Boston University College of Engineering Department of Biomedical Engineering
Revolutionizing
RNA Medicine
A team of interdisciplinary BU researchers hit upon a new technology that could transform RNA-based vaccines and cancer treatments. - page 17
Research team members (l-r) Wilson Wong, Jack Kirsch, Mark Grinstaff, Florian Douam, and Joshua McGee.
A tradition of excellence.
The Department of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University is among the largest of its kind in the US and is home to award-winning faculty, exceptional students, and numerous research centers and laboratories engaged in an array of interdisciplinary biomedical activities.
Founded in 1966, BU BME was among the first to offer a bachelor’s degree in the discipline. Today, we offer a full suite of undergraduate and graduate degrees, and are consistently ranked among the top BME departments in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
43 Primary Faculty
185 PhD Students 596 Undergraduates 65 Courses Taught
$49
ABOVE: The Wong lab is design-driven, applying synthetic biology to engineer desired properties in mammalian cells in hopes of understanding molecular design principles and developing cell therapies. BU BME 2023-2024 MILLION Research Funding
BME Department 2023-2024
Faculty
The BME faculty numbered 43, making the department one of the largest in the country.
Graduate Program
23 PhD degrees awarded
59 MS degrees awarded
21 MEng degrees awarded
Enrolled 267 students (185 PhD students; 4 MD/PhD; 54 MS; 24 MEng)
Undergraduate Program
163 Bachelor of Science degrees awarded
Enrolled 596 students
Research
BME faculty was awarded $48,903,314 in extramural funds
$1,385,503 per research active faculty member
The faculty submitted 192 research proposals for $245M.
43 research laboratories
8 research centers
“As biomedical engineers, it’s our calling in the world to improve human health. That’s what drives every single person here.”
John A. White, BME Department Chair
Primary Faculty
Our distinguished faculty is comprised of world renowned scientists and engineers who work across every scale of biology and in a wide spectrum of bioengineering subspecialties. Their research is driven by advancing fundamental understanding of biology and physiology in health and disease and then translating these principles to new technologies that impact the human condition and the practice of medicine. They also participate in 8 interdisciplinary research centers that are directed by BME faculty, and 43 research laboratories.
SAMAGYA BANSKOTA
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Duke University
IRVING J. BIGIO
Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Physics; Medicine PhD, Physics, University of Michigan
DAVID BOAS
Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Director, Neurophotonics Center PhD, Physics, University of Pennsylvania
CHRISTOPHER S. CHEN
Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Director, Biological Design Center
MD, Harvard University; PhD, Medical Engineering, MIT
JI-XIN CHENG
Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Chemistry; Physics; Moustakas Chair Prof. in Photonics & Optoelectronics
PhD, Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China
BRIANNE CONNIZZO
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering PhD, Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania
CHARLES DELISI
Metcalf Professor of Science and Engineering; Dean Emeritus, College of Engineering PhD, Physics, New York University
BRIAN DEPASQUALE
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University
ANNA DEVOR
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
MARY DUNLOP
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Mechanical Engineering, California Institute of Technology
MICHAEL ECONOMO
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Boston University
SOLOMON EISENBERG
Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Senior Associate Dean for Academic Programs, College of Engineering
ScD, Electrical Engineering, MIT
JAMES GALAGAN
Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Microbiology, BUSM
PhD, Computational Neuroscience, MIT
ALEXANDER GREEN
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University
MARK GRINSTAFF
Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Chemistry; Director, Nanotechnology Innovation Center
PhD, Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
XUE HAN
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Physiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
LIANGLIANG HAO
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering PhD, Chemical Biology, Northwestern University
MIGUEL JIMENEZ
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering PhD, Chemistry, Columbia University
DIANE JOSEPH-MCCARTHY
Professor of the Practice, Biomedical Engineering; Executive Director, Bioengineering Technology & Entrepreneurship Center
PhD, Physical Chemistry, MIT
SIMON KASIF
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Computer Science, University of Maryland
$1.4 M Funding per Research Active Faculty
4
NIH New Innovator Awards
5 NSF/NIH Training Grants
38 AIMBE Fellows
AHMAD (MO) KHALIL
Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Associate Director, Biological Design Center PhD, Mechanical Engineering, MIT
CATHERINE KLAPPERICH
Professor and Vice Chair, Biomedical Engineering; Director, Precision Diagnostics Center; PhD, Mechanical Engineering, U of California, Berkeley
KENNETH R. LUTCHEN
Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Dean, College of Engineering
PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Case Western
JEROME MERTZ
Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Physics PhD, Physics, Université Paris VI and University of California, Santa Barbara
JOHN NGO
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, California Institute of Technology
HADI T. NIA
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering PhD, Mechanical Engineering, MIT
