MASSURC Names UMass Dartmouth Bioengineering Professor and Undergraduate Research Director Lamya Karim as Keynote Speaker
Organizers for the 2024 Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference (MassURC) have announced that Lamya Karim, associate professor of bioengineering and director of the Office of Undergraduate Research at UMass Dartmouth, will be the keynote speaker at the 30th annual conference to be held on the UMass Amherst campus April 19.
Karim’s keynote, “Turning Your ‘Failures’ Into Successes: A Scholar’s Journey Through Research and Perseverance,” will highlight her journey as an undergraduate student and how her early involvement in research and learning helped shape her career trajectory and continues to influence her current day-to-day work.
Karim’s research interests focus on skeletal mechanics, particularly as it pertains to osteoporosis, aging, diabetes and other health conditions. She holds a B.E. from Stony Brook University (2007) and a doctorate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2011), both in biomedical engineering.
The MassURC is a one-day conference where undergraduate students from the public colleges and universities within the Commonwealth present research, share knowledge and learn from fellow students. For the past 30 years, the conference serves to broaden understanding of research, showcasing investigations in over 60 subject areas, including biochemistry, history, architecture, marketing, fine art and sociology.
“We are so excited to welcome Dr. Karim as our keynote speaker at the conference this year,” says Mari Castañeda, dean of Commonwealth Honors College, which organizes and administers the conference on behalf of the state of Massachusetts. “Her profound insight into student research – and the story of her own path in research – will be an inspiration for presenters.”
The 2024 conference will be held in-person at the Campus Center auditorium. Karim’s keynote will be presented in the Student Union Building, Cape Cod Lounge from 9:15 – 10:15 a.m. on the conference day, with options for the public to view it through the MassURC Hub.
The MassURC is supported by Commonwealth Honors College, the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, the Massachusetts State Universities Council of Presidents and the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges. The keynote presentation is supported by the Williamson Lecture Funds.