her specialty, where she participated as a researcher at the Platt Lab, which also opened the door for her to ETH and IBM’s Precision Diagnostics. He states in this interview with DIARIO DE AVISOS that “in every field of medicine, technology is present and will be implemented more and more.”
-Why did you decide to study Biomedical Engineering?
“I studied Biomedical Engineering because I am passionate about how the human body works and technology caught my attention. We know the importance of health in our lives, but I am convinced that the combination with technology is leading us to a health revolution and I want to contribute my grain of sand there. It is the present of medicine. In every field of medicine, technology is present and will be implemented more and more, from images that are processed automatically to devices, prostheses, new forms of diagnosis and treatment… I believe that there is and will be a great revolution in medicine through technology”.
– Is there any area in which you would like to develop your career?
“Studying at the Carlos III University allowed me to discover that in the combination of technology and medicine we can make great progress in treatments and diagnoses. We learned how electronic, mechanical, chemical, informatics, telecommunications and materials techniques are applied to the analysis and resolution of problems related to medicine, design and development of new technologies and imaging instrumentation, biomaterials, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, devices and implants. Now I am more focused on the field of medical devices through the exchange at Georgia Tech. Thanks to the Caixa I study this master’s degree in Bioelectronic Engineering and, in addition, I participate in a project at IBM Research Zurich, within the Precision Diagnostics group, where I combines microfluidics, internet of things, security, mobile health and cloud to develop prototypes of new precision diagnostic devices, to improve assessments through the analysis of biological samples”.
-Has it cost you to make the leap to train outside of Spain?
“Living in different places is always enriching, from an academic or work point of view, and on a personal level. We learn a lot from other cultures and it opens our minds, being more tolerant and understanding. Now, I have many more opportunities to train and find a good job outside of Spain, but my intention is to return. Although biomedical engineering seems very specific, the truth is that there are many branches, and in my case I like the one focused on medical devices, both for diagnosis and treatment. We know that Spain is advancing in research and biomedical engineering, but I hope that in a short time more companies will emerge in this field. The pandemic has given relevance to research and it is necessary to invest much more in everything that is the development of medical technologies”.
-Do you return to the Canary Islands with some frequency?
“I lived in Tenerife for six years, and, due to my parents’ work, the whole family moved to Madrid. I want to go back and rediscover those places I was when I was little. Tenerife is very special, it is the place where I was born and I love going back to what I feel is my home because of the memories and what my parents and well-known Canarians tell me”.
-What has this international postgraduate scholarship meant?
“I really appreciate that young people are given opportunities, because I am studying this master’s degree in Bioelectronic Engineering at the ETH in Zurich thanks to the la Caixa Foundation, which covers my tuition and living expenses in Switzerland. It is a recognition that is valued nationally and abroad. The scholarship is more than financial support, it has allowed me to meet and work with great professionals, learn cutting-edge biomedical technologies and new ways of thinking and researching. I encourage other young people to present their project”.