The 2020-21 academic year marked a time both to reflect as we celebrated our 10th anniversary and to envision the future as we developed our department’s five-year strategic plan.
Our year-long 10th anniversary celebration included a podcast series, a seminar series and a symposium. The podcast series featured a look back at the department’s history, conversations with entrepreneurs and reflections by students and graduates. One bright spot in the virtual world brought about by the pandemic was the opportunity to feature researchers from multiple geographic locations in our seminar series. On April 8 and 9, our celebration culminated with a two-day symposium highlighting the latest research advancements, industry and career opportunities in biomedical engineering, collaborations with UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), and The University of Texas at Dallas faculty, alumni and student achievements.
Faculty, staff and students engaged in a year-long strategic planning process targeting three areas: research excellence, student success and outreach and community engagement.
Finally, we celebrate excellence! The UT Dallas Department of Bioengineering achieved its highest U.S. News and World Report ranking: No. 3 among Texas public universities, No. 33 among U.S. public universities and No. 61 among U.S. universities! According to the American Society of Engineering Education, our undergraduate program has the third largest enrollment in the U.S. and our MS program graduated the highest percentage of female graduates.
Dr. Shalini Prasad Head of the Department of Bioengineering Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor of Systems Biology Science
Overview
10th ANNIVERSARY HIGHLIGHTS
Departmental Seminar Series
During the 2020-21 academic year, The University of Texas at Dallas bioengineering seminar series featured speakers from across the globe. Students, faculty and staff gained insight into the latest research innovations that are advancing biomedical engineering and health care.
10th Anniversary Symposium
The year-long celebration culminated in a two-day symposium that highlighted emergent research at UT Dallas and beyond, as well as research collaborations and career opportunities in biomedical engineering. We were excited to host James B. Milliken, chancellor of the The University of Texas System; Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, president of UT Southwestern Medical Center; and Dr. Richard C. Benson, president of UT Dallas, with us to kick off the event.
Virtual Commencements
Fall 2020 and spring 2021 graduates were celebrated in virtual commencement ceremonies.
Podcasts
Learn more about the history of bioengineering at UT Dallas, opportunities for engineers in health care and biotech innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit of our students and alumni as Dr. Shalini Prasad talks with thought leaders in biomedical engineering. Recordings are available online.
Quick Facts
18
Tenure System Faculty
8
Instructional Faculty
$14.7M
FY2020 Research Expenditures
93
2020 Peer-Reviewed Faculty Publications
75
58
586
PhD Students
MS Students
Undergraduate Students
150+
2020–21 BS, MS and PhD Degrees in Biomedical Engineering Awarded
Faculty Recognition
Faculty pictured left to right include Dr. Danieli Rodrigues, Dr. Kenneth Hoyt (back), Dr. Shalini Prasad (right), Dr. Girgis Obaid and Dr. Tariq Ali.
Dr. Danieli Rodrigues, Associate Professor, 2021 Provost’s Award for Faculty Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring
Dr. Girgis Obaid, Assistant Professor, Advancing Bioimaging Fellow by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA)
Dr. Kenneth Hoyt, Associate Professor, Jonsson School Faculty Research Award at the Rank of Associate Professor
Dr. Tariq Ali, Associate Professor of Instruction, Honorable Mention President’s Teaching Excellence Award in Undergraduate Instruction
Dr. Shalini Prasad, Professor, Jonsson School Faculty Research Award at the Rank of Professor
Welcome New Faculty
The Department of Bioengineering welcomed three new assistant professors in August 2020. Their research is focused in the areas of bioimaging, biomaterials and biomechanics. The interdisciplinary nature of their work provides opportunities for collaborations with researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Dr. Yichen Ding
Dr. Yichen Ding’s research seeks to better understand cardiac injury and repair through light-sheet imaging, machine-based learning, virtual reality visualization and computational platforms.
Ding holds a PhD in biomedical engineering from Peking University in Beijing, China, and a BS degree in optomechanical engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
Upon completion of his PhD, Ding was appointed as a visiting assistant project scientist and then as an assistant project scientist at the UCLA School of Medicine.
