SAYURI MAGNABOSCO ’21 MAJOR: BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING HOMETOWN: CURITIBA, BRAZIL
Sayuri Tais Miyamoto Magnabosco has been called an emerging leader, but she is more comfortable being known for her curiosity. Perhaps more than anything else, she is an audacious dreamer with the savvy and drive to bring her ideas to life. Concerned about the environmental threat posed by the widespread use of Styrofoam trays in Brazil’s grocery store packaging, Sayuri—then a sophomore in high school—decided to find a sustainable alternative. Her search for something inexpensive, food-safe, and eco-friendly led her to the realization that the lightweight properties of sugarcane bagasse made it ideal for packing material. After obtaining bagasse from a nearby street fair, she created what has since become an award-winning prototype for a biodegradable alternative to Styrofoam. Now a biomedical engineering major, Sayuri is a member of the King Scholars program, which gives promising international students interested in alleviating poverty in their home countries four-year scholarships and extensive mentoring and leadership training. It’s not an honor she takes for granted. Remembering the role models who nurtured her own curiosity, Sayuri delights in volunteering as a mentor for high school students with Fundação Estudar, the same program that helped her apply to college. Sayuri credits her parents with inspiring her academic motivation. “I realize now,” she says, “all the things they have done to prioritize the education of me and my siblings.” She attributes her interest in biomedical engineering to her mother, who works in the healthcare system in Brazil. “Hearing my mother’s stories made me realize that very simple solutions can make the lives of millions of people better.” Sayuri has extended her commitment to others into her on-campus research. In Professor Jane Hill's engineering lab, she helped prototype a novel breath-collector device for use in under-resourced countries. Later, while working with Professor of Engineering Margaret Ackerman during her sophomore summer, she produced and cloned monoclonal antibodies intended for use in the first cytomegalovirus vaccine. This past summer, Sayuri interned for Vayu, a startup that reimagines lifesaving medical devices, where she assisted in crafting a machine that helps oxygenate the lungs of patients in early stages of the COVID-19 virus. The idea: eliminate the need for a respirator. “There are so many possibilities,” Sayuri says, “for designing products that make an impact or bring delight to someone.” A member of Dartmouth’s International Student Association, cofounder and president of Dartmouth’s Brazilian Society, and supporter of women in STEM, Sayuri is always focused on growing strong communities. “To look back and see not just how far you’ve come, but that you’ve brought others with you along the way—that is rewarding.” —Estelle Stedman ’23
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Acting
Pictured in Boston, Massachusetts, where Sayuri spent part of her summer term