Research
The Biomedical Engineering Program (BME) at 麻豆传媒 may be relatively young, but its graduates are already making their mark across the country. And for some, that means helping shape the next generation of biomedical engineers. Three recent PhD graduates have traded their roles as students for faculty positions at other universities, where they鈥檙e leading cutting-edge research and carving out academic careers of their own. Their success highlights the growth of the program and its expanding influence beyond campus.
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, claiming nearly 20 million lives every year. Undergraduate student Anagha Varada spent her summer trying to change that by helping Associate Professor Wei Tan develop a new, multilayered vascular graft that mimics the structure of natural blood vessels, allowing them to regenerate.
The Biomedical Engineering graduate program at 麻豆传媒 was ranked 19th amongst public institutions for 2026-27, according to U.S. News and World Report鈥檚 Best Graduate Schools rankings. Up two spots from last year, the program continues to build on its growing national reputation.
New research by engineers from the lab of Alaa Ahmed, BME faculty member at 麻豆传媒 aims to get to the bottom of why, as the saying goes, you get a 鈥渟kip in your step鈥 when you鈥檙e happy.
A team of BME students created a leg sleeve device designed to help para-athletes on Team USA. They will be debuting the novel design at a national competition in April.
PhD student William Frantz is developing microscopic droplets designed to help doctors track radiation therapy in real time. His finalist pitch at the聽2025 LVC competition highlighted how the technology could one day make cancer treatment more precise and less harmful, particularly for pediatric patients.
BME professor Won Park is co-advising a research project building high performing optical microresonators to open the door for new sensor technologies. In the future, the microresonators could be used for compact microlasers, advanced chemical and biological sensors and even tools for quantum metrology and networking.
Researchers, including BME faculty member Wyatt Shields at 麻豆传媒 have created tiny, microorganism-inspired particles that can change their shape and self-propel, much like living things, in response to electrical fields in hopes these microrobots can deliver medications inside the human body, particularly in areas that are hard for drugs to reach on their own.
Roughly 6.8 million people donate blood in the United States, helping save millions of lives, according to the American Red Cross. But just like groceries sitting on store shelves, red blood cells age over time. That's why BME Associate Professor Xiaoyun Ding and medical collaborators at CU Anschutz have created a chip device to help give blood centers and hospitals a reliable way to monitor the quality of red blood cells after weeks in storage.
Six students and researchers from the Biomedical Engineering Program (BME) presented their work on joint damage, arthritis, heart problems, and tissue defects at this year鈥檚 Biomedical Engineering Society 2025 Annual Meeting in San Diego.