Two Pitt Bioengineering PhD Students Awarded NSF Fellowships

Two Bioengineering PhD students at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering received competitive fellowships from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) in 2025. 

The NSF GRFP supports outstanding graduate students who pursue research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 100 NSF supported STEM fields. These fellowships provide three years of financial support that can be used over a five-year period, as well as an annual stipend and a cost-of-education allowance.

Durwash Badr

Badr is a third-year PhD student in the Translational Biomechanics Laboratory under the mentorship of Steven Abramowitch, professor of bioengineering. Badr’s research focuses on pelvic floor dysfunction in women, particularly stress urinary incontinence, and examines how treatments like mid-urethral slings and urethral bulking agents such as Bulkamid® affect the urethra’s shape, motion, and stability. By integrating medical imaging, computational modeling, and biomechanical analysis, she seeks to uncover why certain treatments succeed with the ultimate goal of improving therapeutic outcomes. 

Badr received the NSF GRFP in 2023, encouraged to apply by her undergraduate mentor Rana Zakerzdeh, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Duquesne University. Now beginning her first year of this fellowship in 2025, Badr credits Zakerzdeh for pushing her outside of her comfort zone and giving her the freedom to dive deeply into research and grow as an independent scientist. 

“The application process not only helped me earn the fellowship but also shaped the way I approach science, ultimately motivating me to pursue a PhD program.” Badr said. “This fellowship provides both the resources and the confidence to take risks, refine my skills, and contribute meaningfully to the field of pelvic floor biomechanics.” 

Katelin Rahn

Rahn is a second-year PhD student in the Trauma and Transfusion Medicine Research Lab (TTMRL) advised by Susan Shea, assistant professor of surgery and bioengineering. Rahn’s research focuses on improving outcomes for trauma patients by developing novel approaches to transfusion medicine. Her proposed work will use a custom microfluidic device to study the interactions between platelets, von Willebrand Factor, and lipids in blood samples. Given the high rate of preventable deaths and the current lack of targeted devices and therapies in this field, Rahn aims to inform the design of transfusion products that can improve survival rates. '

“This GRFP is a huge milestone in my academic career, and it’s such an honor to be awarded. Having three years of guaranteed funding is a dream come true for most PhD students, and it opens the door for almost unlimited innovation and research during my time as a grad student at Pitt.” Rahn said. “I hope that I can use this fellowship to lay the foundation for a successful career in bioengineering, and that the research performed with this fellowship will be significant in the world of transfusion medicine.”