Talia Sieff

Background

About Talia Sieff

I began my college career studying electrical engineering. Over time, though, I gravitated towards biotechnology, drawn by the potential to directly improve people's lives, as well as the motley of skills and knowledge necessary work as a biomedical engineer. I've always thrived in multidisciplinary environments and enjoy learning to navigate new fields. Through the BSE program, and my studies in electrical engineering and then bioengineering, I have developed a deep appreciation for the the variety of skills necessary for a successful project. At university, I met the editor of the lesbian literary and art journal Sinister Wisdom and began volunteering at the outfit. Happy with the opportunity to bring underheard voices to print, I stayed with the publication even as it moved to Florida and then to Maryland. I worked as an intern with the Functional Performance Lab at the FDA on the DARPA HAPTIX project, automating the inducement of the rubber hand illusion in research subjects in order to better research limb embodiment and return amputees' sense of limb ownership. There I discovered an affinity for coding and the (ideally) unbroken chains of logic and command that allow automation to occur. I felt as well that old need to help the people around me in less indirect ways than coding and research, and later joined the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, providing emergency medical care until I discontinued for the present due to the ongoing COVID pandemic. Now with degree in hand and suitably colorful history behind, I'm interested in trying something new. I enjoy exploring new fields and learning skills I hadn't before had to the experience to know even exist. I enjoy meeting new people in new settings. And I'd enjoy the opportunity to talk about it.