Dr. Jacopo Ferruzzi
Dr. Jacopo Ferruzzi researches the biomechanical behavior of cells and tissues. He focuses on cardiovascular biomechanics, mechanobiology and the biophysics of metastatic breast cancer.
Ferruzzi holds a PhD in biomedical engineering from Yale University, as well as MS and BS degrees in biomedical engineering from the University of Pisa, Italy.
Before joining UT Dallas, he was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University.
Dr. Caroline Jones
Dr. Caroline Jones’ research is in the area of microfluidics to quantify immune cell decision-making phenotypes with a focus on sepsis.
Dr. Jones holds a PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of California, Davis, and she holds an MS degree in biological engineering and a BS degree in biological and environmental engineering from Cornell University.
Jones was appointed as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Harvard Medical School. She joined UT Dallas from Virginia Tech, where she held an appointment as an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.
STRATEGIC PLAN OVERVIEW
Since the department’s inception in 2010, UT Dallas' Department of Bioengineering has made remarkable progress in educating future bioengineers and performing groundbreaking research to improve human health. In the last decade, we have grown to become the third largest undergraduate program in the nation with an enrollment approaching 600. Our faculty members’ research produced over $14.7M in research expenditures in 2020, and our program is the No. 3 ranked biomedical engineering program among Texas public universities according to U.S. News & World Report.
During the 2020-21 academic year, the department envisioned the future through a strategic planning process that identified goals, key performance indicators and performance metrics for three focus areas:
Research Excellence
Student Success
Outreach and Community Engagement
Input from faculty, staff and students shaped the direction of the strategic plan. Diversity, equity and inclusion goals were incorporated across all three areas.
The strong community of bioengineering scholars conducting basic science, biomedical and transitional engineering research at UT Dallas, along with access to world-class facilities, position the Department of Bioengineering to achieve preeminent status.
Faculty
FACULTY
The Department of Bioengineering attracts top researchers and instructors. Full-time tenure system faculty lead robust, comprehensive research laboratories and collaborate with affiliated faculty within The University of Texas at Dallas and adjunct faculty at other institutions and in industry. The department has 18 tenure system faculty, 8 instructional faculty, 19 affiliated faculty and 20 adjunct faculty.
Yonas Tadesse, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Jie Zheng, Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology, Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Adjunct Faculty
Spencer Bowen, Associate Professor, Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern
Yasin Dhaher, R. Wofford Cain Distinguished Chair in Bone and Joint Disease Research, Bioengineering, UT Southwestern
Nick Fey, Assistant Professor, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
Robert Gregg, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Associate Director for Graduate Education, Robotics Institute, University of Michigan
Anke Henning, Director of the Advanced Imaging Research Center, Professor, Bioengineering, UT Southwestern
Lan Ma, Biocomputational Engineering Assistant Director and Faculty Instructor
Biocomputational Engineering, Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland
Ananth Madhuranthakam, Associate Professor, Department of Radiology, Advanced Imaging Research Center, UT Southwestern
Alexander Pertsemlidis, Associate Professor, Departments of Cell Systems and Anatomy and Pediatrics, UT Health San Antonio, Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute
Matthew Petroll, Professor, Chair, Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, UT Southwestern
Manasi Reardon, Head of Advanced Development, Abbott Neuromodulation
Jennifer Seifert, Senior Director, Research and Development, TissueGen, Inc.
Jay Shah, Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sports Medicine Service, UT Southwestern
Elena Vinogradov, Associate Professor, Departments of Radiology and Advanced Imaging Research Center, UT Southwestern
Taylor Ware, Associate Professor, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University
Tre Welch, Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiovascular & Cardio Thoracic Surgery, UT Southwestern
Joel Wells, Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UT Southwestern
Research
Biomedical engineering is a broad field and includes virtually any application of engineering to medicine, biology or health care. The University of Texas at Dallas has chosen to focus its biomedical research in the following areas:
Average number of RAs supported per tenure was 3.5
Average number of peer-reviewed publications per tenure was 5.8
Students
Bioengineering students have unique opportunities to excel in research, as well as to participate in the Jonsson School’s signature UTDesign® Capstone Program where they use their expertise to solve real-world problems.
