2023 Bioengineering Annual Report

DEPARTMENT

OF

BIOENGINEERING

COLLEGE

OF

ENGINEERING

AND

COMPUTING

II

CONTENTS OF TA B L E

WELCOME

Letter from the Chair............................................................................................................. 3

R E S E A R C H I M PA C T

Building New Technology to Support Troop Readiness....................................................... 4 Discovery May Lead to Clearer Cancer Diagnosis.............................................................. 6 List of Grants......................................................................................................................... 8 Alliance Members................................................................................................................. 9

STUDENT SUCCESS

John Mutersbaugh Completes Competitive NIH Internship Program................................ 10 Katona Scholarship Selects Two Winners.......................................................................... 12 Medhini Sosale Earns Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship................................................. 14 O U T S TA N D I N G FA C U LT Y

Mason-led Research Team Honored for Neuron Database............................................... 16 Ascoli Recognized by the Beck Foundation....................................................................... 18 Primary Faculty................................................................................................................... 20 Department Staff................................................................................................................. 21 Giving to Mason.................................................................................................................. 21

2

Shani Ross advises undergrad students on their capstone Senior Design Project.

CHAIR THE FROM LETTER

W

Dear Friends,

elcome to the Department of Bioengineering at George Mason University. I hope this message finds you safe and well, and you all are looking forward to the upcoming holiday season!

Firstly, let me introduce myself. My name is Ketul Popat, and I will be the chair of the Department of Bioengineering beginning in January 2024. I will be coming from Colorado State University, where

I currently serve as the Director of Undergraduate Programs in Biomedical Engineering and Professor in Mechanical Engineering. My current research focuses on designing novel biomaterial surfaces for orthopedic and cardiovascular applications. Surfaces that contain micro- and nanoscale features in a well-controlled and “engineered” manner have been shown to significantly affect cellular and subcellular function.

I am looking forward to being at George Mason University in 2024 and working with the current faculty and administration to develop a shared vision for the future of the Department of Bioengineering. Being part of Bioengineering at George Mason University in the Northern Virginia area offers many opportunities to be on the cutting edge of developing experiential learning for our students as well as developing multi-disciplinary research thrusts in our department. The department faculty have a vibrant research portfolio, with over $20M in active grants, and growing enrollments in the BS, MS, and PhD programs.

One of my strategic goals will be working with faculty to give experiential as well as global education to all our students.

We will also be hiring more faculty, both tenure-track in key research thrust areas and teaching faculty that can enhance student learning experience. The faculty in the Department of Bioengineering is already very diverse and expanding this will ensure that interdisciplinary programmatic vision continues. A second goal is to develop outreach programs with local high school systems to educate students early on opportunities available in bioengineering careers and encourage them to come to Mason. We also plan to further expand existing 2+2 type programs with community colleges in Virginia and surrounding states as well as international partner universities to attract more students to Bioengineering. Finally, we also plan to develop an online Masters’ program targeting working professionals who are interested in earning an academic credential that would help them in their career.

Thank you for your support of our program, and I hope to meet many of you in the future. Feel free to reach out as well if you have any questions.g

Ketul Popat

Ketul Popat Professor and Chair Beck Foundation Faculty Fellow Department of Bioengineering

3

IMPACT RESEARCH

M

usculoskeletal injury (MSKI) is the most common form of medical injury experienced by Service members.

Clinical interventions for MSKIs lack

objective measures to determine their effectiveness, putting affected military personnel at risk of further damage if they return to duty before fully recovering.

The team plans to use wearable, miniaturized

The team plans to use

Bioengineer Parag Chitnis, an associate professor

like a bandage, making the technology hands-free.

and a member of the Institute for Biohealth Innovation

The sensors can connect to a smartphone or tablet

ultrasound sensors that

(IBI), and his team are developing quantitative

and will work in tandem with two systems: motion

assessments that can both prevent and monitor

mode and brightness mode. Motion mode imaging

MSKIs in service members.

provides a one-dimensional view of an object,

wearable, miniaturized

can be adhered to the body like a bandage,

making the technology

hands-free.

