At the interface of engineering and medicine, bioengineering is an inherently interdisciplinary field with societal impact. With a focus on development of an entirely new classes of products, instrumentation, and implants, the field of bioengineering is poised for growth with the impact to human health extraordinary.
Innovative Education and Research
Experiential learning is the heart of a Northeastern education. From project based coursework and teaching labs to research opportunities and co-op there is a range of opportunities to apply classroom learning to the real world.
BS, MS, and PhD Degrees
Students work alongside highly accomplished faculty conducting research in state-of-the-art labs designed for interdisciplinary and collaborative research in areas that encompass the entire breadth of biological and biomedical engineering.
Research Areas
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.
Capstone DesignSpotlight Stories
American Academy of Arts and Sciences Member
University Distinguished Professor Eduardo Sontag, ECE/BioE, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for his career that has made breakthroughs in the mathematics of nonlinear and complex systems, with repercussions for biomedicine, systems biology, and neural networks.
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
PhD Spotlight: Vineel Kondiboyina, PhD’24, Bioengineering
Vineel Kondiboyina, PhD’24, bioengineering, focused his research on the mechanobiology of limb growth. Using mechanical testing, computational modeling, and biochemical characterization, he explored the dynamics of tissue stiffness and composition changes during limb development.
Cell Nuclear Force Probe Reveals Mechanomemory That May Impact Cell Memory and Health
BioE Professor Ning Wang published research in Cell Reports that demonstrates a process of mechanomemory, or response long after applied force has ceased, within a cell’s nucleus. This discovery prompts a prolonged period of activation of a protein complex responsible for gene expression, which can lead to making new proteins and potentially healthier cells.
Developing Methods to Control Cell-State Transitions
BioE/COS Assistant Professor Lei Wang’s research on “Sensing and Guiding Cell-state Transitions by Using Genetically Encoded Endoribonuclease-mediated MicroRNA Sensors” was published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.
Improving the Smell of Composting
A team of bioengineering students are participating in the International Genetically Engineered Machine Foundation global competition that showcases synthetic biology projects. The iGEM student team is developing a solution that would make compost smell like mint and lavender by targeting the microbial process. They also recently received a PEAK Experience Award from Northeastern.