UIC Bioengineering Newsletter Fall 2013

THE RICHARD AND LOAN HILL

FALL 2013 IN THIS ISSUE:

Message from the Head

Recap of BME Midwest Career Conference

Richard and Loan Hill Donation

Feature on Assistant Professor Jun Cheng

New Faculty Profiles

Recent Graduates & Student Awards

New Grants & New Graduate Classes

Guaranteed Student Internship & BOA

The future looks bright with increased enrollment and generous donation from UIC Bioengineering alumnus.

THE RICHARD AND LOAN HILL

Message from the Head

Dear Friends of UIC Bioengineering, Welcome to the Fall 2013 Newsletter. Summer just seemed too short for me. We are back at it this Fall and the level of activity and new developments in bioengineering at UIC keep us moving forward at a fast pace.

I’m proud to announce a major transformative gift pledge to the department from one of our very successful alums, Richard Hill, and his wife, Loan Hill. Please read about this inside. This gift will help the department continue its upward trajectory as we build our faculty and increase our student enrollment and education program offerings and quality. It will also help us expand our collaborations with biomedical researchers throughout the five academic medical centers in Chicago, as well as in the private sector. We are pleased to partner both with industry giants nearby, some who are represented on our external Advisory Board, including Baxter, Abbott, Hospira, and GE Healthcare, and Biomet, as well as with members of the innovative biotech startup base in the Midwest with its hub in Chicago.

As many of you know, UIC bioengineering has a long history, predating the creation of the University of Illinois at Chicago. The University of Illinois at Chicago Circle (UICC) was founded in 1965. At that time a program in bioengineering was established as a joint venture between faculty at UICC, the UI Medical Center and Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital (which is now Rush University). Within a few years, both undergraduate and graduate degrees were being awarded in bioengineering. In 1982, UICC merged with the University of Illinois Medical Center to create the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and a Department of Bioengineering was established within the College of Engineering at UIC, but has always maintained its close ties with faculty residing in medicine at UIC, as well as at Rush. We were third in the nation to have an ABET-accredited undergraduate program in bioengineering/biomedical engineering (synonymous in terms of accreditation), and one of the first in the nation to have an NIH training grant to support our graduate education mission.

Enough of a history lesson for this issue. I invite you to also read about our newest faculty additions to the department, Daniela Valdez-Jasso, Ph.D., and Jose Oberholzer, M.D. We also have a feature on one of our younger faculty, Assistant Professor Jun Cheng, who joined us three years ago after competing against faculty recruits in fifteen other departments at UIC to be the sole recipient that year of the Chicago Biomedical Consortium Junior Faculty Recruitment Award, a $500,000 grant to jumpstart his research. I’d also like to congratulate two of our existing teaching faculty on their new titles. Miiri Kotche, Ph.D., is now a Clinical Associate Professor. She has been teaching BioE 101, 250 and our new industry-sponsored Interdisciplinary Medical Product Development Course, which is an alternative to our traditional Senior Design sequence. She has also served as an advisor to our undergraduate student organizations. Hananeh Esamailbeigi, Ph.D. is now a Clinical Assistant Professor. She has been teaching BioE 240, 431 and 575 (Neural Engineering). Both Miiri and Hananeh have been involved in writing grants, internally and externally to NIH, to support our educational missions, both at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Please also find inside a recap of our successful hosting of the 2013 Midwest BME Career Conference (MBECC) 2013, which boasted record attendance for this event and featured keynote presentations from William J. Heetderks, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Extramural Science Programs at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), and Thomas Dudar, PhD, the only Baxter Distinguished Engineer currently at Baxter International, Inc. In addition, inside is an article about an exciting new initiative led by the College of Engineering to guarantee a paid summer internship experience in a company or paid research lab experience at UIC to all incoming freshman in engineering after their first year of school, provided they meet certain GPA and coursework benchmarks. This initiative is groundbreaking in higher education and has received some very good press. We know that students who have internship experiences do much better finding a rewarding job upon graduation

THE RICHARD AND LOAN HILL

and we also know that the first internship is the toughest one to get. Finally, inside we have some updates from over the summer on recent successes of our students and faculty, including our student-led organization, the Bioengineering Organizational Alliance.