TIMOTHY O’SHEA
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering PhD, Medical Engineering and Medical Physics, MIT
ERICA PRATT
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University
DARREN ROBLYER
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Director of PhD Program Admissions
PhD, Bioengineering, Rice University
KAMAL SEN
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Director of Master’s Program Admissions
PhD, Physics, Brandeis University
MICHAEL L. SMITH
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia
DIMITRIJE STAMENOVIĆ
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Mechanics, University of Minnesota
MATTHIAS STANGL
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases & Otto-vonGuericke University Magdeburg
BÉLA SUKI
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Biomechanics, Jozsef Attila University, Szeged (Hungary)
MICHELLE TEPLENSKY
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Chemical Engineering, University of Cambridge
JOE TIEN
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Physics, Harvard University
ADRIANA TOMIC
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Infection Biology, Hannover Medical School
LUCIA M. VAINA
Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Neurology PhD, Mathematical Logic, Sorbonne; Doctorat d’Etat ès Sciences and in Médecine (MD PhD); Institut National Toulouse, France
SANDOR VAJDA
Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Director, Biomolecular Engineering Research Center PhD, Chemistry, Hungarian Academy of Science
JOHN WHITE
Professor and Chair, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
JOYCE WONG
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Materials Science and Engineering, Program in Polymer Science and Technology, MIT
WILSON WONG
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Chemical Engineering, UCLA
MUHAMMAD ZAMAN
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PhD, Physical Chemistry University of Chicago
Selected Publications from BU BME Faculty
BU BME faculty continue to publish impactful research in top journals.
This represents a sampling from dozens of publications.
Wilson Wong – SCIENCE Engineered bacteria guide T cells to tumors
Hadi Nia, Mark Grinstaff, Darren Roblyer et al NATURE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
Intravital measurements of solid stresses in tumours reveal length-scale and microenvironmentally dependent force transmission
Xue Han, Michael Hasselmo – CELL
Theta and gamma rhythmic coding through two spike output modes in the hippocampus during spatial navigation
Mary Dunlop. Mo Khalil et al. - ACS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
Deep Neural Networks for Predicting Single-Cell Responses and Probability Landscapes
James Galagan - ACS SENSORS
Strategy, Design, and Fabrication of Electrochemical Biosensors: A Tutorial
Michael Economo, Jeroen Mertz, Kıvılcım Kılıç - NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
High-speed multiplane confocal microscopy for voltage imaging in densely labeled neuronal populations
JI-Xin Cheng - SCIENCE ADVANCES
Stimulated Raman photothermal microscopy toward ultrasensitive chemical imaging
Kamal Sen - JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
A robust and compact population code for competing sounds in auditory cortex.
Jeroen Mertz - SPIE JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL OPTICS
Multiplane HiLo microscopy with speckle illumination and non-local means denoising
Mo Khalil – CELL
Cooperative assembly confers regulatory specificity and long-term genetic circuit stability
Wilson Wong – NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Orthogonal inducible control of Cas13 circuits enables programmable RNA regulation in mammalian cells
Irving Bigio - NATURE MEDICINE
How AI-powered handheld devices are boosting disease diagnosticsfrom cancer to dermatology
Mary Dunlop – NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Deep model predictive control of gene expression in thousands of single cells
David Boas, Kamal Sen, et al. – FRONTIERS NEUROSCIENCE
fNIRS dataset during complex scene analysis
Anna Devor et al. – NEUROPHOTONICS
Understanding the nervous system: lessons from Frontiers in Neurophotonics
Chris Chen, Jeroen Eyckmans – ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
A Protein-Adsorbent Hydrogel with Tunable Stiffness for Tissue Culture Demonstrates Matrix-Dependent Stiffness Responses
Steve Ramirez, John White – NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
An implantable piezoelectric ultrasound stimulator (ImPULS) for deep brain activation
Tim O’Shea – NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
Derivation and transcriptional reprogramming of border-forming wound repair astrocytes after spinal cord injury or stroke in mice
BU BME Research
Boston University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering maintains a vibrant research program. The vitality has never been greater. In 2017, three BME-affiliated research centers expanded into a new, $140 million, nine-story building, the Center for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering.
96,000 square feet of space
43 separate research laboratories
8 BME faculty-led research centers
$49 MILLION in research funding
Research in BME spans all length scales and most organ systems of the human body:
• Biomechanics and Mechanobiology
• Systems, Synthetic & Molecular Bioengineering
• Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine
• Neural Engineering
Four enabling technologies are a critical component of our department’s approach:
• Biophotonics & Biomedical Imaging
• Computational Modeling & Data Sciences
• Diagnostics & Biosensing
• Biomaterials & Nanotechnology
Grant Funding
Our researchers annually attract millions of dollars in support from some of the nations’s most prestigious funding agencies, and students at all levels gain hands-on experience that translates to real-world expertise.
