Career Spotlight: Bioengineer
Channel: KQED SCIENCE
Date: 2013-06-01

Tejal Desai is a bioengineering professor at UC San Francisco who is investigating new treatments for diabetes. Using nanotechnology, she is developing a tiny capsule that contains pancreatic cells that produce insulin.  This capsule would be implanted in a patient's body and act as an artificial pancreas.  In high school, Desai wasn't sure what career path to pursue.  As a freshman, she participated in a National Science Foundation program focused on engaging girls in science where she met a lot of inspirational women, including a biotech engineer. She says the topic appealed to her because "engineering could have direct health applications and help people." 

This video is one of three in the Career Spotlight: Biotechnology series.