Faculty
Department Chair
Ashutosh Chilkoti
Alan L. Kaganov Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Focused on biomolecular materials and biointerface science and emphasizes the development of applications that span the range from bioseparations, biosensors, biomaterials, and targeted drug delivery.
Primary Faculty
Ravi Venkat Bellamkonda
Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Engineered devices for brain tumor therapy; immunomodulation for peripheral and central nervous system repair; biomaterials; brain-machine interfaces.
Elizabeth K Bucholz
Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Nenad Bursac
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Embryonic and adult stem cell therapies for heart and muscle disease; cardiac and skeletal muscle tissue engineering; cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias; genetic modifications of stem and somatic cells; micropatterning of proteins and hydrogels.
Joel Collier
Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: The design of biomaterials for a range of biomedical applications, with a focus on understanding and controlling adaptive immune responses. Most materials investigated are created from molecular assemblies- proteins, peptides or bioconjugates that self-organize into useful...
Jessilyn Dunn
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Use of large-scale biomedical datasets to model and guide personalized therapies
Sina Farsiu
Paul Ruffin Scarborough Distinguished Associate Professor of Engineering
Research Interests: Focused on medical imaging and machine learning to improve the overall health and vision outcome of patients with ocular and neurological diseases (e.g., age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, Alzheimer, and ALS) through earlier and personalized therapy.
Paul J Fearis
Lecturing Fellow, Senior in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Charles Gersbach
Rooney Family Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Gene therapy, genomics and epigenomics, biomolecular and cellular engineering, regenerative medicine, and synthetic biology.
Yiyang Gong
Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Recording and understanding brain activity by developing novel combinations of optical microscopy and genetically encoded sensors. Using these technologies, we wish to dissect neural circuit function and investigate how neural activity drives complex behaviors.
Warren M. Grill
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Neural engineering and neural prostheses and include design and testing of electrodes and stimulation techniques, the electrical properties of tissues and cells, and computational neuroscience with applications in restoration of bladder function, treatment of movement disorders...
Craig S. Henriquez
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Large-scale computing, heart modeling, and brain modeling.
Brenton D. Hoffman
Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Focused on understanding, on a molecular level, how mechanical and chemical cues from the environment are detected, integrated, and manipulated by cells to dictate physiological and patho-physiological responses important in vascular biology.
Roarke W. Horstmeyer
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Computational optics, machine learning, and designing new algorithms for image processing. A main focus is to improve how we capture and use images of microscopic phenomena within a range of biomedical contexts. In general, I like to create new optical devices that can improve...
Joseph A. Izatt
Michael J. Fitzpatrick Distinguished Professor of Engineering in the Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. School of Engineering
Research Interests: Biophotonics and include coherence-based biomedical imaging and microscopy, novel technologies for ophthalmic imaging, and nanoscale studies of cellular morphology and dynamics.
David F. Katz
Nello L. Teer, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, in the Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. School of Engineering
Research Interests: Methods for prophylaxis against STD's, emphasizing topical microbicides and contraception; biofluid mechanics; rheology and transport phenomena; biophysical aspects of mammalian sperm motility, sperm transport, and fertilization; and biomechanical functioning of the vitreous of...
Michael D Lynch
Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Focused on genetically engineering microbes to shut off their growth circuits and turn on new pathways to produce different compounds—improving production of biofuels, pharmacological molecules and industrial chemicals.
Robert A. Malkin
Professor of the Practice in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Research and development of medical equipment in the developing world.
Samira Musah
Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), disease mechanisms, regenerative medicine, molecular and cellular basis of human kidney development and disease, organ engineering, patient-specific disease models, biomarkers, therapeutic discovery, tissue and organ transplantation,...
Barry S. Myers
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: An expert in head and neck impact injury biomechanics, Dr. Myers is interested in translational research innovation—overseeing programs to advance faculty research to market.
Wanda Krassowska Neu
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Electroporation-mediated drug delivery and gene therapy; Control of cardiac arrhythmias using nonlinear dynamics
Kathryn Radabaugh Nightingale
Theo Pilkington Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Ultrasonic and elasticity imaging, specifically nonlinear propagation, acoustic streaming and radiation force; the intentional generation of these phenomena for the purpose of tissue characterization; finite element modeling of normal and diseased tissue when exposed to...
