News and Events
May 24, 2013| UW Foster School of Business
UW Bioengienering students receive "Best Innovation Idea" award at 2013 UW Business Plan Competition
UW Bioengineering PhD students Karen Eaton (from Dr. Marta Scatena's lab) and Renuka Ramanathan (from Dr. Kim Woodrow's lab) were among participants of a team which received the "Best Innovation Idea" award, as well as a $2500 prize, at the 2013 UW Business Plan Competition.
The team's project, entitled "InsuLenz", aims to develop a "smart polymer contact lens to provide a bio-responsive and needle-free insulin delivery platform for diabetics.
May 14, 2013 | UW Today
Dr. Buddy Ratner develops biomaterial designed to resist body's natural attack response
UW Bioengineering professor Dr. Buddy Ratner has developed a biomaterial that resists the body's natural attack response to foreign objects. This material is made with a positively and negatively charged polymer, which acts to deflect proteins from sticking to its surface. This material has the potential to allow medical devices to function better and improve patient outcomes.
May 7, 2013 | UW College of Engineering
Sauro and Zrazhevskiy Receive UW College of Engineering Community of Innovators Awards
UW Bioengineering associate professor Dr. Herbert Sauro and senior fellow Dr. Pavel Zrazhevskiy received 2013 UW College of Engineering Community of Innovators Awards. Dr. Sauro, who received the Faculty Innovator Award for Teaching and Learning, was recognized for his outstanding contributions to engineeringeducationthrough his 
use of "flipped classroom" and problem-solving techniques in BIOEN 336. Dr. Zrazhevskiy, a recent PhD program graduate, received the Student Innovator for Research award for his work in Dr. Xiaohu Gao's lab.
COE Community of Innovators awardees will be honored with a presentation and reception on Wednesday, May 29 from 3:30 to 5:00 PM in the Microsoft Atrium, Paul Allen Center.
April 25, 2013 | UW Bioengineering eNews
Spring 2013 Bioengineering e-News is out!
The Spring 2013 issue of UW Bioengineering eNews is out! This issue features stories about a new student fellowship endowed by Phillips, the latest groundbreaking research out of the labs of UW Bioengineering faculty Drs. Michael Regnier, Chuck Murry, and Xiaohu Gao, and recent awards and events in the department.
April 17, 2013 | UW College of Engineering
UW Bioengineering Sophomore Ameen Tabatabai featured on UW College of Engineering website
“If you are creative, you can use what you have learned to change the world through innovation and positive thinking. UW engineering is about coming up with the next big idea or device that can change the world," says Ameen Tabatabai, UW Bioengineering sophomore.
Ameen is featured along with other students on UW's College of Engineering website. Follow the link to learn more about Ameen and his perspective on studying bioengineering at UW.
April 1, 2013 | Newsweek/The Daily Beast
Kim Woodrow named on Newsweek/The Daily Beast's 125 Women of Impact List
UW Bioengineering assistant professor Dr. Kim Woodrow's was named on this list, compiled by Newsweek/The Daily Beast to accompany this week's Women in the World Summit. Dr. Woodrow was cited for her work creating dissolvable female condoms that prevent pregnancy and protect against HIV, for which she received $1 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
March 26, 2013 | UW Today
Gene Therapy May Aid Failing Hearts
UW Bioengineering professors Dr. Michael Regnier and Dr. Chuck Murry (joint professor in Pathology and Cardiology) are exploring the potential of gene therapy to increase heart muscle function. The team used genetic engineering techniques to create a strain of mice whose cells produced elevated levels of an enzyme called ribonucleotide 
reductase, which in turn, increased concentration of dATP, a molecule which improves heart muscle performance. This discovery could potentially lead to more effective treatment for a variety of heart failure conditions. The research was published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
March, 2013 | UW Today
Tenfold boost in ability to pinpoint proteins in cancer cells
UW Bioengineering associate professor Dr. Xiaohu Gao leads a team which has developed a new method for color-coding cells, allowing scientists to test for up to 100 biomarkers in a single cell. This method is a 10-fold improvement upon the current research standard, and offers a relatively low-cost and simple approach to cancer research and treatment. Dr. Gao hopes to collaborate with companies and other researchers to automate and translate this process into clinical use. The research, co-published by UW Bioengineering postdoctoral associate Dr. Pavel Zrazhevskiy, appears this week in Nature Communications.
