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DTSTART:20070311T020000
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20250512T090208
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20250723T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20250723T190000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:BME Summer Workshops @ Michigan
DESCRIPTION:This two-day session will highlight novel physical devices for recording and manipulating neural activity\, AI/ML algorithms for brain decoding and control\, neuroprosthetic applications\, and where the field is heading in pioneering the future of brain innovation. This event is co-sponsored by BME\, Neurosurgery and the Neural Engineering Training Program.
UID:135584-21876970@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/135584
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:North Campus Research Complex Building 18 - Dining Hall
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20250512T093652
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20250724T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20250724T143000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:BME Summer Workshops @ Michigan
DESCRIPTION:This two-day session will highlight novel physical devices for recording and manipulating neural activity\, AI/ML algorithms for brain decoding and control\, neuroprosthetic applications\, and where the field is heading in pioneering the future of brain innovation. This event is co-sponsored by BME\, Neurosurgery and the Neural Engineering Training Program.
UID:135586-21876976@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/135586
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:North Campus Research Complex Building 18 - Dining Hall
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20250814T151945
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20250828T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20250828T163000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Abstract:\nThe metabolic underpinnings of immune cells in various inflamed tissues\, such as the implant microenvironment or the diseased heart\, are poorly understood. For instance\, polylactide (PLA) is the most widely used biopolymer in medicine. Yet\, for decades\, PLA had been thought to activate immune cells by reducing surrounding pH because PLA biodegrades into monomers and oligomers of lactic acid. During my talk\, I will discuss an alternative paradigm underscoring immune cell metabolism (immunometabolism) as the pivotal determinant of the proinflammatory versus pro-regenerative tissue microenvironment with biodegradable and non-biodegradable biomaterial examples. Further related to tissue engineering\, I will present on reversing established cardiac dysfunction and fibrosis in heart failure (following myocardial infarction) via targeted and enzyme-responsive nanomaterials. Finally\, I will unveil my vision to revolutionize therapeutic strategies for the various phenotypes of heart failure by leveraging the metabolic underpinnings of immune and stromal cell populations\, thereby engineering next-generation clinical interventions that shape the future of medicine.
UID:137586-21880415@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/137586
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20250829T151642
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20250904T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20250904T163000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Advancing Healthcare Through AI and Machine Learning Innovations\nAbstract:\nHealthcare constitutes nearly one-fifth of the U.S. economy and approximately 10% of the global economy\, yet it faces profound challenges\, including inequitable access\, an aging population\, and rising per capita costs. These factors underscore the urgent need for innovative solutions. In this talk\, we will present how artificial intelligence\, driven by the urgent needs of healthcare\, is advancing both clinical and technological frontiers. I will share our work on medical image reconstruction\, MRI-based automated diagnosis\, and AI-powered precision medicine solutions. These applications are built on specialized deep learning algorithms\, such as video-based AI and longitudinal imaging reasoning\, with a focus on integrating biological complexities into their design. By bridging engineering principles with clinical applications\, we aim to transform medical diagnostics and treatment while broadening AI's impact across disciplines\, paving the way for more effective and accessible healthcare solutions.
UID:138534-21883180@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/138534
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20250904T125900
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20250911T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20250911T163000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Abstract:\nNon-academic careers in technical consulting and project management.
UID:138828-21883978@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/138828
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20250910T134119
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20250918T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20250918T163000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Creating a Cellular “Google Map” of the Brain with Engineered Spatial Sequencing Technologies\nAbstract:\nCells are not independent\; they communicate and work synergistically in the brain. Unlike traditional approaches that rely on bulk assays\, novel spatial technologies preserve the tissue's architecture at near single-cell resolution\, allowing for more precise functional interpretation of the cell types and states. In this talk\, I will introduce spatial proteomics and spatial epigenetics\, two leading methods that enable in situ detection of proteins and open chromatin. Compared to spatial transcriptomics\, spatial proteomics directly addresses key challenges in visualizing cellular morphology and evaluating whether RNAs are the best proxies for proteins. I will discuss how these approaches advance our understanding of brain function and disease\, particularly in psychiatric disorders and traumatic brain injury.
UID:139181-21885012@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/139181
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20250910T135101
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20250925T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20250925T163000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Revolutionizing Immunotherapy: Bioengineered Immune Organs and Nanoscale Technologies\nAbstract:\nThe human immune system is a marvel of biological complexity\, yet its dysfunction underlies numerous diseases. Designing vaccines\, immunomodulatory drugs\, and cell therapies against infections\, cancer\, inflammatory conditions\, and age-related disorders requires a detailed understanding of how immune cells form and activate in primary\, secondary\, and ectopic tertiary immune organs. Traditionally\, research on the immune system has been restricted to in vivo approaches\, which do not allow for the detailed control of intracellular and extracellular processes\, and to 2D in vitro models\, which lack physiological relevance. These models are being investigated to understand immune function and dysfunction at the cellular\, tissue\, and organ levels. In this talk\, I will discuss my laboratory’s effort in developing synthetic\, human ex vivo immune organoids to replicate the structure and function of immune tissues. I will discuss strategies to combine engineered materials and immune cells from individuals to generate antibody-secreting cells in a dish or as organ-on-chip against viral and bacterial infections and describe immunogenicity testing efforts. I will further describe the use of human immune organoids in oncology and drug development space\, and subsequently describe the integration of immune organoids with complex mucosal organ-on-chip technologies\, with applications in inflammation\, infection\, and oncology. Complementing this\, I will introduce nanoengineered wires functionalized with cationic polymers to program naive T cells without pre-activation\, a critical advancement for adoptive T-cell therapies. By delivering single or multiple microRNAs\, I will describe how nanowires modulate T-cell fitness\, influencing proliferation\, phenotypic differentiation\, and effector molecule secretion. These programmed T cells exhibit enhanced in vivo protection against intracellular pathogens\, with tailored differentiation into T cell subtypes.
