UNT Biomedical Engineering - February 2026 by University of North Texas

February 2026

Edited by Vijay Vaidyanathan

Welcome to the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Texas!

We have completed 11 years! Time goes by fast when you are having fun.

This year we reached the coveted 500 mark in total number of graduates from our department! This is a momentous achievement! Kudos to our brilliant and hardworking students as well as to our dedicated faculty.

Despite the early challenges in federal funding, our faculty persevered and obtained research funding for their projects. Like most universities in the US, we experienced a drop in our enrolled M.S. students. However, we were still able to post our highest ever total enrollment in the department at 380. In the last five years, our faculty have written more than 175 papers, generated 16 patents and brought in more than $13 million in research funding. We will overcome adversities to grow and become stronger. Our commitment to our students and the biomedical engineering industry is unwavering.

Go BMEN! Go Mean Green!

Sincerely,

Vijay Vaidyanathan, Ph.D. Founding Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering

Curriculum

UndergradUate Program

8 Degree Tracks

Biomedical Instrumentation

Biomechanics

Biocomputing

Biomaterials

Biotechnology

Pre-med*

Business

Comprehensive BMEN

3-in-1 Degree

Major in BMEN

Minor in MATH

Minor in one of the following EENG/MEEN/ CSCE/MTSE/BIOL

New Business Track

Starting Fall 2021, students opting for this track can choose four approved electives from the Brint Ryan College of Business at UNT. Students have the option of getting a business minor by choosing two more approved electives.

Semester Credit Hours

A minimum of 120 semester credit hours, of which 36 must be advanced courses, is required for the baccalaureate degree in Biomedical Engineering. A minimum of 137 semester credit hours is required for the pre-med* degree track.

gradUate Program

Biomedical Engineering, M.S.

30 hours with Thesis option

33 hours with Non-thesis option

Electives from Engineering, Management, Health Services Administration, Performance Arts Health, or Speech and Hearing

M.S./MBA in 2 Years

Masters of Science in Biomedical Engineering / MBA in Business Management

The UNT G. Brint Ryan College of Business and the College of Engineering offer a joint degree program which confers an MBA in Business Management from the College of Business and a Master of Science (MS) in Biomedical Engineering.

Biomedical Engineering, Ph.D.

1. Academia Track

2. Startup Track with electives from College of Business

UNT Biomedical Engineering by the Numbers Spring 2026

UndergradUate Program

Student Demographics Spring 2026

Research Awards & Faculty Recognition

Dr. Moo-Yeal Lee

Grant title: Modeling diabetes using an integrated plate system

Funding agency: NIH UG3/UH3 DK119982

Amount: $1,954,936

Duration of award: 09/20/18 – 07/31/23

Dr. Clement Chan

Grant title: Development of Genetic Sensors and Circuits for Creating Novel Cellular Behaviors

Funding agency: NIH/NIGMS (R35GM142421)

Amount: $1,525,588

Duration of award: 9/15/2021 – 8/31/2026

Dr. Amir Jafari

Grant title: CAREER: A Prosthetic Elbow with Network of Soft and Modular Thermo-Active Actuators for Mobility Impaired Patients

Funding agency: NSF

Amount: $525,046

Duration of award: 05/01/2021-04/30/2026

Dr. Brian Meckes

Grant title: Mechanoregulators of nanoparticle-cell interactions at tissue interfaces

Funding agency: NIH/NIGMS R35GM150577

Amount: $1.798 million

Duration of award: 09/01/213– 06/30/28

Ralph E. Powe Research Award

Dr. Melanie Ecker

Grant title: CAREER: Shape Memory polymers as biomaterial

Funding agency: NSF

Amount: $ 553,036

Duration of award: 2/1/23—1/31/28

Dr. Neda Habibi

Grant title: New approach based on enzyme stimulating of peptides for targeting drug resistant breast cancers

Funding agency: NIH R 16

Amount: Total budget $402,266

Duration of award: 2023-2026

Dr. Lin Li

Grant title: New approach for identification pHFO networks to predict epileptogenesis

Funding agency: NIH/NINDS (R16NS131108)

Amount: $720,100

Duration of award: 07/15/2022-06/30/2026

Dr. Huaxiao Yang

Grant title: Assessing Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors-induced Cardiotoxicity with an organoid-AI system

Funding agency: NIH R56

Amount: $547,020

Duration of award: 09/20/2024-08/31/2025

Dr. Yong Yang

Grant title: ONH Chips for Glaucomatous Neurodegeneration

Funding agency: NIH/NEI (R15EY033967)

Amount: $463,167

Duration of award: 09/30/2022-05/31/2025

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research Areas

Dr. Clement Chan

Protein design and engineering for creating biosensors, genetic circuit approach to develop cellular devices for health.

Dr. Melanie Ecker

Polymers for biomedical applications, biomaterials, flexible bioelectronics and neural interfaces.

Dr. Fateme Esmailie

Cardiovascular fluid dynamics, Thermal Fluid

Assisted Medicine, Computational modeling.

Dr. Neda Habibi

New drug delivery systems for cancer treatments using nanotechnology.

Dr. Amir Jafari

Soft robotics and artificial muscles, exoskeletons, rehabilitation robotics.

Dr. Moo-Yeal Lee

3D bioprinting of human tissues for disease modeling and predictive drug screening.

Dr. Lin Li

Multi-modality approaches in biomarker study of post-traumatic epilepsy, development of data driven approach for automatic pattern recognition in neurointensive care unit.

Dr. Brian Meckes

Modulating stem cell differentiation for bone cartilage interface regeneration; nanoparticle delivery systems for improved delivery and decreased off-target effects.

Dr. Vijay Vaidyanathan

Biomedical engineering for the elderly, vital sign monitoring.

Dr. Youngwook Won

Immunoengineering, effector-function maximized NK cells, surface-engineered immune cells, hybrid-allosteric receptor stem cells.

Dr. Huaxiao ‘Adam’ Yang

Stem cell bioengineering for cardiovascular disease modeling and regenerative medicine.

Dr. Yong Yang

Micro and nanotechnology innovations in medicine; tumor on chip, biomimetic environments.