Biomedical engineering Newsletter
Edited by Vijay Vaidyanathan
Welcome to the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Texas!
Our enrollment is at its highest ever, with 354 students. Our MS program has grown by leaps and bounds to reach its highest enrollment since inception in 2017. In three years, our innovative Ph.D. program has grown to 31 students. I am very proud to say that all Ph.D. students are fully funded. Thanks to all the hard work put in by our faculty, we are in a position where all faculty members are funded and are able to sustain their research laboratories.
In fall 2024, five out of nine capstone projects are industry sponsored, three are sponsored by faculty and one is the students’ own idea. We have added much needed space to build three new teaching laboratories for our students - a biomedical modeling laboratory, a wet lab and a Virtual Reality laboratory.
As we celebrate our 10-year anniversary, the department is now venturing into a more exciting area - healthcare startups. Four of our faculty have created startups originating from their research. Dr. Moo-Yeal Lee has been successful in obtaining venture capital funding for his startup. May 2023 saw our first Biomedical Engineering, Ph.D. graduates walking the stage. We have more than 400 graduates since 2018. February 2024 will be exactly 10 years since my proposal was approved by the state to start Biomedical Engineering at UNT. Time flies when you are having fun!
Go BMEN! Go Mean Green!
Sincerely,
Vijay Vaidyanathan, Ph.D. Founding Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Curriculum
UndergradUate Program
8 Degree Tracks
Biomedical Instrumentation
Biomechanics
Biocomputing
Biomaterials
Biotechnology
Pre-med*
Business
Comprehensive BMEN
3-in-1 Degree
Major in BMEN
Minor in MATH
Minor in one of the following EENG/MEEN/ CSCE/MTSE/BIOL
New Business Track
Starting Fall 2021, students opting for this track can choose four approved electives from the Brint Ryan College of Business at UNT. Students have the option of getting a business minor by choosing two more approved electives.
Semester Credit Hours
A minimum of 120 semester credit hours, of which 36 must be advanced courses, is required for the baccalaureate degree in Biomedical Engineering. A minimum of 137 semester credit hours is required for the pre-med* degree track.
gradUate Program
Biomedical Engineering, M.S.
30 hours with Thesis option
33 hours with Non-thesis option
Electives from Engineering, Management, Health Services Administration, Performance Arts Health, or Speech and Hearing
M.S./MBA in 2 Years
Masters of Science in Biomedical Engineering / MBA in Business Management
The UNT G. Brint Ryan College of Business and the College of Engineering offer a joint degree program which confers an MBA in Business Management from the College of Business and a Master of Science (MS) in Biomedical Engineering.
Biomedical Engineering, Ph.D.
1. Academia Track
2. Startup Track with electives from College of Business
UNT Biomedical Engineering by the Numbers Fall 2023
UndergradUate Program
UNT Biomedical Engineering
Student Demographics Fall 2024
Research Awards & Faculty Recognition
Dr. Moo-Yeal Lee
Grant title: Modeling diabetes using an integrated plate system
Funding agency: NIH UG3/UH3 DK119982
Amount: $1,954,936
Duration of award: 09/20/18 – 07/31/23
Dr. Clement Chan
Grant title: Development of Genetic Sensors and Circuits for Creating Novel Cellular Behaviors
Funding agency: NIH/NIGMS (R35GM142421)
Amount: $1,525,588
Duration of award: 9/15/2021 – 8/31/2026
Dr. Amir Jafari
Grant title: CAREER: A Prosthetic Elbow with Network of Soft and Modular Thermo-Active Actuators for Mobility Impaired Patients
Funding agency: NSF
Amount: $525,046
Duration of award: 05/01/2021-04/30/2026
Dr. Brian Meckes
Grant title: Mechanoregulators of nanoparticle-cell interactions at tissue interfaces
Funding agency: NIH/NIGMS R35GM150577
Amount: $1.798M
Duration of award: 09/01/213– 06/30/28
Ralph E. Powe Research Award
Dr. Melanie Ecker
Grant title: CAREER: Shape Memory polymers as biomaterial
Funding agency: NSF
Amount: $ 553,036
Duration of award: 2/1/23—1/31/28
Dr. Neda Habibi
Grant title: New approach based on enzyme stimulating of peptides for targeting drug resistant breast cancers
Funding agency: NIH
Amount: Total budget $549,900
Duration of award: 2023-2025
Dr. Lin Li
Grant title: New approach for identification pHFO networks to predict epileptogenesis
Funding agency: NIH/NINDS (R16NS131108)
Amount: $720,100
Duration of award: 07/15/2022-06/30/2026
Dr. Huaxiao Yang
Grant title: Assessing Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors-induced Cardiotoxicity with an organoid-AI system
Funding agency: NIH R56
Amount: $547,020
Duration of award: 09/20/2024-08/31/2025
Dr. Yong Yang
Grant title: ONH Chips for Glaucomatous Neurodegeneration
Funding agency: NIH/NEI (R15EY033967)
Amount: $463,167
Duration of award: 09/30/2022-05/31/2025
Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research Areas
Dr. Clement Chan
Protein design and engineering for creating biosensors, genetic circuit approach to develop cellular devices for health.