March 2013 | UW Bioengineering
UW Bioengineering Hosts 2013 Youth Ethics Summit
UW Bioengineering lecturer Dr. Alyssa Taylor co-organized this event with the Northwest Association for Biomedical Research. This event, hosted in Foege on March 2, brought students from around the Puget Sound region together to meet and learn about topics in ethics, medicine, and biomedical research of special relevance to young people. Attendees were offered a unique perspective on the field of bioengineering, and learned about the possibility of pursuing the field as an academic discipline or career.
February 2013 | Muscular Dystrophy Association
Deok-Ho Kim receives MDA Grant
UW Bioengineering assistant professor Dr. Deok-Ho Kim is highlighted in a feature on the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) website. Dr. Kim was recently awarded a 3-year grant from MDA to develop better techniques for growing muscle for use in transplantation into a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The research goal is to generate a functional muscle patch capable of providing long-term muscle strength and regenerative capacity in DMD patients.
February 2013 | American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists
Joan Sanders Awarded Best Presentation on Prosthetics Research
UW Bioengineering professor Dr. Joan Sanders was awarded best presentation for the Thranhardt Lecture Series at the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists annual meeting on February 21 in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Sanders presented her research on how different activities affect limb fluid volume in amputees. These findings may improve future prosthesis design and patient education.
February 2013 | AIMBE
Castner and Gao Inducted as AIMBE Fellows
UW Bioengineering faculty Drs. David Castner and Xiaohu Gao wereinducted as AIMBE Fellows at the organization's annual meeting February 17-19 in Washington, DC. AIMBE, or the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering,is a non-profitadvocacy organization dedicated toimproving lives through medical and biological engineering. Drs. Castner and Gao join a distinguished group of more tahn 1,000 other fellows from academia,industry and government who have made significant contributions to bioengineering research, industrial practice, and education
January 2013 | BMES
Dr. Deok-Ho Kim Receives BMES-CMBE Rising Star Award
Dr. Kim was recently selected as a recipient of the 2013 Biomedical Engineering Society Cellular and Molecular Engineering (BMES-CMBE) Rising Star Award and was invited to give a talk in this year's BMES-CMBE Conference in Waimea, Hawaii. This year's CMBE conference, presented under the theme "Gradient, Interfacial, and Spatiotemporal Control of Cells and Tissues", brought together researchers from disparate disciplines to discuss new strategies for moving the field of regenerative medicine forward.
December 2012 | UW Bioengineering
Fall 2012 UW Bioegnineering e-News is Out!
The Fall 2012 issue of UW Bioengineering eNews is out! This issue features comments from Professor and UW President Emeritus Dr. Lee Huntsman about the history of the department as well as the latest news about our research and education programs.
December 11, 2012 | AIMBE
Dr. David Castner elected to AIMBE College of Fellows
Congratulations to UW Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering professor, Dr. David Castner! Dr. Castner has been selected as a member of the AIMBE College of Fellows. AIMBE, or the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, is a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to improving lives through medical and biological engineering. Dr. Castner joins a distinguished group of 1,000 other fellows from academia, industry and government who have made significant contributions to bioengineering research, industrial practice, and education.
November 30, 2012 | UW News and Information
Electrically spun fabric offers dual defense against pregnancy, HIV
UW Bioengineering assistant professor Dr. Kim Woodrow is leading efforts to develop a versatile platform to offer contraception and prevent HIV: an electrically spun cloth made of tiny fibers which release contraceptive and antiviral drugs. The research behind the technology was published this week in the Public Library of Science's open-access journal PLOS One. Dr. Woodrow has received almost $1 million in funding from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to further develop this technology.