BME Grant Funding AY 2023-2024
92% Growth in grant funding over 10 years $1.4 M Annual funding per research-active faculty
139
New and continuing awards
BU BME’s research can be characterized by a combination of:
• Empirical and theoretical work with an attention to explicit mathematical models for the phenomena under study
• Intensive computer use for experimental and theoretical work
• A basic scientific flavor to the fundamental questions being asked
• An attention to the applications of improving health care, and a thorough understanding of the underlying physiological processes
• A world-class training environment for undergraduate and graduate students
BME Assistant Professor Matthias Stangl working with graduate students Omar El Sayed and Anna Vena to test a new hardware setup that combines neurophysiological recordings with wearable motion-tracking technologies, enabling novel studies of human brain activity during natural movement and behavior.
BME Grant Funding by Agency
A diversity of research funding as broken down by grant agency.
7/1/23 - 6/30/24
BME Faculty Annual Total Grant Funding
BME faculty were awarded over $49 million in extramural funds.
7/1/23 - 6/30/24
3
3
EXPENDITURES $48,903,314 $40,460,416
Research Centers
BU BME has a broad range of research strengths, a wealth of resources and facilities, and also benefits from strong ties with the research-active BU School of Medicine, as well as many other top medical research centers in the Boston area.
BU has 8 interdisciplinary research centers that are directed by BME faculty:
ggg ggg ggg ggg ggg ggg
ggg ggg
Bioengineering Technology and Entrepreneurship Center
Transforming education and innovation for bioengineering students through hands-on learning in partnership with industry, from gene editing to biosensors to digital medicine
Biological Design Center
To rigorously understand life’s design principles and re-engineer them to revolutionize our approach to addressing critical challenges in human health and the environment
Biomolecular Engineering Research Center
Developing and applying computational methods for the analysis and design of structures, functions, interactions, regulation and evolution of biological macromolecules
Center on Forced Displacement
Fostering research and engagement with the global challenge of forced displacement, through multidisciplinary teams from across BU, around the country, and around the world
NSF Engineering Research Center in Cellular Metamaterials
Developing tissue-engineering principles to create scalable, low-cost technologies for growing clinically significant cardiac tissues from cell-level building blocks
Nanotechnology Innovation Center
Where nanomaterials intersect medicine and energy through collaborative interdisciplinary research
Neurophotonics Center
Advancing our understanding and treatment of brain disorders through advanced optical science and photonic systems
Precision Diagnostics Center
Discovery, design and development and clinical translation of technology for disease screening and monitoring, treatment management and health maintenance
The Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering includes neuroscience research, systems/synthetic biology research, a satellite vivarium, and a cognitive neuroimaging center.
Research Highlights
A sampling of BME’s 139 new awards from AY 2023-2024 reflects the spectrum of BU BME’s research strengths, and the depth of our faculty accomplishments.
Christopher Chen
Award
$3,219,519 Sponsor: National Science Foundation
NANOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER FOR DIRECTED MULTISCALE ASSEMBLY OF CELLULAR METAMATERIALS WITH NANOSCALE PRECISION: CELL-MET
Mary Dunlop, Mo Khalil, Christopher Chen
Award $2,999,999 Sponsor: National Science Foundation
NRT-UROL: A CONVERGENT TRAINING PROGRAM ON BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
Alexander Green
Award
$2,982,362 Sponsor: Department of Defense/DARPA
SMART PAPER-INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES FOR INTERROGATING READINESS (SPITFIRE)
Kamal Sen
Award
$2,961,895 Sponsor: National Science Foundation
NCS-FR: ENGINEERING BRAIN CIRCUITS FOR COMPLEX SCENE ANALYSIS
Anna Devor
Award
$2,520,076 Sponsor: NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke
LOCAL NEURONAL DRIVE AND NEUROMODULATORY CONTROL OF ACTIVITY IN THE PIAL NEUROVASCULAR CIRCUIT
David Boas
Award $2,577.580 Sponsor: NIH/National Institute of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering
THE NEUROSCIENCE OF EVERYDAY WORLD- A NOVEL WEARABLE SYSTEM FOR CONTINUOUS MEASUREMENT OF BRAIN FUNCTION
Mo Khalil
Award $823,196 Sponsor: NIH/National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases
PROGRAMMABLE BENCHTOP BIOREACTORS FOR SCALABLE ECO-EVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS OF THE HUMAN MICROBIOME
Catherine Klapperich
Award $805,660 Sponsor: Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
CLINICAL EVALUATION OF A NOVEL DIGITAL HEALTH INTERVENTION FOR NUTRITIONAL ANEMIAS
Mo Khalil
Award $804,366 Sponsor: NIH/National Institute of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering
EPACE: AUTOMATION PLATFORMS FOR ADAPTABLE AND SCALABLE CONTINUOUS EVOLUTION OF BIOMOLECULES WITH THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL
Mary Dunlop
Award $796,158 Sponsor: NIH
OPTOGENETIC SELECTION FOR DYNAMIC PHENOTYPES IN BACTERIA
Wilson Wong
Award $785,840 Sponsor: NIH/National Institute of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering
MULTIPLEXED AND LOGICAL CONTROL OF THE MAMMALIAN TRANSCRIPTOME USING CAS13
Graduate Programs
The BME Department is known for its highly quantitative approach to biomedical science with a focus on applying engineering, computational, and analytical techniques to biological systems. Experiential learning opportunities, including opportunities to work with clinicians at the Boston University School of Medicine and other Boston-area hospitals, deepen students’ knowledge base, preparing them for careers in companies producing cutting edge products and technologies.