In partnership with Cephasonics Ultrasound, an ultrasound systems and technology company in California, and Infinite Biomedical Technologies, a biotechnology company in Maryland, the team has been selected by the United States Army Medical Research and Development Command to receive

ultrasound sensors that can be adhered to the body

while brightness mode imaging produces a twodimensional display. Through former research, Chitnis, his colleague Siddhartha Sikdar, and their teams have already created a motion-mode system. The brightness mode system will be fabricated with the help of Cephasonics Ultrasound.

nearly $3M from the United States Department of

Chitnis said that he hopes the smaller ultrasound

Defense, awarded through the Medical Technology

systems eventually can be deployed in remote

Enterprise Consortium (MTEC). The award will support

locations, during routine physical training for military

the team’s development of wearable, compact, and

personnel, and in ambulances. Ultimately he would

hands-free ultrasound systems to assess rehabilitation

like to see the ultrasound technology expand for use in

and recovery from MSKIs through measurements of

a range of medical ailments and emergencies in both

muscle structure and function during physical activity,

civilian and military settings.g

with a specific focus on knee injuries.

4

Building New Technology to Support Troop Readiness

Associate Professor and Interim Department Chair Parag Chitnis

5

IMPACT RESEARCH

6

Shrishti Singh working at the Institute of Advanced Biomedical Research building on Mason’s Science and Technology campus.

W

ith the support of her Mason mentors, post-doctoral researcher Shrishti Singh achieved her goal of developing a promising new

technology that would allow cancer to be visualized in deep tissue and perhaps diagnosed earlier.

Discovery May Lead to Clearer Cancer Diagnosis

Using a combination of FDA-approved dyes and

“In my PhD, I struggled so much with who I am,”

photoacoustic imaging, Singh created an injectable

she said, adding that some criticized her kindness

dye that attaches to tumor cells and increases the

and empathy. “Professor Moran’s greatest advice has

contrast of those cells against the background tissue.

been that no matter what is happening around you or

Photoacoustic imaging then illuminates the cancer

what people say, take the opportunity for growth, but

cells, even in early stages and deep tissue areas

don’t change who you are inherently as a person,”

of the body.

said Singh.

“This technology gives patients better diagnostics for

Singh hopes to turn her technology into a successful

colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, and

company. With support from her advisors and

more, and can improve their prognosis,” said Singh.

Amy Adams, executive director of the Institute for

Singh credits her advisors, bioengineering professor Rémi Veneziano and mechanical engineering professor Jeffrey Moran, for her success and

This technology

gives patients better

diagnostics for colon cancer, pancreatic

cancer, breast cancer, and more, and can

improve their prognosis.

Biohealth Innovation, she obtained funding for a post-doctoral program and is applying for grants to fund further research.

perseverance. They offered two different research

“This experience has shown me the true power of

perspectives to help her find the best solution to

Mason,” says Singh. “I look forward to building more

roadblocks, said Singh. Most importantly to Singh,

confidence in my work to inspire others on what I do

when things got hard, her advisors supported her.

