Biomedical Engineering

Chair: Frank Yin

Home Page: http://biomed.wustl.edu/ Location: 190 Whitaker Hall

Founded in 1997, our biomedical engineering department benefits from an extensive and collegial relationship with our world-renowned medical school. The Uncas A. Whitaker Hall for Biomedical Engineering, completed in 2002, is the home for the department's teaching and research activities.

The educational programs are implemented via an Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering (IBME) -- a joint enterprise of the schools of medicine and engineering. The IBME comprises a network of more than 80 faculty involved in biomedical engineering-related research. This unique entity is a manifestation of the strong collaboration between the two schools and provides students access to a diverse array of opportunities for research training via five IBME programs.

The goal of biomedical engineering is to integrate basic biology with the advanced quantitative and analytical methods of engineering. Integration is stressed not only from the single molecule level to that of the entire organism but also to take advantage of the new advances in the many disciplines involved in biomedical engineering research.

News Stories & Tip Sheets:

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Going platinum New catalyst could boost cleaner fuel use May 14, 2009 -- Younan Xia Download Material scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a technique for a bimetallic fuel cell catalyst that is efficient, robust and two-to-five times more effective than commercial catalysts. The novel technique eventually will enable a cost effective fuel cell technology, which has been waiting in the wings for decades and should give a boost for cleaner use of fuels worldwide.

Birds of a feather Study finds particles, molecules prefer not to mix May 4, 2009 -- Download In the world of small things, shape, order and orientation are surprisingly important, according to findings from a new study by chemists at Washington University in St. Louis. Lev Gelb, WUSTL associate professor of chemistry, his graduate student Brian Barnes, and postdoctoral researcher Daniel Siderius, used computer simulations to study a very simple model of molecules on surfaces, which looks a lot like the computer game "Tetris." They have found that the shapes in this model (and in the game) do a number of surprising things.

Imaging device fits in the palm of a hand Ultrasound imaging now possible with a smartphone April 20, 2009 -- David Kilper/WUSTL Photo Download Computer engineers at Washington University in St. Louis are bringing the minimalist approach to medical care and computing by coupling USB-based ultrasound probe technology with a smartphone, enabling a compact, mobile computational platform and a medical imaging device that fits in the palm of a hand. William D. Richard, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science and engineering, and David Zar, research associate in computer science and engineering, have made commercial USB ultrasound probes compatible with Microsoft Windows mobile-based smartphones, thanks to a $100,000 grant Microsoft awarded the two in 2008.

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Faculty Experts:

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Lihong Wang Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering Wang Download Wang is chair of the International Biomedical Optics Society and has authored more than 137 peer-reviewed journal articles. He received the NIH FIRST award, National Science Foundation CAREER award, and Outstanding Young Scientist Award sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Medical and the Houston Society ... Expertise: Optical tomography, Doppler sensing, gene imaging, thermoacoustic tomography Direct contact: Work: (314) 935-6152 / lhwang@biomed.wustl.edu

James G. Miller Albert Gordon Hill Professor of Physics in Arts & Sciences Professor Miller's research focuses on the physics of anisotropic, inherently inhomogeneous media. These systematic studies of the anisotropic properties of the heart have led to fundamentally new insights. In 1998 the National Institutes of Health grant supporting this research was awarded MERIT status, ... Expertise: physics of anisotropic, inherently inhomogeneous media, anisotropic properties of the heart, diagnostic images of hearts, echocardiographic imagers Direct contact: (314) 935-6229 / james.g.miller@wustl.edu

Daniel Moran Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering Moran Download Daniel W. Moran, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, focuses his research on the areas of voluntary motor control. He also has a research interest in the areas of motor learning and neural plasticity. He is currently affiliated with the Society for Neuroscience, the Society for the Neural ... Expertise: biomedical engineering, voluntary motor control, motor cortical activity, motor learning, neural plasticity Direct contact: (314) 935-8836 / dmoran@biomed.wustl.edu