Master of Engineering - A customized, professional master’s degree program for students focused on careers in the private sector, the MEng offers a graduate curriculum of advanced technical courses in an area of specialization and a unique practical hands-on product development project.
Master of Science - A research-focused master’s degree program designed to provide superior training in order for students to pursue advanced biomedical engineering careers. In addition to technical coursework, there is a practicum requirement for an approved mentored project. Alternatively, students may perform an original Thesis.
PhD - Candidates obtain advanced education and research training while working with our world-renowned faculty. PhD students are guaranteed funding for the duration of their program, as long as they maintain satisfactory progress.
GRADUATE PROGRAM POPULATION
DEGREES AWARDED
g MEng
g PhD
g MD/PhD
g MS
During AY 2023-2024, BU BME funded 189 PhD candidates, with 79% funded by competitive external fellowships.
MS
23 PhD
21 MEng
Graduate Degrees
MENG Graduates
SPRING 2024
Kiley Adams
Matthew Ronald Becker
Isabella Blue Beortegui
Joseph Michael Campolieto II
Mark Ferdie Sones Catolos
Catherine N. Clark
Juan Esteban De La Espriella
Jenna Elizabeth Doyle
Julia Li Farnum
Shane Thomas Gleason
Samantha Kirse
Joanna Maria Koshy
Kathleen Leahy
Matthew P. Leal
Paige Louise McLaughlin
Arielle Mesica
Emma Katherine Minadeo
Sarah O’Donovan
Noah Ethan Shephard
Dea M. Turashvili
Rishi R. Vaidya
MS Graduates
SUMMER 2023
Sarah Adams (Advisor: Mark Grinstaff)
Development of a Tunable Protein Release Hydrogel for Enhancing CAR T Activity
Jessica Eve Anderson (Advisor: Muhammad Zaman)
Neuroimaging Global Mental Health: fNIRS improvement via novel high-density design, detection of psychiatric resilience biomarkers in control and vulnerable populations
Baarbod Ashenagar (Advisor: Laura Lewis)
Quantitative Analysis of CSF Flow Dynamics in the Human Brain
Aviva Borison (Advisor: Wilson Wong)
Engineering gene circuits in immune cells as transplant rejection and cancer diagnostics with enhanced sensitivity and specificity
Padric Micheal Garden (Advisor: Alexander Green)
Detection of Heavy Metal and Small Molecule Contaminants via Transcription Factor-Gated DNA Synthesis
Joseph Karl Hall (Advisor: Bela Suki)
Development of Subject-Specific Spring Network Models to Evaluate the Mechanisms of Pulmonary Disease and Predict Disease Progression
Jenny Taylor Korunes-Miller (Advisor: Xuexin)
Screen-to-treatment development of eupenifeldin-siRNA co-delivery for selective tumor cell therapy
Hoang Minh Quan Le (Advisor: John Ngo)
Drug-Stabilized Nanobodies for Investigating and Engineering Signaling and Protein Synthesis in Cells and Organisms
James M. Robson (Advisor: Alexander Green)
Deciphering sequence-to-function frameworks of engineered RNA sensors
Delaney Ruth Gray Scherr (Advisor: Christopher Chen) Investigating the Role of Sex Hormone Signaling in Lymphatic Function
Songyang Wang (Advisor: Jerry Chen) Exploring Neuronal Circuitry Architecture in the Somatosensory Cortex: Unraveling ContextDependent Sensory Processing
Mark Gitai Cherepashensky (MS Thesis Advisor: Ji-Xin Cheng) A Novel Neuropathic Pain Treatment: Achieving Neuronal Inhibition with a Split Ring Resonator
Xuexin Li (MS Thesis Advisor: Wilson Wong) Engineering Synthetic Notch Receptors and Activation-Inhibition Genetic Circuits to Regulate Gene Expression Levels
Emily I. Oros (Mentored Project Advisor: Wilson Wong) Development of mRNA synNotch Circuits for Controllable Gene Expression
FALL 2023
Anthony Nicholas Aggouras (Advisor: Brianne Connizzo)
Tenocyte-Mediated Extracellular Matrix Remodeling Mechanisms Important to Intrinsic Tendon Matrix Repair
Alexander Douglas Boyd (Advisor: Kamal Sen)
Development and Assessment of a Realtime BrainInspired Spatial Sound Processing Algorithm
Morgan Kathleen Cambareri (Advisor: David Boas)