Enrollment And Degrees
Bioengineering Student Awards
Our students received numerous awards at the local and national levels. The Department of Bioengineering at The University of Texas at Dallas continues to attract students committed to pursuing excellence in research and education.
Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (National Science Foundation),
Bridge to Doctorate Fellowship
Vikram Narayanan Dhamu
2020 Love of Learning Award
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
Nundini Rawal BS’20
Erik Chow BS’19
2021 National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellowship
Krithika Iyer
Diversity Participation Award
National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and SB3C Diversity
Kara Peak
Best Student Paper Award Finalist
American Society of Mechanical Engineers at the Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering Conference
Rachel Jones
2nd place Student Research Award
South Central American Society of Biomechanics
Student Organizations
Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
The BMES officers for AY 20-21:
President - Emma Henderson Vice President - Sruthi Bala Dubagunta Secretary - Nareen Akil Anwar Treasurer - Ifti Hossain
Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB)
The AEMB officers for spring 2020-fall 2020:
President - Emma Henderson Vice President - Megan Zachariah Secretary - Han Lai Treasurer - Karel Lirazan
The AEMB officers for spring 2021-fall 2021:
President - Megan Zachariah Vice President - Nicholas Ho Secretary - Vishvani Patel Treasurer - Karel Lirazan
BMEN Graduate Student Association
In its second year of operation, the BMEN Graduate Student Association seamlessly adapted to an all-virtual format and continued to host workshops, seminars and other events for bioengineering MS and PhD students.
The BMEN Graduate Student Association (GSA) kicked off its fall semester by arranging multiple rounds of peer-led practice sessions for first year PhD students preparing for their qualifying exams. The presenters gained valuable public speaking experience in a low-pressure environment. The group commenced its seminar series with a speaker from Brain Lab, a local medical technology company, who shared insights into how to successfully transition from student life to industry and imparted tips on charting a long-term growth path. This event was followed by an informal Lunch-N-Learn led by industry veteran Kathy Brown PhD’21 on the topic of fostering mentoring relationships.
The spring semester was launched with an Open Mic hour that featured four graduate students and two professors who gave talks on hobbies cultivated outside of the scientific arena. Finally, to round out the academic year, the BMEN GSA organized an 11-week symposium series for undergraduates participating in the department's first REU. The group's officers curated a list of special topics deemed relevant to students embarking on a summer research project, and the BMEN GSA moderated weekly roundtable discussions that showcased the perspectives of chosen graduate student panelists.
The UTDesign® Capstone Program is designed to provide a hands-on learning opportunity for students.
The UTDesign® Capstone experience is a two-semester course sequence in which interdisciplinary student teams including ones from biomedical engineering and other disciplines design solutions to real-world problems for corporate and university sponsors. UTDesign® is housed in a 40,000 square foot facility for student teams to ideate, create, assemble and test devices.
“We strive to provide our students with a real-world engineering experience and have organized UTDesign® Capstone like a company,” said Dr. Todd Polk, associate professor of practice and UTDesign® director of bioengineering.
Polk added, “We treat the students like working engineers from day one, and the overall experience has proved to be highly beneficial to them as they enter the professional world after graduation.”
At A Glance
Spring 2021
21
teams with bioengineering students
114
bioengineering students participated
Interdisciplinary Team Sponsors
Abbott Laboratories
Adaptive3D
Hill & Smith Inc.
HoboLoco
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control
Max-IR Labs
Moonshot Wearables, Inc.
UT Dallas and UT Southwestern
Award Winners
1st Place: Activity Observer Insole sponsored by the UT Southwestern Medical Center
The device uses pressure, temperature and acceleration sensor inputs in a machine learning framework to monitor the activity of patients with diabetic neuropathy.
2nd Place: Autonomous and Portable Cell Culture System sponsored by the Bleris Lab at UT Dallas
The portable incubator maintains cell growth conditions to allow cell culturing during transportation.