David Peters McDonnell Douglas Professor of Engineering Peters Download David Peters is widely recognized as an expert in design and analysis of rotary-wing aircraft. His theory of dynamic inflow is the world standard for wake modeling in rotorcraft dynamics and simulation. His continuing research on rotorcraft modeling and analysis has led to the publication of more than ... Expertise: rotary-wing aircraft, helicopters, rotocraft dynamics, aeronautics, astronautics Media assistance: (314) 935-5272 / tony_fitzpatrick@wustl.edu

Larry Taber Dennis & Barbara Kessler Professor of Biomedical Engineering Taber Download Taber has been probing the forces, stresses and deformations of the heart since the mid-1980s. A major focus of his work is to show that biomechanical forces may be as important as genetics in shaping the heart. Recently, Taber has developed a theory on tissue growth and morphogenesis — shape change ... Expertise: biomechanics of cardiovascular development, heart, embryo, blood vessels Direct contact: (314) 935-8544 / lat@biomed.wustl.edu

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Related News Clips:

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Show More Clips

Novel Technique Changes Lymph Node Biopsy, Reduces Radiation Exposure ScienceDaily.com Jan. 14, 2009 -- Information obtained from a new application of photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is worth its weight in gold to breast cancer patients. The work of WUSTL biomedical engineering researchers Lihong Wang and Younan Xia, supported by the NIH, can minimize invasive surgical lymph node biopsy procedures to determine if breast cancer has metastasized and reduce the patient's exposure to radioactivity.

Group says it has mapped corn genome Associated Press and 76 others Feb. 26, 2008 -- Richard Wilson, director of WUSTL's Genome Sequencing Center, comments on the successful mapping of the corn genome.

Disabled gamers want more than 'fluffy' choices Chicago Tribune April 10, 2007 -- About 10 to 20 percent of the video gaming population is disabled, but they get little attention from the Nintendos, Sonys and Microsofts of the world. Now, academia is trying to show gamemakers that with a little thought and ingenuity, their titles can be played -- and purchased by -- gamers they have never courted before. A U. Illinois instructor is organizing a game design seminar to build a socially oriented video game for players with quadriplegia. She hopes such hands-on design work will encourage gamemakers to keep the disabled in mind while creating their titles -- and show them how. Perhaps the ultimate game controller operates on brain waves. A teenager being studied for epilepsy last fall at WUSTL was able to play "Space Invaders" using his thoughts. Those findings could lead one day to artificial limbs that respond to human thought.

Teenager moves video icons by imagination United Press International and 2 others Oct. 11, 2006 -- A U.S. boy has become the first teenager to play a two-dimensional video game using only the signals from his brain to make movements. WUSTL researchers led by neurological surgery professor Eric Leuthardt and biomedical engineering professor Daniel Moran say the boy's achievement might lead to creation of biomedical devices that can control artificial limbs, enabling the movement of a prosthesis by just thinking about it.

St. Louis waits for Bio-Belt to bloom Chicago Tribune and 12 others May 2, 2005 -- Article on the outlook for bioscience hotspots focuses on St. Louis. For years this fading industrial center has poured a fortune into the genetic engineering of plants, ignoring critics of the controversial technology and enduring a long stretch with little to show for its investment. Now, finally, St. Louis is starting to see a payoff, putting some welcome distance between itself and the many other cities trying to hit it big in biotech. Comments from John Biggs, Roger Beachy, Peter Raven, and WUSTL chancellor Mark Wrighton.

More News:

Biomedical engineer trips up proteins in nerve regeneration system
July 2002 - It's sticky, it's a gel, it comes in a tube, but this is no greasy kids' stuff. Rather, it's a novel delivery system for peripheral nerve regeneration that could have implications for successful stem cell delivery and spinal cord repair. Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert, Ph.D.Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, has designed a system that employs a nerve guide tube filled with a gel containing growth factor proteins that stimulate nerve regeneration. Also part of the package are strategically placed sugars and peptides for binding in the gel matrix. The system has promoted peripheral nerve regeneration in preliminary rat studies.