UID:139185-21885014@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/139185
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20250917T131218
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20251002T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20251002T163000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Bridging Neural Circuits and Therapy: Advances in Deep Brain Stimulation\nAbstract:\nDeep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective treatment for multiple neurological disorders\, including advanced Parkinson's disease (PD)\, through continuous high-frequency brain stimulation. While its clinical benefits are well documented\, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Due to the anatomical and cellular heterogeneity of brain tissue\, DBS can modulate diverse neuronal elements and circuits at and around the stimulation site\, many of which may not directly contribute to therapeutic effects. Moreover\, conventional DBS systems typically operate in open-loop mode\, delivering fixed stimulation parameters regardless of patient state or neural activity. Identifying the specific circuits that mediate therapeutic benefits is therefore critical for refining target selection and developing next-generation treatment strategies. Optogenetics provides a powerful tool to overcome the nonselective nature of DBS by enabling cell-type specific modulation of neural populations. By integrating optogenetic interventions with electrophysiological recordings\, computational modeling\, and behavioral assays in preclinical models of PD\, our work seeks to dissect the circuit-level mechanisms underlying DBS and systematically evaluate how modulation of defined neural pathways alleviates parkinsonian motor symptoms. In addition\, I will introduce our recent efforts toward the development and preclinical evaluation of closed-loop DBS systems\, which dynamically adjust stimulation in response to ongoing neural and behavioral states. Together\, these approaches aim to advance both our mechanistic understanding of DBS and the design of more effective\, adaptive neuromodulation therapies for PD.
UID:139477-21885600@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/139477
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20251002T082037
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20251009T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20251009T163000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Abstract:\nThe nascent field of microrobotics is experiencing a “Cambrian explosion” before our very eyes. Potential applications for these diminutive devices span an array of fields\, including healthcare\, exploration\, environmental monitoring\, search and rescue\, industrial maintenance\, and digital agriculture. However\, the design of microrobotics systems is inherently tied to scaling-law constraints\; as length scales decrease\, surface forces and viscous forces (among others) begin to dominate inertial forces. This leads to fabrication bottlenecks\, struggles with energy/power autonomy\, and the need for specialized and often unconventional actuators. \n\nIn this talk\, I will present three unconventional microactuators developed in my own group. Each leverages distinct physical principles to achieve high forces\, frequencies\, power densities\, and integration potential in microrobotic platforms. These innovations highlight both the limitations imposed by microscale regimes and the opportunities that emerge when we embrace nontraditional transduction mechanisms for locomotion and manipulation.
UID:140186-21886714@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/140186
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20251003T074234
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20251016T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20251016T163000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Engineering Native Biological Complexity from the Inside–out and Outside–in\nAbstract:\nEngineering heterogenous multicellular tissue with native complexity remains one of the holy grails of regenerative medicine and basic biological research. As success in this regard would yield powerful bioengineered constructs useful in functional transplantation\, high-throughput drug screening\, and fundamental biology investigation\, research efforts in our lab have centered around developing and implementing tools to spatiotemporally customize living cell function both from the “outside–in” and from the “inside–out”. In this talk\, I will discuss some of our group’s recent successes in reversibly modifying the chemical and physical aspects of synthetic cell culture platforms with user-defined and grayscale control\, regulating cell-biomaterial interactions through user-programmable Boolean logic\, engineering microvascular networks that span nearly all size scales of native human vasculature (including capillaries)\, irreversibly photoassembling bioactive proteins within living cells\, and driving biomolecular condensate formation using de novo-designed proteins. Results will highlight our ability to modulate intricate cellular behavior including stem cell differentiation\, protein secretion\, and cell-cell interactions in 4D.
UID:140254-21886827@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/140254
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20251015T091740
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20251023T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20251023T163000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:The clock is ticking – why it’s time to engineer biorhythms in vitro\nAbstract:\nThe mechanistic study of pathophysiology and therapeutic action has long relied upon the use of engineered in vitro cell culture systems. These systems\, however\, lack the periodic fluctuations\, or biorhythms\, in the cellular microenvironment that effectively integrate “time” into these culture platforms by providing physiological inputs necessary for cellular synchronization and circadian rhythms. Given the central role that circadian rhythms play in health and disease\, this absence is puzzling. For example\, cardiovascular disease\, diabetes\, osteoarthritis\, and asthma\, are just a few diseases with known circadian rhythm effects. Moreover\, more than half of the top 100 selling drugs target the product of a circadian gene\, and multiple clinical trials have retrospectively shown the impact of time-of-day dosing on improved outcomes and increased patient lifespan. The underlying reason conventional systems largely do not integrate temporal dynamics in vitro is because they either require the use of poorly scalable external flow control systems or manual fluid exchanges. In this talk\, I will discuss my group’s research focusing on the development of microfluidic technologies to address the challenges of embedding time within scalable in vitro systems using microfluidic circuits. Additionally\, I will describe microfluidic systems we have developed for the scalable production of microgels for use in packed bed reactors that allow us to perform rhythmic fluidic exchanges in 3D tissue cultures.
UID:140721-21887529@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/140721
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20251029T203606
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20251030T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20251030T163000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Intelligent and Accessible Sensing and Neurotechnology Platforms for Next-Generation Medicine\nAbstract:\nDespite major advances in consumer electronics such as smartphones\, modern healthcare systems still lag behind in accessibility\, sophistication\, and data integration. For much of the global population\, medical and their analytical tools remain far less advanced than the technologies used in daily life. To bridge this gap between everyday devices and medical innovation\, my research centers on three major themes: First\, I will present the development of a low-cost\, point-of-care automated diagnostic platform that enables multiplexed biochemical testing with an order-of-magnitude reduction in cost compared to currently available commercial platforms. Second\, I will discuss machine learning-enhanced biosensing for cancer diagnostics\, where our recent work demonstrates thousand-fold precision improvements through full-spectrum and multi-resonance modeling compared to conventional one-dimensional fittings. Finally\, I will introduce hybrid dynamic optogenetic–electrophysiology neural interfaces\, combining metasurface-based beam steering with minimally invasive carbon-fiber arrays for adaptive and chronic closed-loop neuromodulation.