Identifying and Characterizing Subcortical Integrative Network Hubs in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness
Nicole Miranda Maxwell Carr (Advisor: Chandramouli Chandrasekaran) Using High-Density Electrophysiology and Machine Learning to Understand Cortical Microcircuit Dynamics in Health and Disease
Scott Jeffrey Gaines
(Advisor: James Galagan)
Creation of Estrogen Biosensors and Validation of a Platform for Novel Allosteric Transcription Factor Sensor Development
Gabrielle Naomi Grifno
(Advisor: Hadi Nia)
Probing the Functional Dynamics of Pulmonary and Vascular Transport in Health and Pneumonia at High Spatiotemporal Resolution
Jiayi Li
(Advisor: Alexander Green)
Engineer Programmable Switches for RNA Imaging and Sensing in Living Cells
Carolyn Marar (Advisor: Ji-Xin Cheng)
Wireless Neuromodulation at Submillimeter
Spatial Precision via an Injectable Microwave Antenna
Amish Patel (Advisor: Allison Dennis)
Engineering Quantum Dots for Paired Agent Imaging in Biological Systems
Emma Jilk Stowe (Advisor: Brianne Connizzo)
Impact of Cellular Senescence and Aging on Tendon Extracellular Matrix Homeostasis
Matthew Kurt Bechtel (Mentored Project Advisor: Catherine Klapperich) YourBio or Tasso Blood Collection Device Callibration
Carolina Virginia Cordova (Mentored Project Advisor: Michael Albro) Raman Spectroscopic Monitoring of Neocartilage Growth
Landon S. Kushimi (Mentored Project Advisor: Michael Smith) Identifying and Tracking Signaling of Murine Diabetic Cells
Benjamin Jacob Siegel (Mentored Project Advisor: Joyce Wong) Tyramine-conjugated Alginate Hydrogels as Sacrificial Substrate for Cell Sheets
Ethan Espinoza (MS Thesis Advisor: Irving Bigio) Multispectral Colonoscopy Imaging Using Five Broadband Wavelengths of Light
Shweta Rajan Khorana (MS Thesis Advisor: Mario Cabodi)
SPRING 2024
Joshua S. Dupaty (Advisor: Catherine Klapperich) Novel Isothermal Methods for Detecting Placental Malaria, N. gonorrhoeae, and C. trachomatis in Urine
Alanna Marie Farrell (Advisor: Christopher Chen) Investigating the Role of Rho/ROCK Signaling in Vascular Homestasis and Drug-Induced Vascular Toxicity
Samantha Johanna Fletcher (Advisor: Muhammad Zaman) Agent-Based Model of the Colonization Resistance of Diarrheal Pathogens at the Colonic Epithelial Layer
Zhuoying Huang (Advisor: Wilson Wong) Unraveling the Dynamics of T Cell Exhaustion: A Comprehensive Investigation into T Cell Subtypes, Receptor Signaling, and Environmental Factors
Mackenzie Hyman (Advisor: David Boas) Quantifying Cerebral Microvasculature Alterations in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Alison Lanzi (Advisor: Arturo Vegas) Polymer Mosaics for Control of Hydrogel Structure on the Nano- and Micro-Scales
Alexander Michael Marzilli (Advisor: John Ngo)
Sensitive Strategies for the Visualization of Molecular Interactions in Cells
Joshua E. McGee (Advisor: Wilson Wong)
Nucleoside Modified Self-Amplifying RNA for Vaccines and in situ Therapeutics
Aarohi Mahesh Mehendale (Advisor: Darren Roblyer) Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging for Assessment of Skin Involvement in Scleroderma
Sebastian Naranjo (Advisor: Joyce Wong) Development of a Biomimetic Spiral Artery Remodeling Model
Leo Joseph Steiner (Advisor: Xue Han)
Characterizing Subthalamic Nucleus Involvement in Gait Regulation for Optimizing Deep Brain Stimulation
Jack Cardini (MS Thesis Advisor: Mary Dunlop)
Ji Young Chung (MS Thesis Advisor: Irving Bigio) Optimizing An Elastic Scattering Spectroscopy Device for Clinical Measurements of Deep Tissue Margins in Oral Cavity
Meredith Anne Davis (MS Thesis Advisor: Michelle Teplensky) Harnessing DNA Nanoarchitecture to Overcome Immunoevasion in Cancer
Savannah Lee Harpster (MS Thesis Advisor: Joyce Wong)
Characterization of Fibrin-Targeted Microbubbles for Detection of Peritoneal Adhesions
Paria Mir Hashemian (MS Thesis Advisor: Christopher Chen) Engineering Honeycomb-Like Scaffolds via Direct Laser Writing for Cardiac Tissue Engineering.