As always, thank you for helping support our continued strive for excellence. Gifts targeted to the department continue to help us achieve our strategic goals, and include opportunities to endow a named professorship, scholarship, laboratory, or special facility or program. See our “Give to UIC BioE” button on our website at www.bioe.uic.edu. In addition to financial support, I know that the network of UIC BioE alumni and friends will continue to help our students find internship and employment opportunities. Your generous donation of your time and talents at events like MBECC 2013 are emblematic of this support. I am always happy to meet our alumni and friends and welcome your visit. And, please join our Facebook group; see the link on the back cover.

Sincerely,

Thomas J. Royston

Historic Netsch Campus at UIC in the 1960’s THE RICHARD AND LOAN HILL

RICHARD & LOAN HILL donation

Richard S. and Loan B. Hill have pledged $6.5 million to the Department of Bioengineering at UIC. “This $6.5 million pledge gives us the opportunity to work with UIC’s extraordinary resources to build a department that can be a leader in Chicago and the nation,” said Peter Nelson, dean of the UIC College of Engineering. “The Hills’ generosity will enhance our commitment to translational science and will foster increased cooperation between engineering and medicine to solve complex biomedical problems,” added Dr. Dimitri Azar, dean of the UIC College of Medicine.

The Hills had previously endowed three professorships in the College of Engineering, one being conferred on bioengineering faculty member and University Distinguished Professor Michael Stroscio. According to Dr. Stroscio, “The Hills’ support is enabling expanded use of semiconductor quantum dots for the study of cellular processes as well as the expanded use of molecular diagnostics to characterize biomolecules. Such efforts will increase through their current initiative, and many of these thrusts will support Mr. Hill’s longstanding vision of using manmade nanostructures to detect, diagnose, and cure diseases.”

In addition to funding three professorships, over the years the Hills have also provided more than $800,000 in support to students in engineering. This new pledge of $6.5 million directed specifically to bioengineering will help the department recruit and retain outstanding faculty. This, in turn, will help increase the quality and size of both the graduate and undergraduate programs. “The Hills’ gift is coming to the right place at the right time because we can build on our existing departmental strengths to grow in ways that support evolving needs in health care and medicine,” said Thomas Royston, professor and head of bioengineering.

About UIC Bioengineering One of the first degree-granting and accredited bioengineering programs in the nation, UIC bioengineering currently offers BS, MS, PhD, and MD/PhD programs that emphasize translational research and training. Over 100 doctoral, 50 master of science and 250 undergraduate students make up the student body. They are mentored by a collaborative faculty that resides in both the College of Engineering and the College of Medicine with 21 core faculty members and over 70 adjunct faculty throughout the University. In line with some of the leading biomedical engineering departments in the country, in August 2011 UIC bioengineering became a full member of both the College of Engineering and the College of Medicine. The College of Medicine at UIC is the largest medical school in the country.

“Our location is great: a world-class city that’s both a leading academic medical destination and has a biotechnology business base poised to expand with the public and private investment that’s projected over the coming decade,” said Royston.

THE RICHARD AND LOAN HILL

Richard and Loan Hill A native of the south side of Chicago, Richard Hill began working a full-time factory job in seventh grade in order to go to Brother Rice High School, which he felt offered a better education. Hill worked to pay his own tuition and supported himself while a student at UIC. “As an urban university, UIC offers students the opportunity to work and go to school at the same time—working is probably the most valuable thing students can do for their education,” said Hill. “A lot of people end up doing well because they work hard and are persistent.”

Mr. Hill was interested in medical school but wanted an education that prepared him to work if medicine didn’t work out. He chose bioengineering, a new program, because it allowed him to take the prerequisites for medical school while offering an education in engineering as a fall back. Hill had become interested in engineering through working with his father, who “could fix anything.” He credits his time at UIC, and one professor in particular, William Rostoker, with teaching him “how to think about materials.”

Mr. Hill has four children and five grandchildren. He and his wife divide their time between Las Vegas; Anahola, Hawaii; and Atherton, California. Richard remains active on five public companies’ board of directors; is a past chairman of the University of Illinois Foundation Board; former chairman and current member of the UIC College of Engineering Advisory Board; and a member of the UIUC Board of Visitors.

“The Hills’ dedication to promoting bioengineering research at UIC is really inspiring. Thanks to their continued vision and generosity we can continue to build our bioengineering program into one of the top in the nation,” said Nelson.

THE RICHARD AND LOAN HILL

THE RICHARD AND LOAN HILL

NEW faculty profiles Daniela Valdez-Jasso, Ph.D.

