faculty holding bone for osteoporosis research

Research

Convergent research with collaboration across government, industry, and academia

Faculty conduct research as part of the College of Engineering’s multidisciplinary research centers and institutes, such as the Institute for the Chemical Imaging of Living Systems, and the Institute for Mechanobiology, and within their laboratories. 

The department’s research areas of focus include Biomechanics and Mechanobiology; Biomedical Devices and Bioimaging; Molecular, Cell, and Tissue Engineering; and Systems, Synthetic, and Computational Bioengineering.

View faculty profiles for laboratory research as well as our recent Annual Reports.

Research at a Glance


Quick Facts

$34M

external research awards (2022-2024)

20

young investigator awards

16

professional society fellowships

47

Full-time faculty


External Research Funding Examples

  • Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Science Foundation
  • National Cancer Institute
  • National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
  • American Heart Association
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
  • The Department of Homeland Security

Latest News

Ning Wang

PNAS Perspective Defines Mechanomedicine as Target for Disease Treatment

Ning Wang, bioengineering professor and director of the Institute for Mechanobiology, co-authored a perspective article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on “Mechanomedicine: Present state and future promise,” in which they define and map out the future of this critical emerging field.

Patent for Fast Accurate Viral Testing at the Point of Care

BioE Teaching Professor Timothy Lannin and Professor Jeffrey Ruberti were awarded a patent for creating a “Point of care viral detection system using turbo fluorescence in situ hybridization.”

Patent for Scanning the Air for Viruses in Real Time

BioE Professor Jeffrey Ruberti was awarded a patent for designing a “Continuous flow air sampling and rapid pathogen detection system.”

Examining Mice to Study Bone Development

MIE/BioE Professor Sandra Shefelbine and Lindsey Young, PhD’28, bioengineering, are working on innovative research on bone development by examining two species of deer mice to determine how much of bone development is evolutionary or can be impacted by physical activity.