Tong Nie (MS Thesis Advisor: James Galagan) Finding Novel Oxidases Specific to Hydrocortisone in Bacterial Genomes
Allison Michelle Sander (MS Thesis Advisor: Brianne Connizzo) Uncovering The Individual Impacts of Sex, Hormones, and Hormone Cycling on Tendon Remodeling
Teah Serani (MS Thesis Advisor: David Boas) Reducing Motion-Related Artifacts in Human Brain Measurements Using fNIRS
Sonia Anjali Corba (Mentored Project Advisor: Joyce Wong) Multi-output microfluidic Device for LNP Production
Aksana Doss (Mentored Project Advisor: Joyce Wong) Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Targeted mRNA Delivery
Grant Gini
(Mentored Project Advisor: Christopher Chen) Engineering Liver Regeneration
Quan H. Ho
(Mentored Project Advisor: David Boas) ninjaCap: Validating Sensor placement
Celina Carmen Maldonado
(Mentored Project Advisor: Michael Albro) Temporal Delivery of TGF-B in Engineered Cartilage Tissue
Rajar Muthukumaran Manoharan
(Mentored Project Advisor: Mark Grinstaff) Synthesis, Conjugation and Testing of an siRNA
Kirti Rambabu Nimmala (Mentored Project Advisor: Kamal Sen) Discovery of Immune-Related Tergets Relevant to Multiple Neurological Diseases
Alexandra M. Pineiro (Mentored Project Advisor: Joyce Wong) Characterization of Fibrin-Targeted Polymerized Shell Microbubble Theranostic Agents and Observing Microbubble Behavior Under Ultrasound for the Detection and Treatment of Surgical Adhesions
Kiran Raja Tremblay (Advisor: Kamal Sen) Developing an Unsupervised Machine Learning Model for Feature Cluster Detection
Emma Grace Wheat (Advisor: Kamal Sen)
Discovery of Immune-Related Tergets Relevant to Multiple Neurological Diseases
PHD Graduates
SUMMER 2023
Nathan Blanke (Advisor: Irving Bigio)
Birefringence Microscopy for High-Resolution Imaging of Myelinated Axons and Myelin Pathology in the Postmortem Brain
Mitchell Clough (Advisor: Jerry Chen)
A Wide Field-of-View Multi-Area Two-Photon Microscope for Simultaneous Imaging of Sensory and Motor Cortex in the Mouse Brain
Jourdan Ewoldt (Advisor: Christopher Chen)
Investigation of Autonomous and Multicellular Effects of Hypertrophic CardiomyopathyAssociated Mutations in Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocyte Models
Jenny Taylor Korunes-Miller (Advisor: Mark Grinstaff) Platform Technologies for Enhancing Chemotherapy Efficacy: Local Drug Delivery and Tumor-Specific RNAi Sensitization
David Glenwood Lee (Advisor: Jerry Chen)
Investigating the Functional Roles of Perirhinal Cortex in Goal-Directed Learning at Multiple Scales
Michael Brian Sheets (Advisor: Mary Dunlop) Light-Inducible Tools for Control of Bacterial Gene Expression and Antibiotic Resistance
Menna Yamany Siddiqui (Advisor: Wilson Wong)
Engineering Universal Chimeric Antigen Receptor Systems to Expand Cell Therapy Applications
Samuel Scott Spink (Advisor: Darren Roblyer)
Next Generation Near Infrared (NIR) and Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) Wearables for Breast Cancer Imaging
Indorica Sutradhar (Advisor: Muhammad Zaman) Using One Health Approaches to Study Effects of Antibiotic Stewardship on AMR Development FALL 2023
Alex Andrew Lammers (Advisor: Christopher Chen) Enabling Tissue Perfusion through Natural and Engineered Self-Assembled Networks
Jacob F. Norman (Advisor: John White)
Investigating the Neural Activity Elicited by Induced Memory Recall
Mark Paladin Suprenant (Advisor: Muhammad Zaman)
Pediatric Diarrhea: Risks Associated with Treatment and Access to Care Analysis in Humanitarian Crisis Settings
Weerathunga Arachchige Hasini Rathsara Weerathunge (Advisor: Cara Stepp)
Sensorimotor and Kinematic Characterization and Modeling of Speech Motor Control in Individuals with Speech Disorders
Jing Zhang (Advisor: Xi-Jin Cheng)
High-Throughput Single-Cell Imaging and Sorting by Stimulated Raman Scattering Microscopy and Laser-Induced Ejection
SPRING 2024
Sudiksha Sridhar (Advisor: Xue Han)
Neural Network Processing of External Cues During Learning and Locomotion Across Brain Regions
Danyal Fareed Bhutto (Advisor: David Boas) Deployable AI for Solving Inverse Problems in Physics and Biomedical Imaging Applications
Emma Penelope Bortz (Advisor: Xue Han) Noninvasive Ultrasound Alters Neuronal Activity in the Awake Mammalian Brain
