2023 Student Officer Election Information - Bio and Vision Statement PE

2023 SFB National Student Chapter
President-Elect Candidate

Grant Scull
UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University
 

To The Society For Biomaterials Governing Body,

My name is Grant Scull, and I am a third-year, PhD Student in the Advanced Wound Healing Lab led by Dr. Ashley C. Brown at the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University, Research Triangle, NC. I am the current President and past Secretary of the North Caroline State University Student Chapter of the Society For Biomaterials (SFB), as well as the Vice President of Finance for the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student Association (GSA). I am a current member of the Society For Biomaterials in good standing and I plan to attend and present my research on ACL tear repair at the upcoming annual meeting in Baltimore, MD. 

I am interested in pursuing the position of President-Elect as part of the National Student Chapter for this upcoming year. My membership in the NC State University Student Chapter has shaped me into a strong candidate for the President position. As Secretary during the 2020-2021 school year, I assisted in adapting our annual Biomaterials Day event to a virtual agenda amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside the rest of the executive board, I identified keynote speakers, created surveys for registration and abstract submissions, and promoted the event within various biomedical societies. I garnered a significant number of participants (around 100 on Zoom!) despite the screen fatigue that accompanied the early pandemic lockdown. This academic year I secured the role of President for the NC State Student Chapter of SFB. My team and I decided to host the 2022 Biomaterials Day as a hybrid in-person/online event that drew around 90 participants. As President, I oversaw all organizational operations. I led fundraising initiatives at UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, and the local industry at Research Triangle Park, recruited a keynote speaker, and delegated tasks to and assisted my fellow executive officers with securing an event location, buffet delivery, and merchandise. We held an extremely successful event, having fundraised $10,000 from our universities, six local companies, and the National SFB chapter. The goal of the event was to promote industry relationships with students and disseminate information regarding biomaterials research. To accomplish this goal, all sponsoring companies were provided a booth in the conference room and were offered the opportunity to participate in a 45 minute long industry panel to directly speak to students. Biomaterials Day 2022 was one of the first large-scale events held at NC State University since COVID restrictions were lifted, and we received a plethora of positive feedback from attendees. Many were impressed with the panel of local companies, four keynote speakers (including Dr. James Anderson), nine oral student presentations, and 25 student poster exhibitions. I plan to remain President during the 2022-2023 academic year, and it is my goal to promote greater interaction and collaboration with universities in our area, including UNC-Charlotte, Duke University, Wake Forest University, Virginia Tech, and the University of Virginia (UVa). We are currently discussing ideas for a joint Biomaterials Day with UVa, as well as working to encourage and expanding local company participation with the SFB.

In addition to my experience with the SFB, I played a pivotal role in the GSA. One of my accomplishments includes promoting pride within our Joint Department by managing the design, order, and distribution of Biomedical Engineering merchandise, the first of such sales in four years. I worked closely with the Co-Presidents at each university to convert the Joint Department GSA into an unincorporated non-profit so that we could establish a bank account to handle these orders. We received 150 orders, totaling $15000 with a gross profit of around $4,000 for the GSA. Coordinating the sorting and distribution of merchandise to each university was a monumental task but was executed without any major roadblocks due to great communication and teamwork. Now faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students, and postdocs at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State can proudly represent the department. Despite the fact that UNC and NC State are serious adversaries on the football field and basketball court, the Joint Department functions as a single entity in academia. The merchandise that my team and I created and distributed is a visual representation of this unity and has greatly enhanced the school spirit of the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering community. Considering all of the skills that I have gained from these two endeavors, I believe that I am well-positioned to participate effectively as a member of the National Chapter. 

The following is my Vision Statement:

My Vision as a candidate for President-Elect is to reflect the values of the Society For Biomaterials by engaging with the biomaterials community, both in industry and academia, to foster collaborative and interdisciplinary relationships that will catalyze tangible, translatable inventions for the benefit of human health. Thank you for your consideration of my application for the President-Elect position. I very much look forward to continuing my service to the Society For Biomaterials as part of my university Student Chapter, and I hope to have the opportunity to participate as a member of your team at the national level. Looking forward to Baltimore!