UID:140768-21887593@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/140768
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20251030T074349
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20251107T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20251107T170000
SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Alan J. Hunt Memorial Lecture-U-M Biomedical Engineering--NOTE LOCATION CHANGE to NCRC BUILDING 10 AUDITORIUM
DESCRIPTION:2025 Alan J. Hunt Memorial Lecture\n\nMeasuring the Health of the Brain: From Global Networks to Local Biomarkers\nAbstract:\nHow do we measure the health of the brain? Unlike blood pressure or cholesterol\, there is no single number that captures brain function. We are developing the Brain Entropy Index (BEI)\, a new measure that integrates thermodynamics\, statistical modeling\, and brain imaging to provide a global indicator of brain health. Using data from modalities such as EEG\, fMRI\, and MEG\, the BEI can reliably separate healthy from diseased brains\, offering promise as a universal screening tool.\n\nYet\, just as a blood test might flag “illness” without specifying the disease\, a global index cannot by itself identify the underlying condition. Neurological disorders are defined by distinct local network dynamics\, and it is these dynamics that can give rise to robust biomarkers. One example is EpiScalp\, a computational tool we developed to model local brain networks from scalp EEG. EpiScalp can differentiate true epilepsy from seizure-mimicking disorders and from healthy brains\, providing a disorder-specific biomarker.\n\nTogether\, these approaches demonstrate a two-tiered framework: global measures can screen for health versus disease\, while local network dynamics serve as biomarkers that refine diagnosis and define specific conditions. More broadly\, this talk will illustrate how concepts from systems & control theory\, physics\, and data science can converge to open new frontiers in neuroscience and medicine.\n \nBio:\nSridevi Sarma received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University\, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department at the MIT. Dr. Sarma is now a Professor in the Institute for Computational Medicine\, Department of Biomedical Engineering\, at Johns Hopkins University. Her research includes modeling\, estimation and control of neural systems using electrical stimulation to better diagnose and treat neurological disorders. She is PI for NeuroTech Harbor\, an NIH-funded BluePrint Hub for NeuroTechnologies and recently won an NIH Research Investigator Award (R35) that supports her translational research in epilepsy for 8 years. She is a recipient of the the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Careers at the Scientific Interface Award\, the Krishna Kumar New Investigator Award from the North American Neuromodulation Society\, a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and the Whiting School of Engineering Robert B. Pond Excellence in Teaching Award.
UID:140185-21886713@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/140185
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:North Campus Research Complex Building 10 - Auditorium
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20251103T114457
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20251113T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20251113T163000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:When the Air We Breathe Ages Our Arteries: Mechanisms of Vascular Injury from Fire Smoke Inhalation\nAbstract:\nCardiovascular aging reflects the gradual loss of vascular compliance and serves as a powerful indicator of overall cardiovascular health. Hallmarks of this process include inflammation\, oxidative stress\, endothelial dysfunction\, and aortic stiffening\, all of which compromise the ability of large arteries to regulate blood flow and pressure\, increasing susceptibility to disease. Our research program seeks to uncover the molecular mechanisms that drive these functional shifts and to determine how environmental stressors accelerate vascular aging. In this seminar\, I will first highlight recent findings from our work mapping the trajectory of aortic aging in mice. Using single-cell transcriptomics and mechanical testing\, we identified immune cell accumulation\, extracellular matrix remodeling\, and altered Piezo-1 signaling as key processes that increase aortic stiffness with age. I will then discuss how chronic exposure to wildfire smoke\, an increasingly common environmental hazard\, can recapitulate age-associated vascular maladaptation. Through a mouse model scaled to the exposure of wildland firefighters\, we demonstrated that repeated inhalation of Douglas Fir smoke induces inflammation\, oxidative and nitrosative stress\, endothelial dysfunction\, and fibrotic remodeling of the aortic wall\, leading to vascular stiffening and elevated blood pressure. Collectively\, these studies frame vascular aging as a unifying lens through which to understand the cardiovascular consequences of environmental exposures and highlight pathways that may guide future prevention and intervention strategies.
UID:141406-21888772@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/141406
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20251112T144925
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20251120T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20251120T163000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Stress testing simulation and machine learning models for virtual screening\nAbstract:\nGenerative AI has lead to breakthroughs in protein structure prediction and design\, building on high-quality data from the Protein DataBank and Sequence Read Archive. An outstanding question is\, how effective will GenAI be for small molecule drug discovery\, and what data will these models train on? First\, I will describe our work in physics based ultra-large scale virtual screening and preliminary benchmarking of state-of-the-art co-folding methods for virtual screening. Then I will describe our work in exploring challenges and opportunities in leveraging diverse bioactivity data as training data: Large-scale data curation\, and developing large-scale synthetic data sets\, and a statistical framework for testing the impact of data contamination.
UID:141815-21889454@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/141815
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20251114T091653
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20251204T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20251204T163000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Developing a novel in-silico tool for heterochiral macrocycle design\nAbstract:\nAntibodies and small molecules have been powerful tools in targeting disease-related proteins. However\, there remain many challenging targets—such as flat or featureless intracellular surfaces—that are often inaccessible to these modalities. This is where peptides come in. Peptides are particularly exciting because they can be synthesized via solid-phase methods\, penetrate cells\, and bind to flat protein interfaces that are otherwise undruggable. Despite this promise\, designing effective peptides has remained a significant challenge. In our lab\, we’re developing new computational and experimental tools to overcome these limitations. Today\, I’ll be talking about CyclicCEA and CyclicMPNN\, two current methods for rapid generation of Gly or Ala cycles. If time permits\, I will also talk about their use as a binder design.