and why I do it.”g

7

IMPACT RESEARCH

List of Grants PI

TITLE

SPONSOR

START

END

AMOUNT

Ascoli, Giorgio

Neuronal Projections

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

9/15/21

9/14/24

$1,287,090

Ascoli, Giorgio

Neuronal Morphology and Connectivity

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

5/1/20

4/30/25

$1,821,045

Ascoli, Giorgio

Mechanisms of Dendrite Development

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

7/1/19

6/30/24

$823,530

Ascoli, Giorgio

Learning Rules in the Hippocampus

Department of Defense

8/15/22

8/14/25

$250,000

Ascoli, Giorgio

Melton Foundation in Memory of Harold Morowitz

George Mason University Foundation

3/15/17

3/14/26

$22,275

Ascoli, Giorgio

Beck Family Endowment

George Mason University Foundation

6/1/23

5/31/32

$10,000

Buschmann, Michael

Clinical Immersion

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

8/19/20

5/31/25

$43,200

Buschmann, Michael

Clinical Immersion/PS

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

8/19/20

5/31/25

$36,000

Buschmann, Michael

Manufacturing mRNA LNP Vaccines

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

9/15/21

8/31/24

$498,998

Cebral, Juan Raul

Computation Flow Diverter

Mayo Clinic/National Institutes of Health

1/12/21

11/30/26

$891,899

Cebral, Juan Raul

Cerebral Aneurysms Risk Assessment

University Of Pittsburgh/National Institutes of Health

4/1/21

3/31/26

$955,486

Cebral, Juan Raul

Bridging the Gap Aneurysm Flow

University of California at Los Angeles/National Institutes of Health

4/1/21

3/31/26

$799,071

Cebral, Juan Raul

Neuroscience Aneurysm Research

George Mason University Foundation

9/1/22

8/31/24

$60,000

Chitnis, Parag

TRAUMAS Ultrasound

Columbia University

2/22/20

6/22/24

$1,199,994

Chitnis, Parag

Ultrasound Imaging Patch

Department of Defense

3/15/21

3/14/24

$499,977

Chitnis, Parag

Deep-Brain Imaging

National Science Foundation

9/1/21

8/31/24

$498,166

Chitnis, Parag

Muscle Injury and Recovery

Inova Healthcare

7/1/19

12/31/24

$87,558

The Role of Sensory Inputs and Cholinergic Modulation for the Coding of Location and Movement Speed in the Entorhinal Cortex

10/17/22

10/16/25

$3,144,963

National Institutes of Health

4/1/20

3/30/25

$1,103,048

Sikdar, Siddhartha

Carotid Stenosis and Cognitive Function

Veterans Health Administration

7/1/17

6/30/24

$400,000

Sikdar, Siddhartha

CASBBI

George Mason University

7/1/18

6/30/24

$1,000,000

Sikdar, Siddhartha

Transdisciplinary Grad Training

National Science Foundation

8/19/19

8/18/24

$3,000,000

Sikdar, Siddhartha

Post Stroke Shoulder Pain

National Institutes of Health/Johns Hopkins

9/21/22

9/20/24

$390,000

Sikdar, Siddhartha

Sonomyographic Prosthetics

National Institutes of Health

2/1/20

1/31/25

$3,600,000

Chitnis, Parag Dannenberg, Holger

MTEC Missile Technology Export Control Group

Sikdar, Siddhartha

Prosthetic Control System

Department of Defense

9/15/20

9/14/24

$1,500,000

Sikdar, Siddhartha

Biomarkers for Myofascial Pain

National Institutes of Health

9/21/22

9/20/24

$1,500,000

National Science Foundation

5/15/23

5/14/24

$50,000

Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

1/16/23

1/15/24

$74,954

Department of Defense

1/1/23

12/31/24

$317,780

National Institutes of Health

8/1/22

4/30/23

$571,843

National Institutes of Health

4/01/21

3/31/24

$522,440

National Institutes of Health

6/1/19

5/30/24

$1,521,823

Veneziano, Rémi Veneziano, Rémi Veneziano, Rémi Veneziano, Rémi Veneziano, Rémi Wei, Qi Wei, Qi

8

Wearable Ultrasound Systems

Wei, Qi

NSF I-Corps: Towards a Clinically Translatable and Standardized Tissue ‘Paint/Contrast Agent’ for Photoacoustic Imaging A Novel Targeted Near-infrared Contrast Agent (CA) Platform for Real-time Intraoperative Tumor Margin Imaging

DNA-Based Hydrogels for Peripheral Nerve Repair

Enzyme-Powered Self-Propelled DNA Nanoparticles for Disruption and Antibiotic Delivery in Topical Biofilms New Hybrid Molecular Modalities Comprised of DNA-Origami and Interfering Peptides as Inhibitors of Protein-Protein Interactions Biomechanical Simulation Eye

Robust and Automated Computational Tool for Processing High Throughput Reverse Phase Protein Microarray (RPPA) Data The CCK-B Receptor Signaling Pathway as a Driver of Pancreatic Cellular Plasticity and Carcinogenesis

Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

5/1/23

4/30/24

$75,000

National Institutes of Health

3/1/23

2/28/28

$1,443,726

Alliance Members Bioengineering Alliance Supports Our Mission The Mason Bioengineering Alliance is a distinguished group of accomplished individuals from our biomedical and health sciences community.

The alliance serves as the critical industry and institutional advisor to the department’s activities and programs. Members play a key role in advising and planning new courses in biomanufacturing, biomedical robotics, and digital health. They link our department to industry and commercialization by sponsoring workshops in university startups, financing, and intellectual property.

The board is composed of 31 members:

Peter Basser Senior Investigator, Intramural Research Program (IRP), NIH Head, Section on Quantitative Imaging and Tissue Sciences (SQITS), Associate Scientific Director (ASD), Division of Imaging, Behavior and Genomic Integrity (DIBGI), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health

Irving Weinberg Chair of the Bioengineering Alliance President Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc.

