Walker Rickord

Walker Rickord is a senior with a dual degree in Bioengineering and Psychology and a minor in Computer Science. He has worked in the laboratory of Professor Paul Jensen to optimize random barcode design for restriction enzyme workflows and investigate quorum sensing systems in bacteria using transformer models. Walker presented this work at the NCSA Student Conference (April 2023) in Champaign, IL, and the BMES Annual Conference in Seattle, WA (October 2023). Additionally, he participated in Mayo Clinic’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, working with Hakan Ceylan, Ph.D., to create an AI image-guidance system for a magnetically actuated, intravenous, soft robotic procedure using X-ray fluoroscopy. Prior, Walker interned at Sandia National Laboratories under Suma George Cardwell, Ph.D., in the neuromorphic computing department and at PSYONIC as a mechatronics engineer. Walker co-founded the student startup Nephra and was the vice president of technological affairs for Illinois Medical Advancements through Design and Engineering (i-MADE). Through the business fraternity Phi Gamma Nu, Walker has mentored several students and led philanthropic efforts in the Champaign-Urbana community. He also volunteered for Global Medical Brigades in Accra, Ghana, to help provide care for two underserved communities. After graduation, Walker will join the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program to pursue a Ph.D. in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP). He strives for a career in drug discovery/design and personalized therapeutics for cancer and other rare diseases.