UID:141865-21889545@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/141865
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260106T082528
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260108T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260108T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Global Women's Health Innovation\nAbstract:\nDhanu Thiyag\, MD MPH FACOG is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Affiliate Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. As a clinician-scientist\, she focuses on designing and clinically evaluating medical devices and simulation-based educational programming specifically for the goal of women’s health equity. This is crucial as medical devices and programming not designed for the context of use are typically neither sustained nor disseminated. Examples of her work include devices for cervical cancer screening to diagnosing postpartum hemorrhage as well as simulation-based education to prevent cesarean deliveries to conducting less invasive gynecology surgery. She also focuses efforts on capacity building for women in engineering and clinical research with efforts in Ghana\, Rwanda\, and the USA. She has been recognized for her efforts with a University of Michigan Outstanding International Collaboration Award and as a STAT Wunderkind.  She will be presenting on her utilization of a human-centered design process from the needs assessment to validation testing. She will be using one of her devices and one of her simulation projects as an example.
UID:143252-21892552@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143252
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260109T103909
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260115T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260115T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering (BME 500) Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Implementing EEG-Based Brain-Computer Interface Access to Commercial Speech Generating Devices\nAbstract:\nBrain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have long been considered a promising option for people with complex communication needs.  However\, most BCIs remain in the laboratory and the few BCIs on the market are not integrated into the clinically useful augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices available from long-established companies.  With small business funding from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders\, Dr. Jane Huggins from the University of Michigan and Dr. Katya Hill from Gannon University have been working closely with an AAC device manufacturer to create wearable BCI access to an existing product line of speech generating devices.  These efforts have produced a BCI add-on accessory that can access the language features of the speech generating devices. Laboratory and in-home testing focused on realistic communication tasks shows the effectiveness of the BCI for real-world communication and challenges and areas for future improvements. \nBio:\nDr. Huggins has been active in brain-computer interface (BCI) research since 1994. Her dissertation research on electrocorticogram (ECoG) for BCI access to assistive technology resulted in the founding of the University of Michigan Direct Brain Interface Laboratory\, which she has led since 2007.  Dr. Huggins trained in computer engineering and biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Michigan. She also completed a clinical rehabilitation engineering internship at the University of Michigan\, giving her a unique combination of skills for the development of BCI access to assistive technology and augmentative and alternative communication.  Her current focus is on making electroencephalogram (EEG)-based BCIs interfaces practical for people who need them. Ongoing research directions include interfacing BCIs to commercially available assistive technologies\, improving BCI response time and no-control performance\, identifying features and support necessary for successful independent BCI use by people with physical impairments\, identifying the design preferences and priorities of potential BCI users\, BCI applications in cognitive testing\, and the identification and accommodation of user-specific characteristics that affect BCI function. She is particularly interested in the often ignored topic of how BCIs can remain available for communication but unobtrusive during periods when the user is not actively trying to make selections. Dr. Huggins was a founding member of the board of directors of the Brain-Computer Interface Society and now serves on the BCI Society's Communications Committee. Outside the lab\, Dr. Huggins enjoys knitting\, genealogy\, birdwatching\, cooking for her husband\, and being Mom to her college-age children.
UID:143584-21893424@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143584
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260112T112056
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260122T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260122T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering (BME 500) Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Non-invasive Histotripsy Cancer Treatment: The Road from Bench to Bedside\nAbstract:\nHistotripsy is the first non-invasive\, non-ionizing\, and non-thermal ablation technology that is based on ultrasound and invented by Dr. Xu and her colleagues at the University of Michigan. Imagine ultrasound delivered from outside the body is used to generate bubbles and destroy the target tumor\, without incision or injury. Pre-clinical studies have shown that ultrasound image-guided histotripsy can non-invasively and mechanically disrupt the target tumor into acellular debris while preserving large normal vessels\, nerves\, and bile ducts. Histotripsy tumor acellular debris is absorbed by the body\, resulting in tumor regression and increased survival benefit. Histotripsy induces significant innate and adaptive immune response and abscopal effect (shrinkage of off-target tumors) in murine tumor models. Multi-center clinical trials confirm that histotripsy produces tumor regression and provides evidence of abscopal effect in patients with primary and metastatic liver tumors. In October 2023\, the Edison histotripsy platform (HistoSonics) was approved by FDA for non-invasive treatment of liver tumors. The Edison system is based on the technology licensed from Dr. Xu’s lab and manufactured by HistoSonics\, a company co-founded by Dr. Xu. To Date\, histotripsy has been used to treat 3000 patients with liver tumors in 70+ hospitals. There are ongoing clinical trials in the U.S. and Europe on histotripsy treatment of renal tumors and pancreatic tumors. Dr. Xu will talk about the mechanism and instrumentation of histotripsy\, the latest pre-clinical and clinical progress\, and her journal to bring this technology from bench to bedside. \nBio:\nDr. Zhen Xu is the Li Ka Shing Endowed Professor of Biomedical Engineering\, and Professor of Radiology and Neurosurgery at the University of Michigan\, Ann Arbor\, MI. Her research focuses on ultrasound therapy and imaging. She is a pioneer and world leader of histotripsy. She has developed histotripsy for cancer\, neurological\, and cardiovascular applications. Her work has led to the FDA approval of histotripsy treatment of liver tumors. She has been elected as Fellow of National Academy of Inventors (NAI)\, American Institute of Medicine and Bioengineering (AIMBE)\, and IEEE. She received the IEEE Ultrasonics\, Ferroelectrics\, and Frequency Control (UFFC) Outstanding Paper Award in 2006\, Frederic Lizzi Award from the International Society of Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU) in 2015\, Lockhart Memorial Prize for Cancer Research in 2020\, and IEEE Carl Hellmuth Hertz Ultrasonics Award in 2024. She has published 140 peer-reviewed journal papers and has been awarded $50+ millions of external grant funding. She has 36 issued US and international patents. She is a principal investigator of grants funded by NIH\, Office of Navy Research\, American Cancer Association\, and Focused Ultrasound Foundation. She is the co-founder of HistoSonics. HistoSonics is valued at $3 billions through a recent private acquisition.