Kevin Cleary Scientific Lead, The Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Children’s National Medical Center

Charles Anamelechi Principal, MedTech Business Consulting, Veeva Systems Jeff Arndt Senior System Engineering KBR Krishna Balakrishnan Senior Technology Transfer Manager National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), NIH

Robert Caldwell President and CEO Strategic Health Solutions, LLC Vizma Carver Founder and CEO Carver Global Health Group LLC

Jeff Conroy CEO, Embody, Inc. John Deeken President, Inova Schar Cancer Institute Senior Vice President, Professor of Medicine, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Inova Health System, University of Virginia Ross Dunlap CEO, Ceres Nanosciences, Inc. Arthur L. Edge III Associate Director, Global Technical Operations, AstraZeneca

Stanley Thomas Fricke Director of Medical Physics, Department of Radiology Georgetown University CEO, HyperMC2 LLC Thomas Axel Haag Managing Partner Linden Lake Venture Capital David J. Hamilton Neuroscientist Intelligent Mission Consulting Services Richard Hughen CEO, Linshom Erin Johnson Executive Director, Operations, Vaccines Expansion, Merck Christopher Juncosa Life Sciences Consultant Dalya Partners

Todd Pantezzi Chief Strategy Officer, CVP Sridevi Polavaram Senior AI Engineer MITRE Labs Roland Probst Founder & Chief Innovation Officer ACUITYnano, LLC Steven Roberts Senior Manager, Scientific Collaborations Glaxo Smith Kline, Vaccines Mahesh B. Shenai Clinical Director of Inova Neurosurgery Director of Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery, Inova Fairfax Hospital Morgan K. Sisk Simulation Software Engineer Northrop Grumman

Neal Koller Chairman and CEO Alphyn Biologics, LLC

Michael Tarlov Chief, Biomolecular Measurement Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology

R. Prakash Kolli CEO and Founder Blue Point Materials Research, LLC

Marinka Tellier Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer Blue Lake Biotechnology

John Newby CEO, VirginiaBio

Eric W. Vollmecke Deputy Director, Rapid Prototyping Research Center, George Mason Volgenau School of Engineering

Nnamdi Nwachukwu Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Operations, RRD International, LLC

Alliance Members listing is for the 2022-23 AY. 9

10

STUDENT

SUCCESS

John Mutersbaugh Completes Competitive NIH Internship Program

B

ioengineering student John Mutersbaugh has always been interested in the human brain. This natural curiosity drew him to apply for – and win – the National Institute of Health (NIH) Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship Program (BESIP), a competitive internship offered to rising senior bioengineering students.

“BESIP is just a really great experience,” says Mutersbaugh. “I was hired to work under a doctor and neuroscientist in the National Institutes of Health to do research along with my mentors Kareem Zaghloul and Uma Mohan. I had the opportunity to learn from post grad students and doctors working there.”

During Mutersbaugh’s 10-week internship, he worked on analyzing and researching data collected from drug-resistant epilepsy patients. These patients receive deep brain stimulation through implanted electrodes, which help to prevent seizures.

He feels, in part, his previous experience as a George Mason Office of Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research (OSCAR) intern, a solid essay, and his genuine enthusiasm for the

“

BESIP is just a really great experience.

I was hired to work

under a doctor and

neuroscientist in the

National Institutes of

Health to do research

along with my mentors Kareem Zaghloul and Uma Mohan.

opportunities offered through BESIP helped him land the role.

BESIP is for undergraduate biomedical engineering students who have completed their junior year of college. Applications for the 2024 summer BESIP program opened in mid-November 2023.g

11

SUCCESS STUDENT

“

S

orie Koroma and Renae A. Bitor both prepared applications that captivated Peter Katona, founder of the bioengineering program at Mason, for

the Katona Scholarship. Both were noted for their

What resonated most was demonstrated leadership in

remarkable accomplishments and dedication; so, two

“Winning the Katona scholarship was one of the

Katona scholarships were awarded this year, instead

goals I aspired to as a freshman,” says Bitor. “I feel

of one. Koroma and Bitor will each receive $1,500.

it’s something I’ve been working up to for the past

bioengineering.

“What resonated most was demonstrated leadership

participation in the

four years.”

Examples are active

in bioengineering,” says Katona. “Examples are active

She says she’ll apply her scholarship winnings

participation in the George Mason Student Chapter of

towards a master’s degree. Koroma also plans on

George Mason Student

the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), assisting

using his scholarship winnings for his education

fellow students in bioengineering courses and labs,

and to alleviate some of the financial stress of

assisting fellow students

and gaining useful engineering experience in summer

the semester.

