Welcome from Chair Sharon Gerecht

Welcome to Duke BME!

Duke University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering is a pioneer and consistently ranks among the nation’s top undergraduate and graduate programs in the country.

For more than 50 years, Duke BME has helped shape the field of biomedical engineering with groundbreaking discoveries and innovations that improve human health while educating generations of leaders, researchers, clinicians, and entrepreneurs. From early leadership in cardiac electrophysiology, medical ultrasound, and biomaterials to current advances in artificial intelligence, genomics, neural engineering, synthetic biology, and digital health, Duke BME continues to push the boundaries of the field.

As biomedical engineering expands beyond traditional diagnostic and therapeutic approaches and towards precision medicine, preventive health care, and personalized interventions, Duke BME is addressing some of society’s most pressing challenges, with research projects spanning topics including chronic disease and aging, health inequities, pandemic preparedness, and the responsible use of health data and technology. Our work reflects a strong commitment to scientific and technological innovation, as well as a deeper understanding of the broader societal, ethical, and regulatory implications of those advances.

This impact is made possible through a uniquely collaborative environment.

Our close collaboration with the renowned Duke University Medical Center and partnerships with clinicians and faculty at the Duke School of Medicine create extraordinary opportunities for engineers, physicians, and scientists to work together to translate discoveries into practical, real-world solutions. Our location within the Research Triangle further strengthens collaborations with peer institutions, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, as well as industry partners throughout Research Triangle Park. These efforts are amplified through leadership and partnerships with major Duke Engineering research centers, including the Center for Advanced Genomic Technologies, the Center for Biomolecular & Tissue Engineering, the Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics, the Center for Quantitative Biodesign, the Center for Global Women’s Health Technologies and the Center for Computational & Digital Health Innovation.

Innovation is equally central to our educational mission.

Duke BME’s continually evolving design curriculum provides students with hands-on experiences that bridge the classroom, laboratory, clinic, and marketplace. Programs such as First-Year Design introduce students to engineering problem-solving from their first semester, while immersive experiences such as Duke Health and the BME Design Fellows program enable students to collaborate directly with clinicians to develop technologies that address unmet medical needs, both locally and globally.

Driven by the talent and dedication of our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners, Duke BME remains committed to redefining medicine and improving human health by addressing the challenges of a rapidly changing world. I invite you to explore our website and learn more about the people, discoveries, and ideas that continue to make Duke BME a leader in biomedical engineering.

Sharon Gerecht
Chair of Biomedical Engineering
Paul M. Gross Distinguished Professor