UID:143705-21893683@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143705
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260106T152104
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260129T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260129T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Learning What Matters: Neural Mechanisms of Flexible Navigation\nAbstract:\nGoal-directed navigation in a dynamic world requires quickly identifying important locations and adapting behavioral plans to new information. In this talk I will describe neural circuit mechanisms of rapid spatial learning and of adapting to new information to guide navigation. Identifying crucial locations in a new environment depends on neural computations that rapidly represent locations and connect location information to key outcomes like food\, however the mechanisms to trigger these computations at behaviorally relevant locations is not well understood. We find that inhibitory interneurons in hippocampal CA3 play a causal role in identifying and exploiting new food locations. Inhibitory interneurons in CA3 drastically reduce firing on approach to and in goal locations. Sparse optogenetic stimulation to prevent goal-related decreases in interneuron firing impaired learning of goal locations and disrupted neural representations of goal locations. These results reveal that goal-selective decreases in inhibitory activity enable learning important locations. Navigation also requires rapidly updating choices in the face of new information. In hippocampus and prefrontal cortex\, neural activity representing future goals is theorized to support navigation planning. Yet how prospective goal representations incorporate new\, pivotal information is unknown. Using virtual reality\, we precisely introduced new crucial information during navigation and recorded neural activity as mice flexibly adapted their planned destinations. We found that new information triggered increased prospective representations and reorganization to rapidly shift to the new choice. This prospective code updating depended on the degree of behavioral adaptation needed. These studies reveal new mechanisms by which animals rapidly learn crucial new locations and adapt to new information that requires updating navigation plans.\n\nBio:\nDr. Annabelle Singer is the McCamish Foundation Early Career Professor in the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Her research seeks to understand how neural activity produces memories and regulates brain immune function\, with the goal of developing new therapies for brain disease. Dr. Singer’s work has shown that coordinated electrical activity across hippocampal neurons encodes memories and fails in models of Alzheimer’s disease. She discovered that driving specific patterns of neural activity\, such as gamma oscillations\, reduces Alzheimer’s pathology and alters brain immune function. Using non-invasive sensory stimulation\, she is translating these discoveries from rodents to humans to pioneer radically new treatments for disease.\n\nDr. Singer is a Packard Fellow\, Kavli Fellow\, and recipient of the National Academy of Engineering’s Gilbreth Lectureship\, the Society for Neuroscience’s Janett Rosenberg Trubatch Career Development Award\, and the American Neurological Association’s Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Award. Her discoveries have inspired more than 20 clinical trials of brain stimulation across multiple diseases and have been featured on PBS\, Nature News\, Quanta Magazine\, The New York Times\, Radiolab\, and multiple documentaries. Dr. Singer trained as a postdoctoral fellow in Ed Boyden’s Synthetic Neurobiology Group at MIT and earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at UCSF.
UID:143328-21892907@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143328
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260127T070323
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260205T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260205T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering (BME 500) Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Brain tumors are organized as active nematic liquid crystals\n\nAbstract:\nWhether gliomas consist of random accumulations of cells or are self-organizing remains unknown.  If large scale order exists\, it should manifest as invariant structures across different tumors. Recently\, we described the existence of oncostreams\, fascicles of elongated mesenchymal-like cells that are found in gliomas in both rodent and human tumors. In this presentation\, I will discuss that glioma brain tumors in vivo\, and in vitro\, are structured as active nematic liquid crystals. Building on our previous work that gliomas exhibit self-organized\, aligned\, multicellular structures\, termed oncostreams\, I will show that gliomas display nematic order\, topological defects\, disclinations\, and quasi-long range order in 2D and in 3D. Significantly\, the amount of nematic order scales with tumor aggression - suggesting crystalline order contributes to tumor malignancy - constituting a novel potential therapeutic target for this incurable cancer. Potential novel therapeutic approaches based on this new understanding of the structure of gliomas will be discussed. \n\nBio:\nDr. Lowenstein graduated MD\, Ph.D. from the University of Buenos Aires\, Argentina. Following postdoctoral work at The Johns Hopkins University\, NIH\, and Oxford University he opened his first lab at the University of Dundee\, Scotland. Subsequently\, he has taught and researched at the University of Wales\, Cardiff\, the University of Manchester\, UK\, and UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center\, in Los Angeles\, CA. He has been at the University of Michigan since 2011. His interests lie in understanding and curing brain tumors. Most recently\, he has been exploring the physical organization of brain tumors\, as will be discussed during his presentation.
UID:144608-21895563@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/144608
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260204T104352
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260212T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260212T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering (BME 500) Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:From Concept to Care: Leading R&D and Operations in the Medical Device Industry\nAbstract:\nThis seminar focuses on the career journey and real-world experiences of a Vice President of R&D and Operations Engineering in the medical device industry. Students will gain insight into how careers evolve across engineering\, innovation\, operations\, and leadership\, and what skills\, mindsets\, and decisions enable long-term success. The session offers practical guidance on navigating industry roles\, learning from early career choices\, and building a path at the intersection of engineering\, healthcare\, and business impact.\n\nBio:\nWith more than 25 years in the medical device industry\, Carlos M. Ortega (Vice President of R&D and Operations Engineering) has built a career at the intersection of innovation\, engineering execution\, and clinical impact. Having held leadership and functional roles at companies such as Terumo\, Medtronic\, and Johnson & Johnson\, he has contributed to the development and commercialization of technologies across cardiovascular\, neurovascular\, aortic\, and peripheral vascular therapies.\n\nHis experience spans predominantly R&D leadership\, complemented by roles in operations engineering and product marketing\, giving him a unique perspective on how ideas translate into manufacturable\, clinically meaningful products. Throughout his career\, he has led multidisciplinary teams\, navigated complex regulatory environments\, and helped organizations align technology development with patient and business needs.\n\nHe is passionate about the impact medical devices have on the lives or the patients they serve and in mentoring the next generation of professionals by sharing practical insights into building impactful careers in the medical device industry.