Mark L. Palmeri
Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Ultrasonic imaging, specifically using acoustic radiation force to characterize the mechanical properties of tissue, and finite element analysis of soft tissue response to impulsive radiation force excitation. Other research interests include ultrasonic bioeffects and mechanical...
Nimmi Ramanujam
Robert W. Carr, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Innovating on optical strategies to peer into the biological landscape of thick tissues. Technologies being developed in her lab leverage principles of optical spectroscopy, optical sectioning microscopy, and molecular imaging. Her research group is developing and applying these...
Amanda Randles
Alfred Winborne and Victoria Stover Mordecai Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: Biomedical simulation and high-performance computing
Eric S Richardson
Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Michael Rizk
Assistant Professor Of The Practice of Biomedical Engineering
Michael Rubinstein
Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Research Interests: Polymer theory and computer simulations
Ann Saterbak
Professor of the Practice in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Innovations in undergraduate engineering education, particularly new pedagogical methods that broaden students’ problem solving skills and design thinking.
Tatiana Segura
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: The design of biomaterials to promote endogenous repair and reducing inflammation through the design of the geometry of the material, and delivering genes, proteins and drugs.
Xiling Shen
Hawkins Family Associate Professor
Research Interests: Precision medicine for cancer, regeneration, microbiome, and gut-brain axis. Multi-omics approaches including organoid, epigenetics, CRISPR, single-cell, metabolomics, machine learning, droplet microfluidics, humanized immune model and intravital imaging.
Marc A. Sommer
W. H. Gardner, Jr. Associate Professor
Research Interests: Neuronal circuits of the brain, including recording from single neurons and studying the effects of inactivating or stimulating well-defined brain areas. His goals are to understand how individual areas process signals and how multiple areas interact to cause cognition and...
Michael Raphael Tadross
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Our goal is to bridge the gap between the study of brain as a computational device and the search for novel neuropathological treatments. We develop technologies to manipulate molecules, cells, and synapses in the brain, and deploy these reagents in mouse models of disease.
Gregg E. Trahey
Robert Plonsey Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Medical ultrasound, image guided surgery, adaptive imaging, imaging of tissue's mechanical properties, and radiation force imaging.
George A. Truskey
R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Cardiovascular tissue engineering, mechanisms of atherogenesis, cell adhesion, and cell biomechanics.
Shyni Varghese
Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Orthopaedics
Research Interests: Musculoskeletal tissue repair, disease biophysics and organ-on-a-chip technology
Jonathan Viventi
Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Using flexible electronics to create new technology for interfacing with the brain at high resolution over large areas. These new tools can help diagnose and treat neurological disorders such as epilepsy, and help improve the performance of brain machine interfaces.
Tuan Vo-Dinh
R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Biophotonics, laser-excited luminescence spectroscopy, room temperature phosphorimetry, synchronous luminescence spectroscopy, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, field environmental instrumentation, fiberoptics sensors, nanosensors, biosensors and biochips for the protection...
Olaf T. Von Ramm
Thomas Lord Distinguished Professor of Engineering in the Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. School of Engineering
Research Interests: Diagnostic ultrasound imaging systems, IR imaging, medical instrumentation and their new applications.
Adam P. Wax
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Optical spectroscopy for early cancer detection, novel microscopy and interferometry techniques.
Jennifer L West
Fitzpatrick Family University Distinguished Professor of Engineering
Research Interests: Biomaterials, nanotechnology and tissue engineering that involves the synthesis, development, and application of novel biofunctional materials, and the use of biomaterials and engineering approaches to study biological problems.
Patrick D. Wolf
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Advanced instrumentation for diagnosis and treatment of electrophysiological problems. This research covers two primary organ systems: the heart and the brain. In the heart, Dr. Wolf is developing an image guided ablation system for treatment of arrhythmias. In the brain, he is...
Junjie Yao
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) technologies, and translating PAT advances into diagnostic and therapeutic applications, especially in functional brain imaging and early cancer theranostics.
Lingchong You
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Quantitative biology, synthetic biology, machine learning, antibiotic resistance, microbiome
Fan Yuan
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Drug and gene delivery, mechanisms of molecular transport in cells and tissues, and tumor pathophysiology.
Secondary Faculty
Gaurav Arya
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Research Interests: Molecular modeling, molecular simulations, statistical mechanics, coarse-graining, machine learning, polymer and colloidal physics, polymer-nanoparticle composites, chromatin biophysics, DNA nanotechnology, viral DNA packaging, single-molecule force spectroscopy, nanoscale...