Chapter of the BMES, in bioengineering

courses and labs,

and gaining useful

engineering experience

in summer internships.

internships.”

The Katona Scholarship for Excellence in

Koroma, a member of and events coordinator for

Bioengineering began in 2015 and is awarded to

the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), sees

bioengineering students at George Mason who show

his scholarship win as helping to shape him into the

excellence across their academic performance,

engineer he wants to be.

leadership initiatives, and career aspirations that

“I was astonished when I was notified that I won. It felt like all the work I did has paid off,” says Koroma. Bitor, also a BMES member, says she knew of the Katona scholarship since she was a freshman.

12

Katona Scholarship Selects Two Winners

aim to support society at large.g

Sorie Koroma and Renae A. Bitor (middle) pose with Peter Katona (far right) and ​​​​​​Avrama Blackwell (far left.)

13

14

STUDENT

SUCCESS

Medhini Sosale Earns Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship

A

s a junior, Medhini Sosale received the Goldwater Scholarship. The award, established by Congress in 1986 to honor U.S. Sen. Barry M. Goldwater, encourages outstanding students to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering.

Since her freshman year, Sosale has worked rigorously on multiple neurological research endeavors. She began working with professor Juan Cebral, who introduced her to new areas of bioengineering and computational research.

In Fall 2021, Sosale worked with associate professor Parag Chitnis, who is experimenting with ultrasound technology to deliver drugs. In his lab, Sosale studied the blood-brain barrier in rats, a protective boundary that keeps bacteria, fungi, parasites, and other organisms from penetrating the brain.

Jan Allbeck, associate dean of the Honors College, who helped Sosale prepare her

“

Outside of the

classroom, she’s done research in multiple

labs on campus and

participated in several environmental justice organizations that

have helped shape

her research interests.

application for the scholarship, called Sosale “both a learner and a doer,” adding, “Outside of the classroom, she’s done research in multiple labs on campus and participated in several environmental justice organizations that have helped shape her research interests.”

Students like Sosale encapsulate Mason’s spirit of innovative and engaging undergraduate scholarship. This year, the Goldwater Scholarship, which provides up to $7,500 to its recipients, will help Sosale continue her research.g

15

FA C U LT Y O U T S TA N D I N G

T

he Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and the Office of Data Science Strategy at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded

the team behind NeuroMorpho.Org the Distinguished Achievement Award from the DataWorks! Prize.

Mason-led Research Team Recognized for Neuron Database The winning project is an open-access database

The reconstructions

of 3D neural reconstructions, updated continuously

have been used to

with contributions from more than 1,000 labs

investigate the pathways

worldwide. Ascoli, a professor of bioengineering

of Alzheimer’s disease,

and neuroscience, created the website in 2006 to

epilepsy, and memory

store the large amounts of data needed to make

capacity. They have also

computational models of neurons. It has grown from

been used to investigate

932 reconstructions to more than 180,000.

the effects of cosmic

The reconstructions have been used to investigate

radiation on astronauts’

the pathways of Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy,

central nervous systems.

and memory capacity. They have also been used The team—Giorgio Ascoli, founding director of

to investigate the effects of cosmic radiation on

the Center for Neural Informatics, Structures, and

astronauts’ central nervous systems.

Plasticity, along with postdoctoral research fellow Carolina Tecuatl and research assistant professor in neuroinformatics Bengt Ljungquist—was one of four to earn the award.

The DataWorks! Prize is a partnership between FASEB and NIH to incentivize innovative practices and increase community engagement around data sharing and reuse. The team, which earned $50,000 for their efforts, presented their project at a symposium on April 25, 2023.g

16

Giorgio Ascoli (on right) and Bengt Ljungquist of NeuroMorpho.Org.

17

FA C U LT Y O U T S TA N D I N G 18

Professor Giorgio Ascoli is pictured with a sculpture representing the mammalian brain.

Ascoli Honored by the Beck Foundation

G

iorgio Ascoli received the Beck Family Medal, presented to faculty members whose contributions represent groundbreaking advances in their fields, at the Faculty Awards Reception in spring 2023.

“This honor means a great deal to me, and I would like to dedicate it to the

memory of Mike Buschmann. Mike was an inspiring role model in his incessant pursuit of scholarly excellence while tirelessly challenging everyone around him to embrace a constant mindset of intellectual growth,” said Ascoli.