UID:145043-21896577@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/145043
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260210T142826
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260219T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260219T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering (BME 500) Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Advancing Ultrasound Therapy and Imaging: Towards High-Precision\, Real-time Solutions\n\nAbstract:\nAchieving high-precision diagnosis and therapy with ultrasound is challenging due to the heterogeneous nature of biological tissues. This seminar will present recent technological advances in ultrasound to improve both imaging performance and therapeutic capability.\n\nThe first part of the seminar will introduce transcranial histotripsy as a non-invasive brain therapy. Histotripsy is a non-thermal\, non-ionizing ultrasound therapy that mechanically fractionates target tissue through acoustic cavitation generated by short\, high-intensity ultrasound pulses. Transcranial histotripsy is particularly challenging because the intact human skull introduces severe attenuation and phase aberration. This seminar will discuss the specialized instrumentation for transcranial histotripsy\, methods to ensure precise targeting and real-time monitoring (including skull aberration correction and cavitation imaging)\, and feasibility and safety evaluation of transcranial histotripsy in preclinical studies.\n\nThe second half of the seminar will focus on ultrafast ultrasound imaging using large-aperture arrays. By combining ultrafast acquisition techniques with parallel computing\, this approach enables high-resolution volumetric imaging over a large field of view at video-rate frame rates. Two clinically relevant applications will be presented: panoramic spine imaging for diagnosis and interventional guidance\, and breast ultrasound tomography for early cancer screening. Finally\, we will discuss remaining technical challenges for clinical translation and highlight how advances in ultrafast imaging can be integrated with histotripsy to enable safer\, more precise therapies.\n\nBio:\nDr. Ning Lu is a Senior Ultrasound Engineer at United Imaging Healthcare North America in Bellevue\, Washington. She completed her postdoctoral training in the Department of Radiology at Stanford University under the mentorship of Prof. Katherine W. Ferrara\, where she developed high-resolution 3D ultrasound imaging techniques for diagnostic and interventional guidance. Dr. Lu received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and Scientific Computing (joint degree) from the University of Michigan in 2023\, working with Prof. Zhen Xu on MR-guided transcranial histotripsy for non-invasive brain therapy. Her research interests include biomedical ultrasound\, medical instrumentation\, parallel computing\, and AI-driven imaging science. Her long-term career goal is to develop high-precision\, affordable\, personalized ultrasound solutions for therapy\, diagnosis\, and health monitoring.
UID:145330-21897104@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/145330
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260211T085633
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260226T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260226T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering (BME 500) Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Cellular Mechanisms of Vascular Calcification and Opportunities for Targeted Therapies\n\nAbstract:\nVascular calcification is the major precursor to cardiovascular disease and is further exacerbated by chronic kidney disease. Phosphate is a known precursor to vascular calcification which leads to the onset of CVCs and other complications. Increased serum levels of inorganic phosphate lead to calcification of vascular smooth muscle cells and a phenotypic switch to an osteoblast-like cell. Once thought to be a passive process of calcium and phosphate deposition within arteries\, vascular calcification is now known to be an active\, cell-regulated condition. There is a clinical need to develop a therapy for vascular calcification that reduces calcification without causing arterial damage similar to current therapies such as endovascular stent and atherectomy. We are examining the role of phosphate in vascular smooth muscle cell calcification and the potential of protein therapy to reduce calcification.\n\nBio: \nDr. C. LaShan Simpson Hendrix is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Before joining the faculty at University of Cincinnati in 2024\, she was an Associate Professor at Mississippi State University (2013 – 2023) and she trained as a postdoctoral research associate at Rice University in the Department of Bioengineering. Dr. Hendrix received all her educational training at Clemson University with a B.S. in Biochemistry\, M.S.\, and Ph.D. In Bioengineering. Dr. Hendrix’s research interests include vascular calcification\, smooth muscle cells\, cell and gene therapy\, and mechanotransduction. Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF)\, the National Institutes of Health (NIH)\, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).\n\nIn addition to her passion for vascular research\, Dr. Hendrix is a student advocate and a champion for diversity and inclusion. She has worked to create inclusive spaces for trainee development and success. She has received numerous awards for her efforts including Teacher of the Year\, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Mississippi State University\, 2018\; Academy of Distinguished Teachers\, Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University\, 2019\; and Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award\, Mississippi Institute of Higher Learning\, 2020. Her pride and joy are the diversity of her research lab and the outstanding accomplishments of her trainees. Dr. Hendrix is the founder of BlackWomenInBME and has hosted sessions for her group at the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual meeting since 2018. She is the recipient of the 2021 Biomedical Engineering Society Diversity Award Lecture and the 2025 Mentor Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
UID:145355-21897164@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/145355
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260219T101007
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260312T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260312T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering (BME 500) Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Engineering immunotherapies for autoimmunity and cancer\n\nAbstract:\nEffective delivery of drugs to direct immune responses requires an understanding of biological barriers\, physicochemical properties of drug molecules\, formulation and transport in vivo.  Designing molecular structures that persist at the administration site or that promote drainage to regional lymphatic networks may enhance immune responses while sparing immune-related adverse events.  Here\, drug transport and local elimination mechanisms will be overviewed.  Then\, examples of molecular designs to direct drug delivery will be presented.  Autoimmune therapies were designed by our lab to promote the drainage of autoantigens to secondary lymphoid organs to treat autoimmune diseases.  Specifically\, the size and solubility of these molecular constructs were tuned to promote access to the lymphatic compartment and induce immune tolerance in mouse models of type 1 diabetes.  Our lab has also recently explored the design of immunostimulants that persist in tumor tissue after intratumoral/perilesional injection.  Intratumoral immunotherapy is proposed to work synergistically with checkpoint inhibitors making a nonresponsive ‘cold’ tumor ‘hot’ by recruiting and activating tumor infiltrating lymphocytes.  This approach can suffer from systemic immune-related adverse reactions\, however\, if enough immunostimulant escapes the site of administration.  Data on the use of electrostatic mechanisms to promote tumor retention will be presented.  These examples underscore the need for rational design of drug molecules or formulations based upon the route of delivery and biological barriers encountered.     \n\nBio:\nCory Berkland is the Mark and Becky Levin Professor in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry at Washington University in Saint Louis.  Previously\, he was the Solon E. Summerfield Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and in the Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of Kansas.  He received MS and PhD degrees from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University in Ames.  His lab studies pharmaceuticals and materials with an emphasis on molecular design and transport in the human body.  He is a co-founder of Orbis Biosciences (acquired by Adare Pharmaceuticals)\, Savara Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SVRA)\, Bond Biosciences\, Kinimmune\, Axioforce\, and other start-ups.  He has served as a board member\, executive\, and fundraiser for these companies.
