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Michael Rariden is recognized for his work with tissue engineering

Michael Rariden

Michael Rariden received an honorable     
mention in the Goldwater Scholarship
Competition

Michael Rariden was an honorable mention for the 2018 Goldwater Scholarship Awards.

At Miami, he has worked in Justin Saul’s lab for two years, working towards a tissue engineering solution for retinal regeneration. As a senior in high school, he wanted to be an ophthalmologist, and he felt that becoming involved with this project would help him in his career as a doctor.

However, this research convinced him not to go to medical school—because he likes engineering so much. Instead, Rariden is planning to get his Ph.D. after he graduates from Miami in 2019.

This past summer, Rariden wanted to gain some experience in a hospital, so he completed an undergraduate research experience at Pennsylvania State University’s College of Medicine. While he was there, he worked to develop an assay to determine the force produced by the molecules involved in muscle contractions.

This was the project he wrote a research essay for the Goldwater Scholarship. Each University is able to nominate up to four students for the scholarship, and Rariden was one of the top four. Of these four students, three were recognized, either being awarded the scholarship or receiving an honorable mention. This testifies to the quality of Miami’s applicants, given only 16% of applicants nationwide are named Goldwater scholars and 22% receive honorable mentions.

This summer, Rariden will be working at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston to research how mechanical forces affect blood development.

By Paige Smith