3rd Place: Double Lumen Peripheral Catheter sponsored by the UT Southwestern Medical Center
The dual lumen catheter allows for faster, safer and more efficient apheresis treatments through simultaneous draw and return blood processes from a peripheral vein.
Community
UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER CONNECTION
Faculty and students in the Department of Bioengineering at The University of Texas at Dallas collaborate with UT Southwestern researchers and clinicians to bring groundbreaking discoveries into practice.
Currently, five UT Dallas bioengineering doctoral students and over 20 undergraduate students conduct research in UT Southwestern faculty members’ labs. Over 30% of UT Dallas bioengineering faculty have research collaborations with UT Southwestern faculty and clinicians. UT Dallas bioengineering faculty have been granted fourteen grants totaling $6.9M to support collaborative research with UT Southwestern.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Dr. Stephen Levene and Dr. Yair Lotan, chief of urologic oncology at UT Southwestern, are developing a new class of biomarkers for bladder cancer.
Dr. Heather Hayenga and Dr. Leonidas Bleris are collaborating with Dr. Helena Hwang, associate professor of pathology at UT Southwestern, to develop a gene-editing treatment for NAB2-STAT6 fusions in cancer cells. They are also working with Dr. Bruce Posner in the High Throughput Screening Center to screen compounds with our cancer cell line.
Dr. Jacopo Ferruzzi and Dr. Ravikanth Maddipati, assistant professor of internal medicine and Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern, are exploring the multiscale mechanical signatures of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs), developing an in vitro hydrogel system that recapitulates salient features of the tumor microenvironment and associating PDAC mechanical changes with invasive potential and overall metastatic burden.
Dr. Yichen Ding collaborates with Dr. Eric Olson, professor and chair at UT Southwestern, and members of the Olson lab to implement a light-sheet system for cardiac imaging.
Dr. Yichen Ding along with UT Southwestern faculty Dr. Li Liu, associate professor in radiology, and Dr. Ralph Mason, professor and director of preclinical imaging research, to develop image postprocessing methods.
Dr. Danieli Rodrigues is collaborating with Dr. Javier La Fontaine, professor in the Departments of Plastic Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery at UT Southwestern, on the development of new immunomodulatory coatings for the surface of metallic implants to target healing and osseointegration in diabetic patients.
Dr. Stephen Levene and Dr. Andrew Fire, professor of pathology and genetics at the Stanford University School of Medicine, are working to characterize and better understand functional genomics of extrachromosomal circular DNAs.
Dr. Stephen Levene and Dr. Peter Scacheri, professor in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, seek to understand the functional genomics of extrachromosomal circular DNA in glioblastoma.
Dr. Stephen Levene and Dr. Andreas Hanke, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, are conducting theoretical and computational studies of enzyme systems that regulate DNA topology.
Dr. Seth Hays and Dr. Chad Swank, research scientist with Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation, are collaborating on a clinical trial examining vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) paired with rehabilitation to improve recovery of upper limb function in patients with spinal cord injuries.
Dr. Seth Hays and Dr. Rita Hamilton, medical director of Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation, are working together on a clinical trial testing during which VNS is paired with rehabilitation and telerehabilitation in individuals with chronic stroke.
Dr. Seth Hays and Dr. Mark B. Powers, director of trauma research at Baylor Scott & White, are working together on a clinical trial evaluating the use of VNS paired with prolonged exposure therapy to reduce symptoms in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Dr. Jacopo Ferruzzi collaborates with Dr. Darren Roblyer and Dr. Muhammad Zaman at Boston University College of Engineering and Dr. Xaralabos Varelas at Boston University School of Medicine to develop fundamental insights into the relationship between extracellular matrix mechanics and the signaling activity of the transcriptional coactivator yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ), specifically as it pertains to regulating cancer cell metabolism and invasion.
ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE IN BIOENGINEERING
We are now embarking on the launch of our five-year strategic plan in the 2021-22 academic year.
Throughout the next five years, the Department of Bioengineering aims to achieve goals aligned with specific metrics for achievement in three areas:
Research Excellence
Student Success
Outreach and Community Engagement
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