Dr. Woodrow and her lab are also featured in a recent article in the UW student newspaper, The Daily.
November 28, 2012 | UW Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity
PhD Student Using NIH-Funded Fellowship to Improve Cancer Diagnoses
UW Bioengineering PhD student Nuvala Fomban grew up in the African country of Cameroon, and his research is inspired by his experience seeing how infectious diseases and cancer affect a disproportionate amount of the population in that country. In recognition of his work, Nuvala was recently awarded a NIH pre-doctoral fellowship.
This recent article from the UW Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity profiles Nuvala’s path to UW Bioengineering, his research and leadership experience at UW, and his future goals.
November 5, 2012 | UW 360
UW Bioengineering associate professor Dr. Suzie Pun and her lab's research in drug delivery was featured in a recent UW 360 video segment. In the video, Dr. Pun explains that current drugs are made of small molecules which diffuse quickly within the body but may not effectively treat certain diseases and injuries, particularly those affecting the central nervous system. Dr. Pun's group is developing methods to transport the “next stage” of drugs, which consist of of larger molecules such as proteins and can more effectively target complex diseases.
October 3, 2012 | Seattle Times
Healthful relationship between UW, business
UW Bioengineering hosted its first Bioengineering Affiliates Program (BIOE-AP) Open House on Tuesday, 10/2/2012. The event aimed to connect UW Bioengineering students and faculty with business and nonprofit leaders in the Pacific Northwest's biotechnology industry. In this Seattle Times article, the author discusses how the event provided an opportunity for the groups to converge, discuss the intersections of their work, and future implications for healthcare.
October 2, 2012 | UW News and Information
Sticky paper offers cheap, easy solution for paper-based diagnostics
UW Bioengineering assistant professor Dr. Daniel Ratner has developed a paper-based diagnostic system which uses plain paper. When treated with a divinyl sulfone and water solution, the paper becomes sticky to materials that could be of medical interest. The treated paper is run through a modified inkjet printer and printed with a biomolecule in an invisible pattern, and the pattern is revealed when a toxin is present. This proof of concept will be now used to develop actual diagnostic tests. Dr. Ratner's work was recently published in the American Chemical Society journal Langmuir as well as profiled in a BBC article.
September 27, 2012 | UW News and Information
Dynamics of DNA packaging helps regulate heart formation
A team led by UW Bioengineering professor Dr. Charles Murry (joint professor in Pathology and Cardiology) has discovered a new regulator for heart formation by studying how embryonic stem cells adjust the packaging of their DNA. This discovery may lead to a better understanding of the causes of heart disease as well as further insight into how other organs develop. The team's findings are published in the September 28 issue of Cell.
September 13, 2012 | National Institutes of Health
Dr. Kim Woodrow Receives NIH Director's New Innovator Award
UW Bioengineering assistant professor Dr. Kim Woodrow has been selected as a recipient of a 2012 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award for her project entitled “Nanomaterials for engineering protection in the genital mucosa”. The Director’s New Innovator Award addresses two important goals: stimulating highly innovative research and supporting promising new investigators. Factors for award selection include the creativity and innovativeness of the investigator’s research and the potential of the investigator’s project to significantly impact an important biomedical or behavioral research problem.
September 12 | UW News and Information
UW celebrates opening of new Molecular Engineering & Sciences Building
"We are thrilled to make the UW and Pacific Northwest region aleader in molecular engineering and science" said UW College of 
Engineering dean and Bioengineering professor Dr. Matthew O'Donnell about the opening of the Molecular Engineering andSciences Building, which is amongst the largest molecularengineering facilities in the nation. The building is home to the Molecular Engineering Sciences and Institute, which aims to solve complex problems in clean energy and biotechnology. The Institute is directed by UW Bioengineering professor Dr. Patrick Stayton, and a number of Bioengineering faculty are involved in its interdisciplinary research.