Alexandra Badea
Associate Professor in Radiology
Research Interests: Brain Imaging, MRI, Connectivity, Multivariate Biomarkers, Image Analysis, Neurological Conditions, Alzheimer's Disease
Jeffrey Beck
Assistant Professor of Neurobiology
Research Interests: Jeffrey Beck studies neural coding and computation from a theoretical perspective, with particular emphasis on probabilistic reasoning and decision making under uncertainty, complex behavioral modeling, computational models of cortical circuits and circuit function, dynamics of...
Leslie M. Collins
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research Interests: Leslie M. Collins' research interests include physics-based statistical signal processing, subsurface sensing, auditory prostheses and pattern recognition.
Louis Edwin DeFrate
Frank H. Bassett III, M. D. Associate Professor
James T. Dobbins
Professor in Radiology
Research Interests: The research in my laboratory focuses on three main areas: (1) advanced imaging applications to improve diagnostic accuracy in clinical imaging, (2) the scientific assessment of image quality, and (3) developing lower cost imaging for the developing world. Projects in the area...
Greg D. Field
Assistant Professor of Neurobiology
Research Interests: Study of the retina, using multi-electrode arrays to record retina neuron activity in conjunction with transgenic mouse lines and chemogenetics to manipulate neural circuit function. Field's laboratory is working to understand the mechanisms of retinal degenerative conditions...
Ken Gall
Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Research Interests: Materials science, mechanical properties, metals and polymers. Specialties: Shape memory materials, biomaterials, 3D printing.
Geoffrey Steven Ginsburg
Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Dr. Geoffrey S. Ginsburg's research interests are in the development of novel paradigms for developing and translating genomic information into medical practice and the integration of personalized medicine into health care.
Tony Jun Huang
William Bevan Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanical Science
Research Interests: Acoustofluidics, microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip, biomedical micro-electro-mechanical systems (BioMEMS), optofluidics, plasmofluidics.
Bruce Klitzman
Associate Professor of Surgery
Research Interests: The primary basic science research interests of our laboratory are in the area of physiological mechanisms of maintaining substrate transport from blood to tissue. This broad topic covers studies on whole animals, such as rats and mice, as well as studies on whole organ,...
Anthony Nanlin Kuo
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
Piotr E. Marszalek
Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Research Interests: Investigating relationships between structural and mechanical properties of biopolymers (polysaccharides, DNA, proteins), at a single molecule level.
Miguel Angelo L. Nicolelis
Duke School of Medicine Professor in Neuroscience
Research Interests: Dr. Nicolelis investigates how the brains of freely behaving animals encode sensory and motor information. He was first to propose and demonstrate that animals and human subjects can utilize their electrical brain activity to directly control neuroprosthetic devices via brain-...
Angel Vladimirov Peterchev
Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Research Interests: I direct the Brain Stimulation Engineering Lab (BSEL) which focuses on the development and modeling of devices and application paradigms for transcranial brain stimulation. Transcranial brain stimulation involves non-invasive delivery of fields (e.g., electric and magnetic) to...
Timothy E Reddy
Associate Professor of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics
Research Interests: Understanding how genetic variation that alters gene regulation contributes to human traits, including risk for common diseases such as diabetes. The Reddy Lab uses an interdisciplinary combination of high-throughput genomics, computational biology, and traditional molecular...
Ehsan Samei
Professor of Radiology
Research Interests: Methods to develop image quality and dose metrics that are clinically relevant and that can be used to design and utilize advanced imaging techniques towards precise interpretive and quantitative performance.
John Howard Sampson
Robert H., M.D. and Gloria Wilkins Professor of Neurosurgery, in the School of Medicine
Guillermo Sapiro
James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research Interests: Image and video processing, computer vision, computer graphics, computational vision, biomedical imaging, brain imaging, cryo-tomography of viruses, computational tools in cryo-tomography, computational tools in early diagnosis of psychiatric disorders, differential geometry and...
William Paul Segars
Associate Professor in Radiology
Research Interests: Computer-generated phantoms and simulation techniques to investigate and optimize medical imaging systems and methods; development of computational models of patients and imaging devices.
Allen Wuming Song
Professor in Radiology
Research Interests: Song's research program is centered on high-resolution MRI methodological development to best depict and detect human brain structure and function.