On August 16, 2013, Dr. Daniela Valdez-Jasso joined the UIC Department of Bioengineering as a tenure-track assistant professor. Dr. Valdez-Jasso joins us from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where she was an American Heart Association postdoctoral fellow, a member of the Experimental Cardiac Mechanics Group, the Vascular Medicine Institute, and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine Dr. Valdez-Jasso received her undergraduate and master’s degree in applied mathematics, and her doctoral degree in biomathematics, all from the Department of Mathematics at North Carolina State University. Her graduate thesis focused on modeling approaches for understanding the dynamic pressure-area relationship of systemic arteries. One line of her doctoral work focused on modeling the biomechanical behavior of the arteries, while in a second line she developed parameter estimation techniques to identify vascular properties from measured data.

During her postdoctoral training, Dr. Valdez-Jasso investigated the tissue structure and biomechanics of the normal and pressure-overloaded right ventricle. While right ventricular failure is the primary mode of death in patients suffering from pulmonary hypertension, very little is known about the tissue-level structural and mechanical adaptation to increased pulmonary artery pressure.

Using a murine animal model, Dr. Valdez-Jasso demonstrated that the right ventricle stiffens significantly in response to pulmonary hypertension, and that the tissue-level stress-strain relation becomes more anisotropic.

At UIC, Dr. Valdez-Jasso will continue her research in soft-tissue biomechanics and in multi-scale mathematical modeling of tissue function, particularly as they pertain to understanding the vascular adaptations to pulmonary hypertension. Dr. Valdez-Jasso is looking forward to establishing her laboratory in the Bioengineering Department, and to collaborating with colleagues throughout the College of Medicine on developing novel understanding of disease processes, disease management, and ultimately disease prevention.

Jose Oberholzer, M.D.

On August 16, 2013, Dr. Jose Oberholzer joined the UIC Department of Bioengineering with a partial appointment. In addition to Bioengineering, Dr. Oberholzer is the C.&B. Frese and G. Moss Professor of Surgery, Endocrinology and Diabetes, Director of the Islet and Pancreas Transplant Program and the Chief of the Division of Transplantation at UIC. He trained at the University of Geneva (Switzerland), as well as at the University of Alberta in Edmonton (Canada), where he completed a fellowship in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery and transplantation. Dr. Oberholzer was the Head of the Islet Transplant Program at the University of Geneva and the GRAGIL islet consortium from 1998 to 2002, completing a significant number of islet transplants. He has been heading UIC’s Islet Transplant Program since 2003 and is the Chief of the Transplant Division at UIC since Summer 2007. Dr. Oberholzer leads a comprehensive multi-organ transplant program with emphasis on transplantation for diabetes, as well as on robotic surgery in living donors for kidney, liver, pancreas and small bowel.

Dr. Oberholzer has dedicated his career to finding a cure for diabetes. To this purpose, he funded the Chicago Diabetes Project, a global collaboration for a functional cure of diabetes through cellbased therapies. The Chicago Diabetes Project scientists are funded through NIH, ADA, the Dr. Scholl Foundation, the Washington Square Health Care Foundation and many other private and family foundations. In addition, the Chicago Diabetes Project’s charity team, Cellmates on the Run has raised approximately $750,000 in the past three years through marathon running, one of Dr. Oberholzer’s athletic passions. Dr. Jose Oberholzer was recently awarded the ‘Richard M. Daley and Maggie Daley Award’ for being the largest individual fundraiser for the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, contributing $126,800 to the Chicago Diabetes Project. The award is given annually to Chicago Marathon participants who raise the most funds for charity each year.

To find out how you can help, please visit: http://www.chicagodiabetesproject.org/cellmates/

THE RICHARD AND LOAN HILL

New Grants summer 2013

Diwekar, Urmila (PI): “Multi Objective Optimal Sensor Development Under Uncertainty for Advanced Power Systems” DOE $300,000 (9/1/13-8/31/16) Hetling, John: “Detecting Glaucoma Where It Starts”, UIC Chancellor’s Proof of Concept Awards, $70,000 (09/1/13-02/28/15) Linninger, Andreas: “3D Walk-in Immersive Brain Model for Big Data Visualization”, UIC Ignite Proposal Development Award, 39,000 Ma, Ao (PI): “Determining the Spindle Dynamics Regulatory Network with an Integrated Approach”, NIH R01 $819,237 (1/1/13 to 12/31/15)

Thomas Royston: Ohio State University Mechanical Engineering Thomas French Achievement Award. The award is presented to alumni of mechanical engineering at OSU who have distinguished themselves as educators.

