Duke BME is home to a diverse and longstanding research community focusing on the area of biomaterials, the discipline of studying and designing non-living materials and devices that interface with physiological systems.
Ongoing interests include the molecular design of soft materials, nanomaterials, immune-active materials, scaffolds for tissue engineering, and basic investigations into the complex mechanisms by which materials engage biology.
Research in the broad field of Biomaterials has led to the development of an incredible range of implantable biomedical devices over the past several decades, and it continues to be central to the introduction of new medical therapies ranging from engineered tissues to delivery vehicles for genes and drugs, to immune therapies.
The biomaterials research community at Duke is supported and enhanced by numerous centers and programs, including the Research Triangle NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (RT-MRSEC) and the Center for Biomolecular and Tissue Engineering (CBTE).