Using Electrical Bursts to Get the Gut Moving
Bursts of electrical stimulation could help restore gut motion to treat constipation, a technique recently licensed by industry leader Boston Scientific
Duke BME
Impact Report 2025
Whether it’s developing new technologies or pioneering new areas, Duke Biomedical Engineering is a leading force driving the discoveries and innovations that help clinicians save lives.
From the Chair
It has been another productive year for the Duke BME community!
From increasing the department’s research expenditures to a long list of faculty accolades and impactful discoveries, Duke BME continues to build on its historical strengths while opening new frontiers in emerging technologies. Patient-specific models of brain activity to guide the hands of neurosurgeons. Repurposing the powerful CRISPR gene-targeting system to explore and manipulate the epigenome. Harnessing the abilities of large language models to design and build new proteins and nanoparticles for life-changing therapies.
Please join me in celebrating our many accomplishments from the past year and exploring the exciting potential of our newest faculty and research and education programs.
Sharon Gerecht, PhD
Chair of Biomedical Engineering, Paul M. Gross Distinguished Professor
Sonia Bansal
Creating a Community of Support in the Classroom
Emma Chory
Using Robotics to Speed Up Cellular Evolution
John Hickey
Decoding How Cells Interact and Organize
Aaron Kyle
Exploring New Methods to Diversify and Strengthen Engineering Education
Philip Romero
Using AI to Map and Design New Proteins
Pengfei Song
Improving Ultrasound’s Abilities to Detect and Study Disease
Ophelia Venturelli
Manipulating the Microbial Interactions in our Guts
National Accolades
John Hickey
NSF CAREER Award
Amanda Randles
Sony Women in Technology Award with Nature and Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
Ashutosh Chilkoti
Society of Biomaterials Technology Innovation and Development Award
Ann Saterbak
Fulbright Global Scholar Award
Samira Musah
2025 Young Innovator in Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE)
Charles Gersbach and Junjie Yao
Clarivate Highly Cited List
Jessilyn Dunn
IEEE EMBS Early Career Achievement Award
Kathy Nightingale
AIUM’s William J. Fry Memorial Lecture Award, IEEE Fellow
Cameron Kim
ASEE Biomedical Engineering Teaching Award
Junjie Yao
AIMBE College of Fellows, SPIE Fellow, IC-UEBA Young Investigator Award
Top Research News of 2025
AI Engineers Nanoparticles for Improved Drug Delivery
The new approach allows researchers to identify and optimize material recipes to more effectively encapsulate difficult-to-deliver drugs
Gene Therapy Restores Functionality in Non-Human Primates After Heart Attacks
New approach uses bacterial genes to restore both strength and rhythm of damaged hearts.
Congenital Heart Disease Mutation Linked to Kidney Damage
Discovering the link between congenital heart disease and kidney problems could improve outcomes for patients with the disease
Using Neural Networks to Precisely Model Social Behavior
A new platform uses machine learning to identify and map social interactions, unlocking new ways to study behavioral disorders like autism
Activating Complex Regions of the Genome to Treat Rare Diseases
Researchers find a master epigenetic switch that activates silenced genes to compensate for their missing counterparts in a rare genetic disease called Prader-Willi syndrome
Center for Advanced Genomic Technologies
Led by Charlie Gersbach, CAGT published a paper in Science explaining how cells sense their mechanical environment, opening new paths for treating disease.
CAGT’s work has led to the launch of Tune Therapeutics, a startup focused on modulating the epigenome to treat disease that recently raised $175M in Series B financing.
Center for Computational and Digital Health Innovation
Launched this year by Amanda Randles, CDHI applies data-driven approaches to enhance diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease.
The center focuses on themes such as using patient-specific digital twins to inform clinical decision-making and wearable technology data to predict developing diseases before symptoms appear.
Rural Health Equity Hub
Co-led by Jessilyn Dunn, this new center will expand community partnerships and co-create research in support of rural North Carolinians, including rural-specific chronic disease epidemiology, implementation science to improve the uptake of screening and treatment in rural clinics, and community-guided intervention studies that reflect local values and realities.