Bioelectric Engineering

Bioelectric engineering research in Duke BME focuses on understanding, modeling, and controlling the electrical signals that govern biological function, with applications spanning the heart, brain, and nervous system.

Drawing on principles from electrical engineering, neuroscience, physiology, and computational modeling, researchers study bioelectrical activity across scales ranging from individual ion channels and cells to complex tissues and organs. Major areas of emphasis include cardiac electrophysiology and neural engineering, where investigators develop advanced technologies that measure, model, and modulate electrical activity to better understand biological function and treat disease.

A hallmark of Duke’s bioelectric engineering research is the integration of experimental and computational approaches. In cardiac applications, researchers use techniques such as micropatterning of cardiac cells, optical mapping of membrane potentials, high-density electrical mapping, and mathematical modeling to investigate the mechanisms underlying cardiac arrhythmias and evaluate therapeutic interventions. In neural engineering, researchers develop novel technologies that interact with the nervous system at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution using both electrical and optical methods. These efforts include brain-machine interfaces, neural prostheses, implantable neurotechnologies, advanced electrode arrays, wireless neural recording systems, and genetically encoded sensors that enable large-scale monitoring and stimulation of neural activity.

By combining system-level computational modeling, imaging, and bioelectronic technologies, Duke BME researchers seek to understand how complex networks of cells and neurons communicate, adapt, and process information in both health and disease.