UID:145728-21897738@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/145728
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260313T155924
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260319T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260319T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering (BME 500) Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Patterned Biomaterials: New Tools to Probe and Control Complex Biological Systems\n\nAbstract:\nEngineered materials and molecular sensing tools are transforming how we study and control complex biological systems. Yet many technologies operate at a single scale—either manipulating cellular environments without molecular precision or profiling molecular signals without spatial or mechanical context. My lab addresses this challenge through chemical and materials innovation\, developing scalable platforms that integrate molecular design with quantitative analysis. We focus on two complementary directions: (1) physico-chemical design of soft interfaces with tunable nanoscale architecture and dynamic mechanics to probe and control material–biology interactions\, and (2) biomolecular sensing platforms that combine polymer chemistry\, optical or electrochemical detection\, and data-driven analysis for accessible diagnostics. In this talk\, I will highlight two representative efforts: nature-inspired nanopatterned coatings with dynamically tunable surface topography for long-term antibacterial activity\, and integrated bioanalytical sensing technologies for early\, point-of-care detection of sepsis.  \n\nBio:\nDr. Jouha Min is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Michigan. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University in 2010 and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT\, where she was advised by Paula Hammond and Richard Braatz. She conducted her postdoctoral research with Ralph Weissleder at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital\, where she worked at the interface of engineering\, biology\, and clinical translation. Dr. Min’s research group applies core principles of chemical and biological engineering—including transport phenomena\, reaction kinetics\, materials synthesis\, and systems-level analysis—to develop new methodologies for probing and controlling material–biology interactions across three-dimensional space and time. Her work aims to establish a quantitative and mechanistic foundation for transformative advances in disease diagnosis\, treatment\, and prevention. She is the recipient of several honors\, including the NSF CAREER Award (2025)\, the NIH R35 MIRA Award (2025)\, and the V Foundation V Scholar Award (2023).
UID:146152-21898595@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/146152
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260317T143000
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260326T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260326T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering (BME 500) Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Surgery with sound waves: delivering acoustic energy to the body for ultrasound surgery (histotripsy)\n\nAbstract:\nHistotripsy is a non-invasive\, non-thermal\, and non-ionizing tissue ablation method that was recently (Oct. 2023) approved by the FDA for the non-invasive treatment of liver tumors. Histotripsy is a platform technology\, with the potential to enable truly non-invasive surgery for many applications throughout the body\, from the abdominal region to the limbs\, brain\, and spine. However\, we currently cannot perform histotripsy everywhere in the body due to limitations in our ability to safely deliver sufficient acoustic energy to the target through heterogeneous\, attenuating bodily tissues. In this talk\, I will present my work to (1) numerically model and quantify acoustic energy delivery to the body\, and (2) optimize acoustic energy delivery through complex tissues via adaptive signal processing methods. I will discuss how these technologies will help expand the region where we can perform histotripsy\, broaden the population of patients who can receive histotripsy treatment\, and enable novel histotripsy applications.     \n\nBio:\nDr. Ellen Yeats is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and member of the Histotripsy Lab\, where she is advised by Dr. Zhen Xu and Dr. Timothy Hall. She received her B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2017 and her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2024. In 2025\, Dr. Yeats was awarded an NIH T32 Training Fellowship through the Michigan Translational Imaging Program (M-TIP) with the Department of Radiology of University of Michigan Medicine\, where she is working with Dr. Shane Wells to develop improved imaging guidance and targeting for histotripsy. Through her research\, Dr. Yeats develops technologies that optimize the targeting and delivery of acoustic energy to the body for histotripsy. Her work aims to improve current clinical histotripsy treatments in the liver and to expand histotripsy applications to new\, challenging targets in the pelvis and spine.
UID:146698-21899492@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/146698
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260318T082724
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260402T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260402T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering (BME 500) Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Convergence of light\, devices\, and molecules to detect and treat cancer\n\nAbstract:\nSurgeons traditionally rely on vision and touch to distinguish cancerous from healthy tissue\, which risks incomplete tumor removal. To enhance precision\, we developed Cancer Viewing Glasses (CVGs) that provide real-time intraoperative visualization of tumors and sentinel lymph nodes without disrupting the surgical workflow. CVGs detect near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) from tumor-targeted molecular probes and project both NIRF and visible light to a head-mounted display\, enabling direct access to the surgical field under normal lighting conditions. In both mouse models and cancer patients\, CVGs enabled real-time image guidance for complete tumor resection\, with ongoing clinical studies demonstrating improved surgical throughput and accuracy.     \n\nBio:\nDr. Samuel Achilefu is the inaugural Chair and Professor of the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas\, Texas\, USA. He also holds the Lyda Hill Distinguished University Chair and is a Professor of Radiology and the Simons Cancer Center. He is an international leader in optical and multimodal imaging\, image-guided cancer surgery\, portable imaging devices\, and nanotechnology. His innovative research and more than 70 U.S. patents have significantly contributed to laboratory and clinical medicine. Dr. Achilefu is a member of the National Academies of Engineering and Medicine. He is also a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors\, AAAS\, AIMBE\, and many other professional societies. He has received over 20 national and international awards\, including the Briton Chance Award.
