@Pitanity @nursingdean What are your engineering background and interest(s)? If you do a Masters in Engineering, it's easier to find direct (institutional) funding for it.

An area I always thought ripe for work/research would be to meld industrial engineering with patient safety. Take a look at what the Armstrong Institute is doing under Peter Pronovost: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/armstrong_institute/

I also think there's room in the patient information space to help patients/families take more ownership of their healthcare. Perhaps an easy-to-use mobile app that gives them simple checklists (with links to more info) to take that ownership. (See also http://www.jhumhealth.org/ for other mobile health ideas.)