Patton, James (PI), Robert Kenyon & Jason Leigh (Co-PI): “Machines Assisting Recovery from Stroke and Spinal Cord Injury for Reintegration into Society”, NIH through RIC $121,611(10/1/12-9/30/13) Patton, James (PI), “Error Enhanced Learning and Recovery 2 & Dimensions”, RIC $135,178(8/16/13-8/15/14) Royston, Thomas (PI): “Medical and Surgical Treatment of Heart Failure-New Frontiers in Biomedical Engineering”, Advocate Christ Medical Center $38,670(8/16/13-8/15/14) Royston, Thomas (PI), Klatt, Dieter (Co-PI): “HCC: Medium: Collaborative Research: Force Feedback for Fingertips”, National Science Foundation. $399,669 (6/1/13 – 5/31/16)

Michael Stroscio: 2013 UIC Distinguished Professor. This appointment was created to recruit and recognize persons who have made a significant impact upon their field through scholarship, creativity, and leadership.

New BioE 594 Graduate Courses Statistical Mechanics in Biological Systems taught by Associate Professor Ao Ma - The objective of the course is to teach the fundamental principles and methods of equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and exemplary applications to interesting biological systems and processes. These principles and methods have important applications in a broad range of areas such as cell biology, structural biology and drug design. The course includes the following subjects: 1). second law of thermodynamics, 2). equilibrium statistical mechanics and ensembles, 3). linear response theory and fluctuation-dissipation theorem, 4). projection operator and Langevin equations, 5). dynamics of activated processes, 6). lattice models and applications, 7). thermodynamic perturbation method.

Intro to Statistics and Machine Learning taught by Associate Professor Yang Dai - This course covers the fundamental topics of statistics and machine learning. Students will develop working skills using a high-level programming language (Matlab or R) and gain ability of handling biodata generated from real world applications.

Elastography taught by Assistant Professor Dieter Klatt - Manual palpation represents one of the most traditional diagnostic methods. The sensitivity of manual palpation is rooted in the correlation of pathological changes THE RICHARD AND LOAN HILL

with the mechanical behavior of biological tissue. While medical doctors can only qualitatively assess the stiffness of tissue by touch near to the body’s surface, some elastographic techniques are capable of determining the mechanical properties deep inside the organs.

In the course “BioE 594 - Elastography”, the students will review the theoretical foundations of Elastography and will receive an overview of elastographic techniques. The emphasis of this course will be on Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE). By the end of this course, the participants will be proficient in processing MRE phase image data for the calculation of viscoelastic material parameters.

Recap of the Midwest BME Career Conference Over 350 students and job seekers attended the Midwest Biomedical Engineering Career Conference hosted by the University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Bioengineering. A total of eighteen exhibitors including Baxter, FDA, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, and Biomet met with potential candidates to discuss what they offered. Students from all over the Midwest were able to meet with potential employers and sit in on seminars with some of the most influential and important people across all industries. “What first comes to mind is how far so many groups drove to attend,” says Benjamin Schwartz, PhD candidate in Bioengineering.

“They essentially stayed up all night, leaving at like 2:00 a.m. to get to the Forum in time. It was a serious undertaking to make it here, evidence, I think, of how important this conference was. I really liked that I was able to talk to the students from Minnesota, Michigan, etc. and learn about the differences and similarities between their schools’ programs and ours.”

Packed room for keynote speakers William J. Heetderks (NIH) and Thomas Dudar (Baxter).

The conference was capped off with two prominent keynote speakers, Dr. William J. Heetderks from NIH and Dr. Thomas Dudar from Baxter. Dr. Heetderks discussed real world science problems and research from an academic and national lab setting while Dr. Dudar focused on innovation in a large corporate structure. Attendees were also able to sit in on smaller breakout sessions that included industry and research professionals that discussed an array of topics ranging from possible career paths to innovations for the future of global health. Despite being from different backgrounds and industries, most speakers agreed that the future looks bright for biomedical engineering.

Job seeking students lined up to meet exhibitors.

Poster abstract session

THE RICHARD AND LOAN HILL

Seminar panel featuring panelist from outside industries.

Highlight on 3rd year Assistant Professor Jun Cheng Dr. Jun Cheng leads the Laboratory for Live-cell Imaging and Ultrafast Laser Microsurgery (LLIULM) in the Department of Bioengineering at UIC. With a strong background in laser and optics, Dr. Cheng’s team focuses on developing novel live imaging and ultrafast laser applications in stem cell regulation, embryogenesis, laser microsurgery, and laser irradiation therapies.