Katie A. Bunde (Advisors: Michael Smith/Dimitrije Stamenovic) Development of Isolated Island Micropatterns for Investigating Cellular Biomechanics
Jingyao Chen (Advisor: Wilson Wong) Cell-Free Sensing and Recording Applications of Genetic Circuits
Patrick T. Lally (Advisor: James Galagan) Integrative Analysis of Bacterial Transcription Factors Across Multiple Scales
Alison Lanzi (Advisor: Arturo Vegas) Polymer Mosaics for Modulation of Hydrogel Structure
Alexander Michael Marzilli (Advisor: John Ngo) Engineering Protein-RNA Interfaces for Monitoring and Manipulating RNA in Living Cells
Sue Shuyi Zhang (Advisors: Hadi Nia/Mark Grinstaff) Quantification of Solid Stress and Subcellular Structures Using Imaging-Based Techniques
FDA APPROVAL
Professor Irving Bigio’s DermaSensor has been cleared for marketing by the FDA. The first-of-its-kind hand-held device uses artificial intelligence and light to detect common skin cancers in patients 40 and over, distinguishing between malignant and benign skin lesions. Bigio developed the underlying sensing technology, elastic scattering spectroscopy (ESS), which aims to simplify mole detection and has the potential to reduce missed cancers by half.
BIOMATERIALS GLOBAL ELITE
Professor Joyce Wong has been elected a Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering, joining a group of less than 500 of the most respected biomaterials scientists around the globe. Bestowed by the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUSBSE), the title is the field’s highest honor.
“It’s a great honor,” says Wong. “I think it’s a recognition of the advances that my lab has made in such a broad area of biomaterials, ranging from the fundamentals to applications, in combination with my advocacy efforts”.
REVOLUTIONIZING THE FIELD
Assistant Professor Hadi Nia has been selected as a 2024 Sloan Foundation Research Fellow, recognizing the potential of his groundbreaking work to unlock secrets behind cancer and pulmonary diseases. His work includes ex vivo studies of the lung and tumor mechanogenetics. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation declared that the early career recipients show the “potential to revolutionize their fields of study.” The prestigious award is another recognition of the College of Engineering’s strength in mechanobiology, which is one of our core convergent research areas.
EARLY CAREER RECOGNITION
Assistant Professor Michelle Teplensky is one of only ten winners nationwide of a Hartwell Biomedical Research award. She has also earned a Beckman Young Investigator award, funding her pioneering research to lengthen the lifetimes of single vaccines for flu, #COVID19, HIV, and more. The research will allow the engineering of versatile vaccine responses through nanomaterial design, using porous nanosized scaffolds made of tunable chemical building blocks.
2023-2024 Faculty Honors (Selected)
BU Ignition Awards - Bela Suki, Mark Grinstaff, Wilson Wong
Time Magazines Best Inventions - Ed Damiano
Fellow, Biomaterials Science and Engineering - Joyce Wong
AIChE 35 Under 35 Award - Michelle Teplensky
Moorman Simon Interdisciplinary Career Development - Erica Pratt
JOR Early Career Award - Brianne Connizzo
Rita Allen Foundation Scholar - Erica Pratt
Sloan Research Fellowship - Hadi Nia
Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Award - Michelle Teplensky
Beckman Young Investigator award - Michelle Teplensky
SPIE Biophotonics Technology Innovator - Ji-Xin Cheng
ACS Spectrochemical Analysis Award - Ji-Xin Cheng
Raman Award for Innovative Technological Dev. - Ji-Xin Cheng
Hariri Junior Faculty Fellow - Brian DePasquale, Adriana Tomic
Delisi Award - Ji-Xin Cheng
ENG Service Award - Mary Dunlop
BMES Shu Chien Achievement Award - Chris Chen
Outstanding Postdoctoral Mentor Award - Mary Dunlop
Undergraduate Program
Founded in 1966, the Biomedical Engineering Department was among the first to offer a bachelor’s degree in the discipline. To achieve our educational mission, we cultivate our students’ problem-solving and communication skills, nurture their creativity, promote their ability to think critically and independently, and help them to understand scientific and engineering approaches.
