Our biological and pharmaceutical faculty apply the principles of engineering design, synthesis and analysis to biological systems and biomedical technologies. The department's research involves a multidisciplinary approach to solve problems at the interface of the physical sciences, life sciences, and engineering, particularly in the areas of biomanufacturing, drug and gene delivery, medical devices, protein engineering, and tissue engineering.
Researchers are working to develop safe delivery systems that target drugs precisely in the human body and avoid premature metabolization or elimination. New materials are being developed that can prevent or eliminate infections on medical implants, interact with the human body to perform certain functions while maintaining compatibility
Ready to take the next step?
Faculty
Jennifer Fiegel
Current research: Treatments for persistent bacterial infections in the lungs; new tools to evaluate biointeractions; aerosol interactions with lung fluids; dry powder and aerosol formulations to treat skin infections.
Joe Gomes
Current research: Quantum simulation, machine learning, energy materials, and catalysis.
C. Allan Guymon
Current research: Photopolymerization with emphasis on role that polymerization reactions play on properties and structures of polymers. Projects involve lyotropic liquid crystals, polymerizable surfactants, and nanostructured materials based on lyotropic liquid crystals.
David Murhammer
Current research: Oxidative stress in baculovirus-infected insect cell culture, use of phage to control bacterial infections, and chemical process safety.
Eric Nuxoll
Current research: Thermal treatment of medical implant infections, pulsatile drug delivery, and interfacing devices with the bloodstream.
Miles Pufall
Aliasger Salem
Current research: The application of nanotechnology to enhancing cancer vaccine efficacy and to the development of scaffolds for regenerative medicine.
Edward Sander
Current research: Wound healing, mechanobiology, multiscale biomechanics and modeling.
Michael J. Schnieders
Hyeongmin Seo
Current research: Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering for biosynthesis of chemicals, materials, and fuels; high-throughput screening method development for biocatalyst engineering.
Kristan Worthington
Example Graduate Elective Courses
CBE:3205 Introduction to Biochemical Engineering
Biochemistry, cellular biology, recombinant DNA and hybridoma technologies; emphasis on engineering aspects of biotechnology, including enzyme kinetics, cell growth kinetics, transport phenomena in bioreactors, bioreactor design, bioseparations, formulation and sterilization of growth media, commercial applications of biotechnology.
Offered spring semesters
Representative syllabus
STAT:3510 Biostatistics
Statistical concepts and methods for the biological sciences; descriptive statistics, elementary probability, sampling distributions, confidence intervals, parametric and nonparametric methods, one-way ANOVA, correlation and regression, categorical data.
PHAR:4740 Materials in Drug and Gene Delivery
Different types of materials used in drug and gene delivery including synthetic and natural polymers (poly lactic-co-glycolic acid and chitosan respectively); different forms of delivery systems including (but not limited to) liposomes, micelles, biodegradable nanoparticles, nondegradable nanoparticles, and solid porous scaffolds; applications of these material-based delivery systems from targeted chemotherapy to bone regeneration to vaccination applications.
CBE:5210 Bioseparations
Unit operations used to isolate and purify biologically-derived chemicals, including flocculation, filtration, centrifugation, extraction, adsorption, chromatography, precipitation, crystallization, electrophoresis and cell disruption for intracellular product recovery.
ACB:5218 Microscopy for Biomedical Research
Basic microscopy methods for research including optics, preparation, and analysis of biomedical specimens; light, fluorescence, confocal, transmitting electron, scanning electron, atomic force microscopes, elemental analysis; immunochemistry and stereology techniques; individualized laboratory instruction
CBE:5740 Engineering Principles of Drug Delivery
Fundamental concepts in drug delivery from an engineering perspective: delivery mechanisms; materials and formulations for drug delivery; drug modifications (prodrugs, PEGylation); engineering principles of controlled release and targeted delivery (nanoparticles, microparticles, polymer and lipid based systems); quantitative understanding of drug transport; significance of biodistributions and pharmacokinetic models; toxicity issues; immune responses.
OEH:6710 Human Toxicology and Risk Assessment
Sources, routes of absorption, effects of environmental toxicants affecting man; pathophysiology of toxicant actions, including those of air and water pollutants, metals, pesticides, solvents, food toxicants, chemicals.
BME:5445 Stem Cells in Regenerative Engineering
Discovery and history of stem cells, how they are defined and grouped, and various techniques for their isolation, creation, culture, and characterization; focus on current state of stem cells in medical research and treatment of human disease, as well as future outlook of their use; particular emphasis placed on practical knowledge that students may find useful as they pursue careers in cellular and tissue engineering. Prerequisites: BME:2400 or BIOL:2723.
Research Centers and Facilities
- Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing
- Center for Gene Therapy of Cystic Fibrosis and Other Genetic Diseases
- Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination (CHEEC)
- Central Microscopy Research Facility
- Environmental Health Sciences Research Center
- Flow Cytometry Facility
- High Resolution Mass Spectrometry Facility
- High Throughput Screening Facility
- Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Materials Analysis, Testing, and Fabrication (MATFab) Facility
- Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute
- Office of Undergraduate Research
- Photopolymerization Center
- State Hygienic Laboratory's Center for the Advancement of Laboratory Sciences
- Writing Center