Columbia BME Student Named NDSEG Fellow

Sydney England, a PhD student of biomedical engineering, has recently been selected as a recipient of the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. She will be funded and supported as she advances her work studying the biomechanics of the brain.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense, the NDSEG Fellowship recognizes exceptional students like England by providing funding for graduate education. The three-year fellowship is designed to encourage promising U.S. scientists to pursue doctoral degrees in designated research disciplines. Specifically, England will be sponsored by the highly competitive Air Force Research Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering, of which she was among only about 150 students selected.

Sydney earned her bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from Columbia Engineering in 2026. She will be staying at Columbia as she works toward her PhD in biomedical engineering through the MS to PhD track. England will also continue her research in the McIlvain VIBES Lab. 

At the McIlvain VIBES Lab, England’s research focuses on developing methods to study neurodevelopment in children using magnetic resonance elastography. She aims to create tangible models of infant and adult cranial capacity through data analysis and ex-vivo brain study.

England's selection as an NDSEG Fellow recognizes her academic excellence and research potential as she begins the next chapter of her career.