US News Ranking Undergrad BME program Private Universities
596 Students
33% of College of Engineering
54% Female students
163 Bachelor of Science degrees awarded
65 Courses taught 10218 total student credit hours
BS DEGREES AWARDED
A variety of advanced electives allow opportunities for specialization in instrumentation, sensory and neural systems, biomechanics, signal processing, biomolecular engineering and systems & synthetic biology.
TRACKING ALUMNI - POST GRADUATION PLANS
91% EMPLOYED OR GRADUATE SCHOOL of 2022 graduates
Employed
The undergraduate program in biomedical engineering fuses engineering practicum and research with a life sciences education at a world-class, urban research institution.
Graduate/Professional School
The College of Engineering conducts an exit survey of all graduating seniors in late April/early May and continues to compile data until the end of the following fall semester. The results of these interviews are shown in the chart at left for the graduating class of May 2022 and are collected approximately six months after graduation.
Transitional Jobs/Travel/Still Looking
Research experiences are available to undergraduates in many of the BME labs, as well as faculty-mentored opportunities and fellowships through the College of Engineering and the University. In addition, each BME senior develops a Senior Design Project with an individual faculty member, scientific mentor or corporate advisor.
A New Type of RNA Could Revolutionize Vaccines and Cancer Treatments
An accidental discovery turned into an unexpected success, when a team of interdisciplinary BU researchers created a new and improved COVID vaccine
By Jessica Colarossi
It all started in the lab. Two Boston University doctoral students, Joshua McGee (ENG’26) and Jack Kirsch (ENG’23), were creating and testing different types of RNA—strands of ribonucleic acid, built from chains of chemical compounds called nucleotides, that help carry out genetic instructions in cells. They were determined to see if RNA sequences crafted with small changes to their nucleotides can still work. After running dozens of experiments, they hit a dead end.
“At first, it was a failure,” McGee says.
Decades of research have uncovered the mysteries of RNA in living cells. Without it, our cells couldn’t perform fundamental tasks, like constructing other cells, carrying amino acids from one part of the cell to the other, or mounting immune responses to viruses.
But, more recently, scientists have figured out how to harness RNA to make treatments aimed at fighting genetic diseases and cancer. They’ve also learned how to use messenger RNA (mRNA) to make COVID-19 vaccines. The experiments that McGee and Kirsch perform are aimed at using RNA to deliver lifesaving drugs and create more effective vaccines than we have today.
Working alongside Mark Grinstaff, BU’s William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of biomedical engineering and chemistry, and Wilson Wong, a College of Engineering associate professor of biomedical engineering, they started talking about what to do next—and what to do with the chemical components left over from the initial experiments. They decided to focus on modifying the chemical structure of a lesser-known type of RNA, called self-amplifying RNA (saRNA), which is manufactured in the lab and replicates itself multiple times in a cell to produce a higher number of the proteins it’s programmed to make.
The new method worked: their modified saRNA was replicating itself in a petri dish.
The results kicked off a yearlong research project that moved from Grinstaff’s chemistry lab to Wong’s genetics engineering lab to BU’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL), where they tested their modified saRNA as a vaccine against the COVID-19 virus. They found that a lower dose of their new vaccine in mice protected them from the disease just as well as current mRNA vaccines. Their findings are published in Nature Biotechnology.
It’ll be years of further testing before this vaccine can be approved for humans. Even though there is one type of saRNA vaccine—approved last year for use in Japan—the researchers hope their modified version will make the technology more appealing to drug manufacturers, as well as overcome the challenges of using saRNA as a vaccine.
Grinstaff recently received an inaugural Trailblazer Engineering Impact Award from the National Science Foundation, which comes with a $3 million grant, to continue exploring saRNA technology—something that can “fundamentally alter the genetic engineering paradigm,” according to the NSF.
Our reaction…was a lot of excitement, but also the normal scientist thinking, ‘Did we do this right?’ We went back to do it again and again. And we got the same results.” Joshua McGee (ENG’26)
“There’s so much work that we’re doing now to further understand what we have discovered,” says McGee, who is coadvised by Wong and Grinstaff. “There are a lot of publications out there that suggested research on saRNA would also fail. This made me realize that it’s okay to try things that other people think might fail, because, who knows, they could be wrong.”
Clockwise, from back left: Wilson Wong, Jack Kirsch, Florian Douam, Joshua McGee, and Mark Grinstaff.
BU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) is one of the largest departments in the nation, with 43 award-winning primary faculty, numerous interdisciplinary research centers, and exceptional talent at all levels. Research activity by primary BME faculty is $49M per
bu.edu/bme