UID:146729-21899558@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/146729
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260318T101203
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260409T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260409T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering (BME 500) Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Bioengineering Human Embryo and Organ Models\n\nAbstract:\nEarly human development remains largely mysterious and challenging to study. In this talk\, I will describe our efforts to harness human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) and bioengineering approaches to create controllable models of human peri-gastrulation development and early organogenesis. These models recapitulate key in vivo developmental landmarks\, including amniotic cavity formation\, amniotic ectoderm-epiblast patterning\, primordial germ cell specification\, embryonic germ layer organization\, yolk sac formation\, and primitive hematopoiesis. Our current work focuses on using these controllable models as experimental platforms to dissect the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying cell fate decisions\, tissue patterning\, and self-organization during human peri-gastrulation.\n\nI will also discuss our application of bioengineering tools and hPSCs to model critical aspects of early human neural development\, including neural patterning in both brain and spinal cord regions\, along rostrocaudal and dorsoventral axes. Ongoing projects further aim to model key features of human heart and gut tube development\, as well as somitogenesis. Together\, these efforts have established a suite of bioengineered human embryo and organ models with in vivo-like spatiotemporal cell differentiation and organization\, providing powerful platforms for studying human development\, physiology\, and disease.\n\nBio:\nDr. Jianping Fu is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan whose research bridges bioengineering\, stem cell biology\, and developmental biology to advance understanding of human development and disease. He is internationally recognized for pioneering work in “Artificial Embryos\,” named one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2018 and “the Method of 2023” by Nature Methods. Dr. Fu has received major awards from the National Science Foundation\, the American Chemical Society\, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation\, and the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES). He is an elected Fellow of AAAS\, AIMBE\, RSC\, ASME\, IAMBE\, and BMES\, and serves on the Governing Council of IAMBE. In addition to his research\, Dr. Fu has been deeply engaged in scientific leadership and service. He served on the ISSCR Guidelines Working Group and now chairs the ISSCR Scientific Programs Committee. In recognition of his service\, he received the ISSCR Public Service Award in 2025. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of npj Regenerative Medicine and serves on editorial boards of several journals including Cell Stem Cell and Biophysical Journal.
UID:146731-21899566@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/146731
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260408T101448
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260416T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260416T160000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Biomedical Engineering (BME 500) Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Tissue-Inspired Synthetic Biomaterials and Applications in Cancer\nAbstract:\nMost environments available to study how human cells behave are two-dimensional (2D). In real tissue\, cells live surrounded by a three-dimensional (3D) extracellular matrix (ECM)\, which provides structure\, drives cell function\, and is dynamically remodeled by the cells within. A major limitation of the few examples of 3D cell culture environments that do exist (typically made from assemblages of proteins) is that their constituents are undefined\, and they have unacceptable batch-to-batch variability. On the other end of the spectrum\, the major drawbacks to using engineered\, synthetic environments is their over-simplicity and lack of resemblance to real tissue. My lab’s unique approach to biomaterial design is that we create cheap and easy-to-use\, yet complex representations of the ECM of specific tissues. My lab’s tissue-customized environments are hydrogels from synthetic polymers that replicate a tissue’s 3D geometry\, the stiffness of that tissue\, and all the integrin-binding and protease-degradable components of the ECM of the tissue of interest. We made biomaterial designs for brain\, bone marrow\, omentum\, and lung\, and we have applied our approach to several complex problems in biology (e.g.\, astrocyte reactivity\, mesenchymal stem cell differentiation\, ovarian cancer\, etc.). \n\nIn this seminar\, I’ll discuss how we use our engineering principles to create these environments and show how we’ve begun to use them to study grand challenges in cancer biology. One of the overwhelming challenges in treating metastatic cancer is that tumors in the brain\, lung\, skeleton\, and liver are typically drug resistant\, and we do not have a good understanding of why these tumors evade therapy. The biomaterials we have built over the years are well suited for drug screening applications and to study how the extracellular microenvironment regulates the metastatic spread of cancer. \nBio:\nShelly Peyton is Professor and Department Chair of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University in 2002 and went on to obtain her MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of California\, Irvine in 2007. She was then an NIH Kirschstein post-doctoral fellow in the Biological Engineering department at MIT before starting her academic appointment in Chemical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2011. At UMass she was named the Barry and Afsaneh Siadat Professional Development Professor\, Armstrong Professor\, Conti Fellow\, and Provost Professor before moving to Tufts University to become chair of Biomedical Engineering in 2024. At Tufts\, the Peyton lab is an interdisciplinary group of engineers and biologists that create bioinspired and dynamic models of human tissue with both synthetic biomaterials and decellularized tissues. They use these tissue models to 1) understand the physical relationship between metastatic cancer cells and the tissues to which they spread\, 2) uncover the role of the extracellular matrix and its dynamics in drug resistant cancers\, and 3) quantify how forces from traumatic brain injury damage cells within the brain. Shelly’s honors include a Pew Biomedical Scholarship\, an NIH New Innovator Award\, an NSF CAREER award\, Biomedical Engineering Society fellow\, and an American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering fellow. Outside of her research and her Chair’s role\, Shelly is passionate about graduate student training and diversifying the academy. She was awarded an Outstanding Teaching Award and a Diversity Award from the College of Engineering at UMass\, has led an REU Site\, co-directed a Biotechnology (BTP) NIH T32 training program\, and was lead PI of a PREP program at UMass. Since 2013\, the Peyton has continuously run an NSF- and privately funded program called Engineering the Cell\, which pays high school students with no prior research experience to work in the Peyton lab for 5 weeks every summer. Outside of her work\, Shelly is an avid cyclist\, enjoys board games\, lego\, travel\, and coaches ultimate frisbee.
UID:147525-21901179@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147525
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:Lurie Biomedical Engineering (formerly ATL) - 1130
CONTACT:
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260318T083857
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260513T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260513T170000
SUMMARY:Conference / Symposium:BME Symposium with Glenn V. Edmonson Lecture
DESCRIPTION:The 2026 Biomedical Engineering Symposium with Glenn V. Edmonson Lecture is coming Wednesday\, May 13\, from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at NCRC Building 18. This event is intended to build the BME community across campus and honor the legacy of the first graduate chair of the Biomedical Engineering program. The keynote speaker will be Adam Feinberg\, Ph.D.\, Professor\, Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering\, Carnegie Mellon University.
UID:146730-21899559@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/146730
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Bioninterfaces
LOCATION:North Campus Research Complex Building 18 - Dining Hall
CONTACT:
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END:VCALENDAR