Kara Hageman

Kara Hageman is a 2020-2024 Self Graduate Fellow pursuing a Ph.D. in bioengineering at the University of Kansas. She earned a BS (2018) in Biomedical Engineering with a focus in biomaterials from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, OH. Her time at CWRU involved research on drug delivery with synthetic platelets as well as being a varsity athlete and captain of the women's basketball team. Following her undergraduate studies, she earned both a Master’s of Public Health and a Master’s of Bioethics and Medical Humanities (2020) from CWRU. For her Ph.D., Hageman is studying under Dr. Terence McIff at the Orthopedic Research and Education Center at the KU Medical Center. Her dissertation focuses on investigating better methods to prevent periprosthetic joint infection in orthopedic implants by incorporating bioactive glass into bone cement. She has also interned with the clinical development innovation team at Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie company, and is a current intern with the University Venture Fund Crossroads program. At KU, she is actively involved with the Society for Biomaterials student chapter and serves on the graduate student advisory board. Upon graduating, she hopes to bridge the gap between public health and engineering as it relates to the accessibility of life-saving technologies to individuals, both nationally and globally.

Mentor: Terence E. McIff, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Orthopedic Surgery