Engineering Major Wins Second Prize in National STEM Research Competition

Victoria Ruiz '26 accepts her second place award in the STEM Research Competition for the undergraduate oral presentation category.

"I was surprised because this was my first time presenting outside of our lab meetings, so I felt nervous during it," said Ruiz. "But I was just really passionate about it, and I spent a lot of time defining the impact and the value. The science is cool, but it needs to be motivated and backed up by a goal. I had that well-defined at the beginning, and I think that's what got across the best."

HBOT delivers 100% oxygen at elevated pressures and has been shown to improve tissue oxygenation, reduce inflammation, and stimulate bone formation. Meanwhile, dexamethasone (DEX), a commonly-prescribed medication for inflammation and autoimmune conditions, can contribute to osteoporosis by suppressing bone cell activity, triggering cell death, and reducing bone mass while increasing fracture risk and delaying wound healing.

Ruiz evaluated the combined effect of HBOT and DEX and found evidence of improved wound healing and bone cell function.

"I was inspired to choose this topic after learning about the work a PhD student in my lab, Afton Limberg, is doing on tendon healing under HBOT. I found her research fascinating and became particularly interested in bone and osteoporosis because I wanted to investigate non-invasive approaches to enhance fracture healing."

"This project stems directly from my thesis work, and I am proud of Victoria for this well-deserved award!" said Limberg. "It has been incredibly rewarding to mentor her as she has taken my initial concept and developed it further through her own rigorous research."

At Thayer, Ruiz is mentored by Limberg as well as Assistant Professor Katie Hixon, and Professor and Interim Dean Doug Van Citters.

"Victoria is an excellent example of how a motivated and talented student can start research early in their education and demonstrate award-winning productivity throughout their Dartmouth career," said Van Citters. "This could have happened in any number of Thayer labs, and our group is so fortunate to have met Victoria and benefitted from her contributions."

We asked about her journey to joining a research lab as an undergraduate:

When did you become interested in research?

I really, really like STEM. I knew I wanted to do something in science, and Dartmouth is one of the top colleges for doing research as an undergrad—specifically, starting your freshman year. So I picked Dartmouth for that reason.

How did you first get involved in research at Dartmouth?

I took Professor Van Citters out for lunch through Dartmouth's "Take a Faculty Member to Breakfast or Lunch program." I was interested in biomedical engineering research in orthopedics, and I wanted to make that connection.

Eventually, I joined his lab, just running some testing on the side, but then I wanted to get more involved. My sophomore summer, I got [Undergraduate Research Assistantships at Dartmouth] URAD funding, and I was able to actually do hands-on research.

Then I also applied to the Coulter Scholars and was one of four students from the class of '26 to get a grant to sponsor my research for my remaining two years at Dartmouth. After that, I got to really take initiative and design my own research project.

Why orthopedics?

My mom has arthritis and a lot of knee problems, and many of my family members have bone conditions that make them more susceptible to fractures due to brittle bones. I grew up seeing the health disparities with Mexico. My mom first got treated for arthritis when she came to the US, and it's made a big difference in her life. I wanted to dive into that and see how I could help.

How has the Dartmouth chapter of SHPE helped?

I didn't know much about SHPE at Dartmouth until my sophomore year when I applied and got to go to the conference. My first time there I received an on-the-spot interview and an offer to work at Boston Scientific. Then, last year, I decided to run for co-president, so now I'm co-president of SHPE.

We're reshaping the chapter to have more connections and more impact. I met with some graduate organizations that do volunteer STEM nights at local schools, and we're going to shadow them to learn how we can potentially run our own STEM nights with elementary school kids.

The best thing about SHPE is connecting with people. You can get recommendations of what classes to take, or how to apply for different opportunities. Or, when you feel like, "I don't think I can do these classes, they're really hard, I want to drop engineering," someone can say, "Hey, I was there. I know. I was able to get through it." Just having that peer group and support is the biggest value.

Do you want to keep doing research in the future?

Right before my SHPE presentation, I texted Afton that I was nervous. She said, "It's okay to be nervous! One of my mentors always told me that's how you know you care about what you are presenting and who you are presenting it to!" Halfway through I calmed down and started to really enjoy it. Then when I got questions, it felt easy to answer them, and I thought, "I kind of like this!"

So now I'm finishing my senior year and hoping to write a thesis. I plan to continue doing research while I stay for a fifth year to complete the BE and MEng programs and apply to PhD programs for the next year.

The STEM Research Competition is a showcase of scholarship conducted by SHPE students and faculty members across all engineering fields. Selected participants deliver a ten-minute oral presentation followed by a five-minute Q&A session. Awards are based on evaluations by engineering faculty and industry judges.