Image Credit: Ben Benschneider / ZGF Architects
August 12, 2012 | CNET
UW Bioengineering assistant professor Dr. Barry Lutz featured in recent CNET article
UW Bioengineering research assistant professor Dr. Barry Lutz is working with Dr. Samuel Browd of Seattle Children's Hospital and Harborview Medical Center to create "smarter" shunt devices to treat hydrocephalus, or fluid in the brain. The pair's work is highlighted in a recent CNET article, in which the author recounts her sister's problematic experience with shunt devices and explores new solutions which aim to improve hydrocephalus patient outcomes.
August 23, 2012 | Integrative Biology
UW Bioengineering assistant Professor Dr. Deok-Ho Kim featured in "Integrative Biology"
UW Bioengineering assistant professor Dr. Deok-Ho Kim's research work was featured on the cover of this month's "Integrative Biology" journal. The paper, entitled "Nanopatterned cardiac cell patches promote stem cell niche formation and myocardial regeneration", discusses methods which overcome some of the difficulties associated with stem cell-based methods for heart tissue repair.
August 8, 2012 | Seattle Times
UW Bioengineering Professor Dr. Charles Murry Takes a Step towards Regenerating Human Hearts
UW Bioengineering Professor Dr. Charles Murry, also professor of Pathology and Cardiology, is applying his expertise in stem cells, cell biology, and the electrophysiology of the heart to research aimed at regenerating damaged hearts. Dr. Murry, and collaborator adjunct Bioengineering professor Dr. Michael Laflamme, report that human heart cells, derived from embryonic stem cells, strengthen and synchronize guinea pig hearts while providing protection against abnormal rhythm disturbances.
August 3, 2012 | BBC Future
UW Bioengineering Assistant Professor Dr. Daniel Ratner Develops Paper-Based Diagnostics
A team of researchers led by UW Bioengineering Assistant Professor Dr. Daniel Ratner is developing paper-based diagnostic tests. The tests attach biological markers for disease, such as genes or antibodies, to paper with a modified inkjet printer which prints with biochemical molecules instead of ink. These tests aim to make clinical diagnostics simpler, quicker, and more affordable.
July 25, 2012 | UW Bioengineering
UW Bioengineering graduate students receive prestigious awards and fellowships
Recipients of 2012-13 graduate student fellowships and awards include:
Current Students:
- NSF Fellowship: Cameron Ball (Woodrow), Shivani Gupta (Thomas), Emily Krogstad (Woodrow), Tyler Libey (Fetz), and Christine Wang (Pun).
- NSF Engineering Innovation Fellowship: Ryan Coe (Seibel)
- Baker Fellowship: Ronnie Das (Pollack)
- Computational Neuroscience Training Grant: Jeremiah Wander (Rao)
- NIH F31 pre-doctoral fellowship: Alice Ward (Regnier)
- GPSS Travel Grant to attend the HYPER Summer School in Neurorehabilitation: Lee White (Hannaford)
- 50% College of Engineering Fellowship: Jia-Ling Ruan (Murry) and Julianna Simon
- Graduate School (GSFEI) travel scholarship: Julie Shi (Pun)
Incoming Students
- NSF Fellowship: Anna Blakney, Blake Bluestein, Jasmin Chen, Yung-Chen Wang, and David Younger
- Japanese Government Fellowship: Koji Abe
- Ananda Mahidol Fellowship from Thailand: Chayano Ngambenjawong
- Tuition Waiver (2 Quarters): Jie Zhang, Marvin Mecwan, Menguyan Liu, JiaJun Chia, Jin Liu, Haining Liu
July16, 2012 | UW College of Engineering
A day in the Life of UW Bioengineering Student Rona Ding
University of Washington Bioengineering junior Rona Ding recently appeared in a video featured on UW's College of Engineering website. In the video, Rona shares her perspective on choosing UW and campus life. Watch the video to learn about a typical day for Rona, who volunteers, tutors, and enjoys downtown Seattle in addition to taking classes and conducting lab experiments.
June 14, 2012 | Seattle Magazine
UW Bioengineering Chair Dr. Paul Yager is featured in this month's Seattle Magazine "Top Doctors 2012" issue.
