A student looks at a monitor with an image of high-res cells.
Interdisciplinary Research

At the interface of engineering and medicine, bioengineering is an inherently interdisciplinary field with societal impact. This student is viewing a microscope image of human airway smooth muscle cells stained with fluorescent calcium dye as part research to improve treatment for asthma.

A student looks through a microscope.
State-of-the-Art Labs

Innovation is furthered with an interdisciplinary collaborative lab environment and state-of-the-art facilities such as the Microscope Hub in the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex where this student is looking at cancer culture.

Capstone Collaborative Makerspace

With a 3000 square foot makerspace including 18 tables and state-of-the-art equipment, undergraduate students have the space, capabilities, and environment to work and innovate together on capstone, research, and teaching projects.

Mona Minkara works on cell configuration
Diverse Faculty

Assistant Professor Mona Minkara sits works on cell configuration with her research assistant. Dr. Minkara is a blind faculty member and she uses these cells to feel and recognize cell types.

Two students working in the lab
Hands-on, Project-based Learning

As part of the weekly lab for Bioengineering Measurement, Experimentation and Statistics course, students learn cell and tissue culture, biomechanics, computational, and other areas within bioengineering.

Spotlight Stories

Ella Strzegowski
Ella Strzegowski
BS Bioengineering, 2023

Bioengineering student Ella Strzegowski, E'23, is spending her co-op working at Moderna on quality control measures to examine the...

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Giona Kleinberg
BS Bioengineering and Biochemistry, 2023

Giona Kleinberg, E’23, majoring in bioengineering and biochemistry with a minor in data science, is an experienced researcher with...

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$1.96M NIH MIRA to Study Bacterial Signaling Systems

BioE Assistant Professor Elizabeth Libby received a $1.96M NIH R35 MIRA (Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award) for Early Stage Investigators for “Physiological and Developmental Role of Bacterial Ser/Thr Kinases.”

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ASME 2023 Y.C. Fung Early Career Award

BioE Assistant Professor Jessica Oakes was selected as the 2023 Y.C. Fung Early Career Award Medalist for outstanding work in respiratory mechanics that has significantly advanced the understanding of asthma, smoking, and inhalable drug delivery, and for strong advocacy in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

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$7.5M DOD MURI Grant for Synthetic Biology

University Distinguished Professor Eduardo Sontag and collaborators received a $7.5M DOD MURI grant to impact synthetic biology by changing the way one describes, characterizes, and designs genetic modules, through tools that will enable the systematic and scalable design of increasingly complex biomolecular decision-making systems.

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New Concentration in Systems, Synthetic, and Computational Bioengineering

The concentration is designed to prepare students with in-demand skills in data and system science and in synthetic biology, as well as on how to apply those skills to emergent fields in bioengineering.

Learn about the new concentration

Engineering In Action

World-Renown Co-op Program

Ella Strzegowski (Bioengineering E’23) embarked on a co-op at Moderna in the fall of 2021, just as the company was applying for its biologics license and COVID-19’s Omicron variant was tearing through the population. Her experience placed her at the epicenter of covid-related research even as the virus—and the world’s response to it—changed by the day.

PhD Research for Impact

Lauren Cole (PhD in Bioengineering) has dedicated her Northeastern research to understanding the medicinal properties of certain plants, especially in the production of chemotherapy drugs. Shedding light on how plants can be engineered to produce these beneficial molecules, she’s shared her research in published journal articles and an award-winning conference presentation.

World-Renown Experiential Learning

Originally from Nigeria, OluwaFemi Koledoye (MS in Bioengineering) pursued a cell and tissue concentration at Northeastern—hoping to return home with the training to bring change to healthcare in West Africa. His hands-on experience of the biopharmaceutical industry, including a co-op, gave him the tools to realize his ambitions.

World-Renowned Cooperative Education

Kritika Singh, BS, Bioengineering, is on her first co-op at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Center for Systems Biology and she is also working on a malaria project to express a difficult to express protein. Her ambition is to be a physician scientist and says co-op will definitely help her achieve that.

World-Renowned Cooperative Education

Aanie Phillips, BS, Bioengineering, says co-op puts into perspective what you learn in the classroom providing an immersive learning experience. She did two co-ops, a clinical one at a doctor’s office, and the other as a mechanical and operations engineer at Virtudent, a teledentistry startup. Aaanie is off to medical school with a full scholarship from her top-choice school.

Recent News

Announcing Fall 2023 PEAK Experiences Awardees

Several engineering students and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Fall 2023 PEAK Experiences Awards. Projects this fall are tackling a range of topics and modes with students developing an autobiographical zine, studying the development of amphibian limbs, building better rocket parts, and more. BASE CAMP AWARDS Farhad Ibrahimzade COE’26 & […]

Understanding the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Alzheimer’s Disease

BioE Chair and Professor Lee Makowski, in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital, received a $2.1M NIH for “Fibrillar polymorphs in human brain tissue.” The research will use x-ray scanning microscopy to observe changes in the molecular structure of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles during disease with the goal of better understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease.

New Faculty Spotlight: Daniel Grindle

Daniel Grindle joins the Bioengineering department in August 2023 as an Assistant Teaching Professor.

New Faculty Spotlight: Benjamin Gyori

Benjamin Gyori joins the Bioengineering department in August 2023 as an Associate Professor with a joint appointment in Khoury.