PhD in Bioengineering
PhD in Bioengineering
Overview
The PhD in Bioengineering program at Northeastern University provides an excellent opportunity for students to engage in scientific research at the intersection of engineering, medicine, and biology. Students may pursue their Bioengineering PhD degree at either of our campuses in Boston, Massachusetts or Portland, Maine.
Innovative Curriculum
The PhD in Bioengineering program is interdisciplinary by nature and reflects the department’s significant strengths across four areas of bioengineering research: biomechanics and mechanobiology; biomedical devices and bioimaging; molecular, cell, and tissue engineering; and systems, synthetic, and computational bioengineering. Students accepted to the program will work with and learn from our outstanding faculty who are leaders in their field. Students complete a rigorous foundational curriculum in bioengineering science and mathematics, complemented by an immersion into individualized coursework tailored to their area of interest.
Unique Features
Welcomes applicants from diverse academic backgrounds, including those with bachelor’s degrees as well as advanced-degree holders.
The PhD in Bioengineering can be combined with a Gordon Engineering Leadership certificate.
Students specialize in one of four research areas.
- To develop and demonstrate rigorous knowledge in relevant areas of Bioengineering.
- To develop and demonstrate an ability to plan and perform creative and impactful Bioengineering research.
- To develop and demonstrate and ability to perform critical analysis of scientific journal articles.
- To develop and demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills.
In addition to Boston, the Bioengineering PhD program is offered at the Roux Institute at Northeastern in Portland, Maine.
Situated in the vibrant heart of the city, our Boston, Massachusetts campus is strategically positioned within the biotechnology hub of the Greater Boston area, adjacent to Cambridge, Massachusetts start-ups and the Longwood Medical Area.
Nestled within the Roux Institute, our Portland, Maine campus boasts a sweeping view of Casco Bay. The Roux Institute fosters a dynamic entrepreneurial culture with many programs tailored for start-up founders and a dedicated emphasis on AI and technology-driven innovations.
Research Areas
The Biomedical Devices and Bioimaging research area reflects Northeastern University’s outstanding research profile in developing transformative and translational instrumentation and algorithms to help understand biological processes and disease. Our department has active federally funded research spanning a broad spectrum of relevant areas in instrument design, contrast agent development, and advanced computational modeling and reconstruction methods. Example research centers include the Institute for the Chemical Imaging of Living Systems, the Translational Biophotonics Cluster, and the B-SPIRAL signal processing group.
Motion, deformation, and flow of biological systems in response to applied loads elicit biological responses at the molecular and cellular levels that support the physiological function of tissues and organs and drive their adaptation and remodeling. To study these complex interactions, principles of solid, fluid, and transport mechanics must be combined with measures of biological function. The Biomechanics and Mechanobiology track embraces this approach and leverages the strong expertise of Northeastern faculty attempting to tie applied loads to biological responses at multiple length and time scales.
Principles for engineering living cells and tissues are essential to address many of the most significant biomedical challenges facing our society today. These application areas include engineering biomaterials to coax and enable stem cells to form functional tissue or to heal damaged tissue; designing vehicles for delivering genes and therapeutics to reach specific target cells to treat a disease; and, uncovering therapeutic strategies to curb pathological cell behaviors and tissue phenotypes. At a more fundamental level, the field is at the nascent stages of understanding how cells make decisions in complex microenvironments and how cells interact with each other and their surrounding environment to organize into complex three-dimensional tissues. Advances will require a multiscale experimental, computational and theoretical approaches spanning molecular-cellular-tissue levels and integration of molecular and physical mechanisms, including the role of mechanical forces.
Research groups in systems, synthetic, and computational bioengineering apply engineering principles to model and understand complex biological systems, including differentiation and development, pathogenesis and cancer, and learning and behavior. This involves designing and implementing methods for procuring quantitative and sometimes very large data sets, as well as developing theoretical models and computational tools for interpreting these data. Deciphering the workings of a biological system allows us to identify potential biomarkers and drug targets, to develop protocols for personalized medicine, and more. In addition, we use the design principles of biological systems we discover to engineer and refine new synthetic biological systems for clinical, agricultural, environmental, and energy applications.
Experiential Learning
Northeastern combines rigorous academics with experiential learning and research to prepare students for real world engineering challenges. Co-op and internships are available. The Cooperative Education Program, also known as a “co-op,” is one of the largest and most innovative in the world, and Northeastern is one of only a few that offers a co-op program for graduate students. Through this program students gain industry experience in a wide variety of organizations, from large companies to entrepreneurial start-ups, building their resume and a professional network. In addition to co-op, students can participate in the university’s Experiential PhD program. Northeastern is located in the nation’s biotech and academic hub and among the most renowned hospitals in the world.
Program Goals
Career Outlook
Biology can inspire engineering. Increasingly, discoveries in the life sciences reveal processes, complexity, and control without analogy in the world of traditional engineering. Current methods of producing nanoscale control over molecules cannot reproduce the organization found in even the simplest organisms. Energy capture, robust control, remediation, and self-assembly are all employed by biosystems with efficiency unparalleled by anything in today’s laboratories. At the same time, traditional engineering disciplines struggle to find new approaches to the complex challenges of 21st-century technology.
he last 50 years of basic life science research have gradually revealed the layers of complexity intrinsic to biological processes, unmasking the fundamental underpinnings on which biological systems are constructed. Bioinspired engineering has the potential to transform the technological landscape of the 21st century. Astonishingly, it represents merely one of the myriad opportunities presented at the interface of biology and engineering.
The field of bioengineering is broad and includes all research at the interface of engineering and biology—this includes bioprocesses, environmental microbiology, biomaterials and tissue engineering, bioelectricity, biomechanics, biomedical and biological imaging, nanotechnology in medicine and the environment, and engineering design for human interfacing.
Post-graduation
Our graduates pursue careers within industry, academia, and beyond, and hold positions at:
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Broad Institute
- Dana Farber Cancer Institute
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- Merck
- MIT Lincoln Laboratory
- Parallel Squared
- Start-up companies
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals
- Harvard Medical School
- Northeastern University
- Rockefeller University
- University of Denver
- University of Pennsylvania
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Academic Advising
The Academic Advisors in the Graduate Student Services office can help answer many of your questions and assist with various concerns regarding your program and student record. Use the link below to also determine which questions can be answered by your Faculty Program Advisors and OGS Advisors.
Admissions & Aid
Ready to take the next step? Review degree requirements to see courses needed to complete this degree. Then, explore ways to fund your education. Finally, review admissions information to see our deadlines and gather the materials you need to Apply.
Student News
2025 COE Outstanding Graduate Student Awards
The COE Outstanding Graduate Student Awards for 2025 were awarded to more than 40 graduate students across the Northeastern global campus for their exceptional achievements in research, teaching, leadership, and service.
BioE PhD Receives Outstanding PhD Student Award in Leadership
Deng Li, PhD’25, bioengineering, received the Outstanding PhD Student Award in Leadership, which recognizes graduate students who have demonstrated significant leadership and a deep commitment to giving back to members of Northeastern’s community or surrounding neighborhoods.
Investigating RNA Dynamics and Modifications
Working in BioE Assistant Professor Sara Rouhanifard’s lab, Keqing Nian, PhD’25, bioengineering, and Oleksandra Fanari, PhD’27, bioengineering, are developing novel tools to study the dynamic nature of RNA and gene expression in live cells.
2025 NSF GRFP Recipients
Current students and alumni were recipients of the 2025 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Awards. This prestigious program recognizes outstanding graduate students who have demonstrated the potential to be high achieving scientists and engineers early in their careers.