Dr. Melanie Ecker
Polymers for biomedical applications, biomaterials, flexible bioelectronics and neural interfaces.
Dr. Fateme Esmailie
Cardiovascular fluid dynamics, Thermal Fluid
Assisted Medicine, Computational modeling.
Dr. Neda Habibi
New drug delivery systems for cancer treatments using nanotechnology.
Dr. Amir Jafari
Soft robotics and artificial muscles, exoskeletons, rehabilitation robotics.
Dr. Moo-Yeal Lee
3D bioprinting of human tissues for disease modeling and predictive drug screening.
Dr. Lin Li
Multi-modality approaches in biomarker study of post-traumatic epilepsy, development of data driven approach for automatic pattern recognition in neurointensive care unit.
Dr. Brian Meckes
Modulating stem cell differentiation for bone cartilage interface regeneration; nanoparticle delivery systems for improved delivery and decreased off-target effects.
Dr. Vijay Vaidyanathan
Biomedical engineering for the elderly, vital sign monitoring.
Dr. Youngwook Won
Immunoengineering, effector-function maximized NK cells, surface-engineered immune cells, hybrid-allosteric receptor stem cells.
Dr. Huaxiao ‘Adam’ Yang
Stem cell bioengineering for cardiovascular disease modeling and regenerative medicine.
Dr. Yong Yang
Micro and nanotechnology innovations in medicine; tumor on chip, biomimetic environments.
Jasmine Nguyen
Ph.D. Student
RA
Drew Lessert
Ph.D. Student
RA
Daniel Johnson
Ph.D. Student
Startup Track
RA
Ph. D. Students
Sachin Kaluarachchi
Ph.D. Student
RA
Robert Powell
Ph.D. Student
TA
Angello Huerta Gomez
Ph.D. Candidate RA
Vincenzo Kennedy
Ph.D. Candidate
RA
Omar Cavazos
Ph.D. Candidate
RA/TA
Katelyn Mathis
Ph.D. Candidate RA
Rashmi Wijesundara
Ph.D. Student
RA
Camrie Johnson
Ph.D. Student
Teaching Fellow
Raj Kumar Pittala
Ph.D. Student
RA
Alumni Spotlight
Saayli Khambekar
B.S. May 2022
Ph.D. student
UCLA—Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation
Daniel Ricano
B.S. 2019, M.S. May 2020
Process Engineer
Abbott
Sydney Wilkins
B.S. 2020, M.S. May 2021
Certification Project Manager
GMED North America
Michael Joiner
B.S. 2019, M.S. May 2020
Engineering Designer
Alcon
Alumni Spotlight
Ahliman Azizov
B.S. May 2024
Biomedical Onsite Technician InfuSystem
Elizabeth Krolczyk
B.S. 2023, M.S. May 2024
Investigator HHS
Cooper Wood
B.S. May 2020
Quality and Test Engineer The Realtime Group
Jessica Baas
B.S. 2021, M.S. May 2023
Research Engineer
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Capstone Spotlight
Graduate Employers
Abbott Agiliti
Alcon
Arcellx
Astanza Laser
Barry-Wehmiller Design Group
Biomerics
Bristol Myers Squibb
BSNF
Diligent Robotics
DUALAMS, Inc.
Duke University
Emerson
Emory University
Epimed
Fotona
GE Medical
HealthTrackRx
Hiossen Implants
Lockheed Martin
MedPace
Medtronic
Moderna
Orthofix
PathAdvantage
Powell Industries
QRS Solutions
Realtime Group
Smith & Nephew
Samsung
Stryker
Steris
Texas Instruments
Texas Health Resources
Wpromote
Washington University
Zimmer Biomet
University of Califonia Los Angeles
Univesrity of North Texas Biomedical
Engineering Department
University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center
UTMB Galveston
UT Southwestern Medical Center
University of Texas at El Paso
University of Texas at Arlington
