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Alessandro Grattoni earned a PHD in Biomedical Engineering and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and is a Professor and Chairman of the Department of Nanomedicine at Houston Methodist Research Institute: Houston Methodist Research Institute [0:00] Goes into what Nano-Particles is one of the fields of nano-technology – little engineered molecules; you are essentially engineering matter. [2:45] Why a Mechanical Engineering undergrad vs a Biomedical undergraduate degree. He had a passion from racing bikes and really liked Mechanical but after his masters in Mechanical Engineering, he really wanted to apply this to life sciences. [3:50] Going a little more in-depth – it is a very broad field and there are a lot of opportunities for research. [5:20] Is a PHD required? No, can start research after a Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree. [6:15] One thing we don’t know about Nano – an area to develop new engineering technologies at the microscopic scale. [7:30] What would a day look like? Spend a lot of time of learning new techniques, very multidisciplinary. Try to get an internship in a lab. [8:50] What has Alessandro fired up – opportunity to work with cells for drug delivery mechanism. Use cells and engineer it to respond with other molecules. [11:50] An ah-ha moment – spent a lot of time training for bike racing and determined that he could study and do racing/training at the same time. The 2nd ah-ha moment – attended a talk on nano-technology and he immediately realized that was where he wanted to focus. [15:00] Getting through college – take an opportunity to travel the world and do internships is different laboratories. Get to know all the different areas in Nano-Technology. [18:00] Couple attributes for succes – need to work to figure out your path forward, creativity, commitment, and never give up. [19:00] Best advice is get serious and start studying and a personal habit is being consistent and focused. A book he would recommend is “The Sky Below” by Scott Parazynski Free Audio Book from Audible. You can get a free book from Audible at www.stemonfirebook.com and can cancel within 30 days and keep the book of your choice with no cost.