Bruce Alan Sullenger
Joseph W. and Dorothy W. Beard Distinguished Professor of Experimental Surgery, in the School of Medicine
Research Interests: Translational research to develop RNA-based therapeutic agents for the potential treatment of a range of diseases.
Martin Paul Tornai
Associate Professor of Radiology
Cynthia Ann Toth
Joseph A.C. Wadsworth Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Interests: Translational research and early-application clinical trials with a focus on novel retinal imaging with spectral domain and swept source optical coherence tomography (SD and SSOCT)
Kris Cameron Wood
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Research Interests: More effective anticancer therapeutic strategies, many of which are based on functional genomics. Examples of projects include: a miniaturized screening platform, tools to systematically map the signaling pathways controlling anticancer drug responses, high-throughput...
Christopher Wildrick Woods
Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Wood's research interests include: emerging infections, global health, epidemiology of infectious diseases, clinical microbiology and diagnostics, bioterrorism preparedness, surveillance for communicable diseases, and antimicrobial resistance.
Benjamin Yellen
Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Research Interests: Development of single cell analysis tools using magnetic circuits, and multiparticle assembly of colloidal crystals
Michael Rod Zalutsky
Jonathan Spicehandler, M.D. Distinguished Professor of Neuro Oncology, in the School of Medicine
Research Interests: The development of novel radioactive compounds for improving the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Stefan Zauscher
Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Research Interests: Nano-mechanical and nano-tribological characterization (elasticity, friction, adhesion) of materials including organic thin films; self-assembled monolayers, polymeric gels, and cellulosics; Fabrication of polymeric nanostructures by scanning probe lithography; Colloidal probe...
Pei Zhong
Professor in the Department of Mechanical Enginnering and Materials Science
Research Interests: Ultrasound-targeted gene delivery and activation; Synergistic combination of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and immunotherapy for cancer treatment; Innovations in shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) technology; and Mechanics and bioeffects of acoustic cavitation.
Research Faculty
Cameron R. Bass
Associate Research Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Dr. Bass's research interests include the biomechanics of blast, blunt and ballistic trauma and pediatric trauma. His research focuses on injury risk from microscale to macroscale for the head, neck, thorax and extremities.
Paolo F Maccarini
Assistant Research Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: By merging advanced circuit/antenna design with multiphysics modeling, Dr. Maccarini pioneered low-cost passive sensors to noninvasively measure deep temperature for various diagnostic applications. By combining novel engineering solutions with immunotherapy/thermo-drugs, his...
Nassir Mokarram-Dorri
Consulting Associate in the Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Immunomodulation for nerve repair; Brain tumor therapeutics/diagnostics; Biomaterials
Adjunct Faculty
Peter C Johnson
Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Roger W Nightingale
Adjunct Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Dr. Nightingale's current research interests include: crash test dummies, pediatric head and neck injury, the biomechanics of trauma, modeling of the human head and cervical spine, and the mechanical characterization of head and neck tissues.
Allan B. Shang
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Research Interests: My current research interests include the investigation into current and experimental biosensors, including the use of lasers and photonic techniques to create the next generation of miniaturized biosensors and analytical devices. I am interested in biomedical devices of all...
Consulting Faculty
Blake Shaw Wilson
Adjunct Professor in the Department of Surgery
Research Interests: Wilson is interested in the design of cochlear implants and other neural prostheses for restoration of sensory functions. The design includes considerations of processing in the brain (the receiver) as well as processing in the periphery (the transmitter).
Instructors
Kevin Michael Caves
Clinical Associate in the Department of Surgery
Research Interests: Kevin Caves researches technologies for people with disabilities. Recent projects include the development of brain computer interface (BCI) technologies, the use of sensors to assist older people and individuals with disabilities live more independently and safely at home, and...
Charles Wallace
Lecturing Fellow, Senior in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Emeritus Faculty
Howard G. Clark
Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science
Morton Friedman
Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Dr. Friedman's research interests focus on the role of mechanical forces in the localization and evolution of vascular disease, particularly atherosclerosis. Specific areas of research are the influence of adaptation on vascular biology and physiology, the influence of shear...
James H. McElhaney
Hudson Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Engineering
William M. Reichert
Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Biosensors, protein mediated cell adhesion, and wound healing.
Stephen William Smith
Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Current research interests are the development and evaluation of improved medical ultrasound image quality for applications in cardiology, radiology and obstetrics. Advances in image quality result from improvements in the spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio of...