Dr. Yager is noted as one of the inventors of the field of microfluidics, which aims to make diagnosing infectious disease as simple as administering at-home pregnancy tests with small, affordable, and portable devices.
June 11, 2012 | UW College of Engineering
Engineered microvessels provide a 3-D test bed for human diseases
University of Washington bioengineers have developed the first structure to grow small human blood vessels, creating a 3-D test bed that offers a better way to study disease, test drugs and perhaps someday grow human tissues for transplant.
The findings are published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
June 6, 2012 | UW College of Engineering
UW Bioengineering's Benjamin Dulken Awarded Dean's Medal for Academic Excellence
Ben is graduating in bioengineering with an outstanding academic record and impressive accomplishments in research. As a bioengineering major with a chemistry minor, he spent 12 quarters on the Dean’s List and has been awarded both college and departmental honors. One of his professors writes, "He was a star student in every way: thoughtful, present (physically and mentally), respectful, inquisitive."
April 30, 2012 | UW Bioengineering
Crowd-sourcing helps Herbert Sauro develop new system for learning about biological processes
Can students better learn some of the basic concepts of biology by working with an electrical circuit designed to mimic a biological system? BIOE professor Herbert Sauro hopes that such a system could help students learn about processes like gene regulation by being able to control different ‘genes’ and monitor their activity and interactions through LED readouts.
After coming up with the design of the system, Sauro turned to a web community called Microryza that uses crowd-sourced fundraising to support innovative scientific projects. Sauro raised more than $1100 from donors on Microryza, and that will help him and undergraduate student Bennett Ng build a prototype of the circuit, as well as pay for pre-printed circuit boards and educational materials for colleges and high schools to build and use their own copies of the system.
February 13, 2012 | UW Bioengineering
New Innovations in Polymers and Biomaterials - in Celebration of Allan S. Hoffman's 80th Birthday
A technical symposium to celebrate 50 years of biomaterial and molecular enginering accomplishments and to envision the future of biomolecular materials in medicine
December 30, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
"We're using light to see through the body, just like X-rays but light is safe, so you can see through tissues without harming the body," Dr. Ricky Wang
December 30, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
UW student team wins world championship in synthetic biology competition
A team of UW undergraduates from a variety of departments, including the Department of Bioengineering, has won the top prize at the 2011 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) World Championship Jamboree, a top student competition in synthetic biology.
November 21, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
UW BioE's Cameron Turtle Elected to the American Rhodes Scholars Class of 2012
On Saturday, November 19, 2011, the American Rhodes Scholar Class of 2012 was elected. Cameron Turtle was one of 32 outstanding students selected from a pool of 830 candidates who had been nominated by their colleges and universities. Congratulations Cameron!
November 17, 2011 | UW Today
Pushing The Envelope on Paper-based Diagnostics
Paul Yager, chair of the Bioengineering Department at the University of Washington, leads several subcontractors in two major grants totaling up to $26 million pushing the envelope on paper-based diagnostics. Their hope is that in two to three years, people miles from a lab will be able to cough, spit, or urinate on a piece of paper, upload the image on a cell phone and get lab-quality results for a range of illnesses.
November 15, 2011 | The Daily
UW researchers find new approach to diagnosing malaria
"The idea that we will actually help people at the end is very, very exciting. I've had a long career now — in its crudest form — printing lots of paper, scientific paper. I'd feel much, much happier right now if I could see a patient out there who was either not getting sick or was getting better, faster because of something we made." UW BioE professor Paul Yager
Sept 19, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
UW Bioengineering Professor Buddy Ratner is quoted in a Q13 Fox news story.
Sept 15, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
Pollack to receive Prigogine Medal recognizing his work on ecological systems
Gerald Pollack, professor in the UW Department of Bioengineering, has been announced as the recipient of the 2012 Prigogine Medal, an award that recognizes a leading scientist in the field of ecological systems. Pollack studies a wide range of topics in biomedical science, from biological motion and cell biology to the interaction of biological surfaces with aqueous solutions.
http://www.wessex.ac.uk/12-conferences/sustainable-city-2012/page-2.html
Aug 31, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
Prof. Pat Stayton featured as RSC Polymer Chemistry Author of the Week
UW Bioengineering Professor Pat Stayton was featured as Polymer Chemistry Author of the Week, by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The article features a candid interview with Pat.