Utilizing live-tissue imaging, they investigate the role of subcellular organelles (e.g., spectrosome) in regulating the stem cells’ self-renewal and differentiation via asymmetric stem cell division. The time-lapse image sequences record the positions of subcellular organelles, demonstrating their roles in regulating asymmetric stem cell divisions. Live imaging is also applied to monitor developmental activities during Drosophila embryogenesis under various oxygen conditions (collaboration with Dr. David Eddington). The results showed that the Drosophila embryogenesis is delayed under various levels of oxygen deprivation: it takes twice the time at 11% [O2] for en-GFP stripes to migrate and the migration is completely arrested at 3% [O2].

Collaborating with Dr. Hua Jin from Biological Sciences, Jun’s team established an ultrafast laser microsurgery platform allowing acute and precise (within 100ms at 250nm resolution) removal of individual or grouped cilia, referred to as “ciliumectomy”. Additionally, collaborating with Dr. Timothy Koh from Kinesiology and Nutrition, they demonstrated that the NIR femtosecond laser therapy promotes wound healing by promoting the reactive oxygen species generation and phagocytic activity.

The research carried out in LLIULM has broad implications on many biomedical research and clinical applications. The elucidation of stem cell regulations has fundamental importance for providing new perspectives for tissue engineering, cancer preventative methods, and effective cancer treatment therapies. The novel study of ultrafast light irradiation not only elucidates the cellular mechanism involved photobiomodulation but also has great implications in clinical applications of light therapies. “Our goal is to further develop the laser application and live imaging, thus forming a world-class interdisciplinary research group between biology and laser/ imaging technology. Our research has broad impacts on many areas, such as tissue engineering, stem cell therapies and light irradiation therapies.”

Fruit fly culture incubator

Dr. Cheng labs (from left to right): Wei Shen (graduated), Chi Bang, Anthony E Felder, Dr. Jun Cheng, Andre D Paredes, Zhinan Wang

Ultrafast laser microsurgery platform

Ciliumectomy by laser microsurgery

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Department of Bioengineering doctoral graduates in Spring 2013 semester Marie-Elena Brett, PhD Bioengineering Microfluidic Approaches for the Study of Yeast Chemotropism, Hypoxia, and Mouse Embryonic Development

Advisor: Eddington Hector Hugo Caicedo Angulo, PhD Bioengineering Design, Fabrication and Optimization of Microfluidic Chambers for Neurobiology Research

Department of Bioengineering B.S. graduates in Spring 2013 semester Elliyana Nambela Sinkala, PhD Bioengineering Microfabricated Devices for the Spatial and Temporal Control of the Cellular and Tissue Microenvironment

Advisor: Eddington Yue Zhang, PhD Bioengineering Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Monitoring Irreversible Electroporation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Advisor: Brady

Advisor: Larson

Matthew B Carson, PhD Bioinformatics Investigation of Gene Regulation and its Application to Disease Using Machine Learning and Network Models

Department of Bioengineering master’s graduates in Spring 2013 semester

Advisor: Larson

Ying Hsu, MS Bioengineering Computational Predictions of Drug Biodistribution and Drug Action in the Central Nervous System

Joel Bernard Fontanarosa, PhD Bioinformatics Integrative Analysis Strategies for Discovering Genetic Associations with Common Diseases

Advisor: Dai David Jimenez Morales, PhD Bioinformatics Effects of Physicochemical and Functional Constraints on the Sequence and Structure of Proteins

Advisor: Linninger Shwetha Mureli, MS Bioengineering Pathophysiological Cardiac Remodeling And The Potential Of Cellular And Molecular Therapy

Advisor: Dudley

Advisor: Wimmer Brian Anthony Rady, PhD Bioengineering Transcription Factors E2F Have a Role in Proliferation of Beta-Cells and Development of Type-2 Diabetes

Advisor: Oberholzer

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Mohammed S Farooqui Josiah Zhi-Xiong Han - Summa cum laude Ameer Sean Helmi - Mathematics Minor,

Cum laude

Grace W Hoo Vineetha V Kaitharath Shelley Kerwell – Mathematics Minor Chaitra Kishore Prince Emmanuel Ugochukwu Onyeise Gautham A Oroskar - Summa cum laude Derek J Oswald - Magna cum laude Eric Zhao Ou Matthew Pagan Pathik M Patel - Mathematics Minor,

Summa cum laude

Alexandra W Rybczynska Hamza Senalan Tejen D Soni Jaimie M Stewart - Italian & Italian Amer Santiago Tovar - Summa cum laude

