Biomedical Engineering Department celebrates 2021 achievements
The fall semester is wrapping up at Binghamton University, and the faculty, students and staff from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering have been hard at work with research and instruction.
Research news
Assistant Professor Yuan Wan wants to develop a faster, less painful way to diagnose solitary pulmonary nodules, which are small abnormalities in the lungs that may or may not be malignant. He recently received a five-year, $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, with the possibility of two years’ additional funding pending initial results.
Two National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants totaling over $1.3 million will enable research into antibody-mediated drug delivery technology for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disorders. L. Nathan Tumey, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences, is the principal investigator on both grants. Tracy Brooks, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, and Fake “Frank” Lu, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, are collaborating with Tumey.
Associate Professor Guy German and Zachary Lipsky, PhD ’21, published research in the journal Acta Biomaterialia that explores how human skin can control the way cracks form and why tensometers offer imprecise results when measuring the mechanical properties of biological tissues. Along the way, Lipsky developed a method to bond human skin to rubber-like polymeric materials without an adhesive.
Also published:
- Y. Chen, L. Wang, M. Zheng, C. Zhu, G. Wang, Y. Xia, E. Blumenthal, W. Mao and Y. Wan, “Engineered Extracellular Vesicles for Concurrent Anti-PDL1 Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy.” Bioact Mater
- G. Wang, W. Hu, Y. Chen, Y. Wan and Q. Li, “mPD-L1-Glycolysis/Cholesterol Synthesis Axis: A Novel Stratification Framework for Patients with EGFR Wildtype NSCLC.” Clin Transl Med
- S. Zhang and G. Mahler, “Modelling Renal Filtration and Reabsorption Processes in a Human Glomerulus and Proximal Tubule Microphysiological System.” Micromachines
- S. Zhang and G. Mahler, “Microfluidic modeling of the glomerulus and tubular apparatus.” Chapter 25, Regenerative Nephrology (second edition)
Faculty news
Associate Professor Gretchen Mahler has been appointed as interim vice provost and dean of the Graduate School. She will serve in the role for two years, concluding her term in August 2023.
A piece in this year’s Watson Review magazine focused on women in engineering. Professor Sha Jin, who also is the BME Department’s undergraduate director, was interviewed about her experiences.
Professor Jin also received a SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. The honor acknowledges consistently superior professional achievement and the ongoing pursuit of excellence.
Professor German was featured on NPR’s Academic Minute podcast to discuss his research on how the sun damages our skin.
Lecturer Ammar Abdo has been selected to receive the 2020-21 Watson College Recognition Award for distinguished educator. Abdo was honored for showing effective instruction and for mentoring students at all levels of their academic tasks.
Student news
PhD student Matthew Brown received funding through the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps, a program to help researchers gain experience in applying translational research to address an unmet market need while gaining skills in entrepreneurship and the knowledge required to start a business. The team also included BME graduate student Fabiola Moreno, under the direction of Assistant Professor Ahyeon Koh. The goal of this $50,000 project is to examine if there is a market need for an adhesive-free bandage.
In another piece from the Watson Review, Megan DiBella ’21 discusses her role as president of Watson College’s section of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) as a biomedical engineering undergraduate.
Two senior projects were highlighted in Binghamton University stories earlier this year. One, with Professors Koh and German as advisors, explored how to keep scuba divers safe from nitrogen narcosis. The team developed a watch that gives a cognitive test to the wearer.
The other project brought together three BME students and one from the Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering to explore the use of 3D printing technology to create orthoses for those recovering from injuries of the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPj). The “hinge” joint in the fingers is one of the most common hand injuries, especially among athletes. Jane Bear-Lehman, professor and founding director of the new Division of Occupational Therapy at Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences, served as faculty advisor, along with Assistant Professor Jia Deng from SSIE.
PhD candidates Melissa Mendoza and Matthew Brown, and PhD student Rhea John attended the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) 2021 annual meeting in person and gave presentations on their dissertation research topics. Mendoza also represented the BMES Diversity Committee and co-moderated the Celebration of Minorities Luncheon, where attendees discussed strategies to address mental health related to their personal identities. PhD student Stephanie Zhang delivered her presentation virtually, and PhD student Erika Sonalo Diaz presented her poster virtually.
PhD student Yuhao Yuan took first place in the “Visualizing the Unseen” category of the 2021 Art of Science Competition. The Division of Research has organized this event since 2017. Yuan and Assistant Professor Lu submitted an impressive SRS picture of label-free water imaging in fresh cartilage tissue.
Alumni news
One of this year’s BOLD (Bearcats of the Last Decade) 10 Under 10 Award winners was Louis R. Alerte ’10, MS ’13, who earned a master’s degree in biomedical engineering and a bachelor of science degree in integrated neuroscience from Binghamton. He is the global intelligence business leader at Johnson & Johnson, focusing on advanced intelligent automation.