Casey Isabelle

Casey Isabelle chose to pursue biomedical engineering in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, because she wanted to work at the intersection of health research and applications.

“It seemed like a great way to find a career that allows for innovative research to be highly translatable, as well as supremely valuable,” she says.

In Barrett, the Honors College, she realized just how translatable the research performed for biomedical engineering can be during her time at the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship at Mayo Clinic.

“If this new technology is ever going to actually help anyone, it needs to be translated into clinical practice, and that is no easy task,” Isabelle says. “I realized that this was the sort of work that I could recognize as being genuine and purposeful.”

Isabelle also participated in the DAAD RISE Program, which grants scholarships for students to conduct research in Germany.

She participated in Engineering Projects in Community Service, or EPICS, where she helped create a burn wound irrigation device for a hospital in Malawi. She described the experience as impactful and humbling.

“I knew that understanding the needs of involved stakeholders was important, but that point was really driven home by this experience,” Isabelle says. “The people you are helping in this program are asking for solutions to genuine problems that affect them, and your work makes a difference in improving their lives.”

The Grand Challenges Scholar extends her gratitude to Associate Professor Emma Frow, an associate professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society in the Rob Walton College of Global Futures at ASU, for shaping her path, including encouraging Isabelle to submit a paper to a competition, which she won.

“My paper was published in the Journal of Science Policy & Governance, and I was flown out to Seattle to give a plenary talk at a symposium,” Isabelle says. “Beyond that, Dr. Frow has provided advice on my next steps in education and my career, and she has always been immensely supportive.”

After graduation, Isabelle will pursue a doctoral degree in biomedical engineering and physiology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.

“I want to be seriously invested in not just developing an idea,” Isabelle says, “but also in releasing it and seeing it help patients in the field.”

Favorites

Hobby: Reading
Movie: No Country for Old Men
Activity: Hiking
Book: The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
Game: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ spring 2026 class.

Written by Hannah Weisman