Vishal K Varma

Atharsh Velmurugan Luis Arturo Villafana - Summa cum laude

Mary Grace Leonard, PhD Bioengineering Involvement of Central Endothelin B Receptors in Focal Cerebral Ischemia

Diego A Orozco Villasenor, PhD Bioengineering Activities of Daily Living and Their Impact on Total Knee Replacement Wear

Minor, Magna cum laude Heta B Chokshi - Mathematics Minor

Studies Minor

Advisor: Liang

Advisor: Gulati

Alethea Jade Appavu - Cum laude Natalia Arana - Magna cum laude Aysheh Barakeh Aleen A Bhatti – Mathematics Minor Anthony T Bulvan Harish R Chockalingam - Mathematics Minor Sabarish R Chockalingam - Mathematics

Student awards (since our last newsletter in Spring 2013)

Laura Jane Elgass: Provost’s & Deiss Awards for Gradaute Research (Advisor: Eddington) Grant A. Hartung: 2013 Biosensors & Bioelectronics Best Poster Award (Advisor: Mansoori) Andre Daniel Paredes: Diversity Faculty in Illinois Fellowship 2013-2014 and SMDP Biotech Scholar 2013-2014 (Advisor: Cheng) Nick Anderson, Genesis Conteras, Kyle Kempke, Vivan Sandoval, Vishal Varma, and Gardner Yost: Team selected to attend and participate in Coulter College Workshop, a training program focused on translation of biomedical innovations. (Advisor: Layton)

Guaranteed Internship Program

Conceived from and supported by the faculty and the Dean of the College of Engineering, the Guaranteed Internship Program promises an opportunity for the incoming fall 2013 freshmen students to serve as paid interns for the summer of 2014 provided they meet certain criteria by the end of their first year of study.

For students who fulfill these requirements, the Guaranteed Internship Program will place them in private industry or a UIC research laboratory, where more than 150 projects funded by $65 million in grants are currently underway. For students placed in companies or other outside organizations, the anticipated pay range will be $10 to $15 per hour. “In the College of Engineering, we have long been committed to educating students for careers as leaders and innovators, whether they go on to positions in technology, business, research, medicine, teaching, law, or any of the many exciting places an engineering degree can take you. We see the guaranteed internship program as a natural outgrowth of that commitment.” says Pete Nelson (Dean of Engineering).

BOA The Bioengineering Organizational Alliance (BOA) is an umbrella organization that integrates UIC chapters of national organizations including the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), the Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB) biomedical engineering honor society, and Engineering World Health (EWH) with its own Volunteering and Outreach Program, Tutoring and Mentoring Program (Bioengineering Achievement Center), and Research Involvement Program (Stem Cell Society).

This past academic year (2012 - 2013), BOA provided bioengineering students with opportunities to discuss cutting-edge research and attend lab tours, assemble medical device test kits for developing countries, and interact with other students through social events. We hosted guest lecturers from industry and academia and delivered bioengineering exposure presentations to high school students.

BOA student meeting THE RICHARD AND LOAN HILL

BOA is committed to providing its members with meaningful opportunities for professional development and bioengineering exposure, and enriching the community by introducing high school students to bioengineering., For the upcoming year we have exciting plans to further these goals and better serve UIC students and the community. To familiarize high school students with the hands-on nature of engineering, we plan to give them direct exposure by inviting high school students to tour UIC laboratories, including the Electronic Visualization Laboratory recently featured by the Chicago Ideas Week and hosting these students at UIC’s Annual Engineering EXPO. We plan to host more speakers from industry and academia, schedule more laboratory tours, and partner with other UIC engineering organizations and the BMES chapters from the Illinois Institute of Technology and Northwestern University to host joint events and exchange ideas.

BOA’s big push for the 2013 to 2014 academic year will be to provide our members with the opportunity to enter a design competition. EWH will coordinate two unique design competition projects in addition to continuing its existing electrosurgery unit tester kit-building activities. For the first competition, students will improve an existing model for a lowcost device for testing steam sterilizers, and for the second competition students will design, de novo, an inexpensive lamp powered by batteries or supercapacitors to act as a standalone surgical lamp. Both projects can be completed by undergraduates; in addition, we anticipate involving several graduate students to mentor undergraduates and guide their progress. Our goal is to have our students present their work at the EWH Annual Conference, the BMES Annual Meeting, and/or other engineering conferences.

EWH members working on test kits

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THE RICHARD AND LOAN HILL