The creator of open-source database of neuron shapes Neuromorpho.Org, Ascoli is dedicated to advancing biochemistry and neuroscience. He investigates the relationship between brain structure, activity, and function from the cellular to the circuit level. He seeks to create largescale, anatomically plausible neural networks to model entire portions of a mammalian brain, such as the hippocampus. Ascoli’s interests also involve human memory and consciousness.

“Giorgio’s recognition reflects his many years of impactful research contributions that have transformed and accelerated the field of neuroscience and created mechanisms to more effectively translate knowledge into innovative solutions by engineers and scientists around

“

This honor means a

great deal to me, and

I would like to dedicate

it to the memory of Mike Buschmann. Mike was

an inspiring role model

in his incessant pursuit of scholarly excellence while tirelessly

challenging everyone

around him to embrace a constant mindset of intellectual growth.

the world,” said Executive Director of Mason’s Institute for Biohealth Innovation Amy Adams.

As part of this award, an account will be established with $10,000 in discretionary funds to support Ascoli’s work.g

19

FA C U LT Y

Primary Faculty

O U T S TA N D I N G

Our faculty members—who combine practical experience with in-depth scholarly studies—instruct students, guide them, and make them partners in advanced research projects.

For more information go to bioengineering.gmu. edu/people/primaryfaculty

Giorgio Ascoli Distinguished University Professor, Department of Bioengineering Research Interests: Investigating the relationship between brain structure, activity, and function from the cellular level to the circuit level

Juan Cebral Professor, Department of Bioengineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering Research Interests: Stroke, cerebral aneurysms, blood flow, image-based modeling, patient-specific modeling, computational fluid dynamics, hemodynamics, modeling medical devices 20

Parag Chitnis Interim Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Bioengineering Research Interests: Medical ultrasonics and photoacoustics drives innovation in biomedical imaging and tissue characterization

Holger Dannenberg Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering Research Interests: Mechanisms and functions underlying the formation of memory and memory-guided navigation with a focus on the septohippocampal brain circuitry

Caroline Hoemann Professor, Department of Bioengineering Research Interests: Biomaterials, Molecular Cell Biology, and Tissue Engineering

Nathalia Peixoto Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Affiliate Faculty with the Department of Bioengineering Research Interests: Biomedical Applications of Robotic Systems, Epidemiology Applications, Biomimetic and MEMS design for field, analog/digital circuit design for robots

Shani Ross Associate Chair (Undergrad Programs) and Term Associate Professor, Department of Bioengineering Research Interests: Closed-loop neuroprosthesis, Peripheral nerve stimulation for restoration of function, and Deep Brain Stimulation

Quentin Sanders Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering Research Interests: Bio-medical Robots, Soft Robotics

Siddhartha Sikdar Professor, Department of Bioengineering Research Interests: Biomechanics, Assistive Technology, Biomedical Imaging, Musculoskeletal Modeling, Neuroengineering, Neuroprosthetics, Rehabilitation Engineering, Sensorimotor Integration, Ultrasound

Rémi Veneziano Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering Research Interests: Designing and synthesizing new composite nanomaterials, combining structured 3D DNA nanoparticles with proteins, and lipids

Qi Wei Associate Professor, Department of Bioengineering Research Interests: Computer Simulation and Modeling, Computer Graphics, Robotics, Biomechanics, Biomedical Imaging, Musculoskeletal Modeling, Rehabilitation Engineering, Sensorimotor Integration

The multidisciplinary team of Mason researchers (l. to r.) Jeffrey Moran, Monique van Hoek, and Rémi Veneziano won the R21 Trailblazer award for their work on DNA-origami-based nano-swimmers to mitigate bacterial biofilms.

Department Staff

Claudia Borke Academic Advisor and Success Coach

Amal Nadel Fiscal Coordinator

Carolyn Wilson Internship Coordinator Adjunct Faculty Faculty and staff listings are for the 2022-23 AY.

Carol McHugh Academic Program Assistant

Randy Warren Lab Manager Adjunct Faculty

For a full listing of department personnel including adjuncts and affiliates go to bioengineering.gmu.edu/ people

Please consider making a charitable gift to the Department of Bioengineering by scanning the QR code and donating at Giving to Mason 21

DEPARTMENT OF BIOENGINEERING COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND COMPUTING 4400 University Dr, MS 1J7 Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall, Suite 3100 Fairfax, VA 22030

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