BME Distinguished Seminar Series with Karin Jensen

Title: Engineering Wellness: A Longitudinal Study of Undergraduate Student Mental Health in Engineering

Abstract: Higher education is facing a mental health crisis that continues to intensify, underscoring the urgent need to increase our understanding of student mental health to develop proactive supports. In this seminar, I will investigate the narrative of required stress and hardship during engineering programs that perpetuates a stress culture and explore how perceptions around norms impact student help-seeking and peer interactions. I will share our work to build predictive models to enhance our understanding of the dynamic and multivariate factors related to student mental health. Finally, I will share how we connect this research to curricular interventions and change the narrative in engineering to create a culture of wellness.

Bio: Karin Jensen, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Education Research at the University of Michigan. Her research interests include mental health and wellness, engineering career pathways, and engagement of engineering faculty in engineering education research. Her work was recognized with a PECASE award in 2025 and NSF CAREER award in 2019. Jensen is an associate editor for the Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Education. She earned a bachelor's degree in biological engineering from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Virginia.