Aug 11, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
The center is focused on a novel, neural-inspired approach based on a deep understanding of how biological systems acquire and process information. More information about the center is available at its website here:
http://csne.washington.edu/
The CSNE is currently soliciting requests for proposals that will fund 1) personnel, such as graduate students and visiting scholars; 2) workshops/symposiums/education projects and 3) seed projects. Please contact Dr. Eric Chudler (chudler@u.washington.edu) to receive the proposal application forms and instructions.
August 8, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
Yongmin Kim selected to lead South Korean institution
Yongmin Kim, professor and former chair of the UW Department of Bioengineering, has been named President of POSTECH-Pohang University of Science and Technology in his native South Korea.
July 6, 2011 | UW Today
Deok-Ho Kim, assistant professor in the UW Department of Bioengineering, has received the 2011 Perkins Coie Award for Discovery in support of his research on using stem cells to repair heart muscle. The award has been given each of the past five years by the Seattle-based law firm Perkins Coie as part of their support of translational research at the UW Medicine South Lake Union campus. It provides a $20,000 grant for a researcher to conduct a new project and generate data that could be used as the basis for a major research program supported by NIH or other funders.
June 6, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
Yongmin Kim honored with IEEE EMBS Award for Excellence in Biomedical Technology
Yongmin Kim, professor of bioengineering, has been honored with the 2011 William J. Morlock Award, the IEEE EMBS Award for Excellence in Biomedical Technology. The IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) gives the Morlock Award every other year to an outstanding individual who has made an original contribution involving important application of electronics techniques and concepts to the solution of biomedical problems.
June 6, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
Three BIOE students were recently honored as part of the UW Business Plan Competition, the top student competition held by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the UW’s Michael G. Foster School of Business. One of the students was part of a team that developed a system to facilitate water disinfection using solar energy, a project that won the competition’s $25,000 grand prize.
May 23, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
BIOE undergraduate Cameron Turtle receives American Heart Association fellowship
Cameron Turtle, a junior who is majoring in Bioengineering at the UW, has received an American Heart Association summer research fellowship. Turtle will work this summer in the lab of Michael Regnier, professor and vice-chair in the Department of Bioengineering.
May 12, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
Student-developed water testing tool honored in UW Environmental Innovation Challenge
The team of UW engineering students who created a system to facilitate water disinfection using solar energy have won second prize at the UW Environmental Innovation Challenge, a contest put on by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Foster School of Business. The group includes Jacqueline Linnes, who recently earned her doctorate from UW Bioengineering, and they are working to market the device for use in the developing world. For more information about the project, visit the project’s web site (http://potavida.org/).
April 27, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
Giachelli honored by American Society of Nephrology with endowed lectureship
Ceci Giachelli, professor of bioengineering at the UW, has been honored by the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) with its Jack W. Coburn Endowed Lectureship for 2011. Giachelli will speak on the mechanisms and regulation of vascular calcification as part of ASN Kidney Week, the society’s annual conference, held this November in Philadelphia.
April 18, 2011 | Seattle Times
Brain trust: Scientist shares his enthusiasm
Eric Chudler has been trying for years to get people to use more of their minds to think about their brains. He's a neuroscientist at the University of Washington who as a sideline teaches young children about their brains.
April 18, 2011 | UW Today
High dose of oxygen enhances natural cancer treatment
An environment of pure oxygen at three-and-a-half times normal air pressure adds significantly to the effectiveness of a natural compound already shown to kill cancerous cells, researchers at the University of Washington and Washington State University recently reported in the journal Anticancer Research.
April 11, 2011 | UW Today
BIOE undergraduates Benjamin Dulken and Cameron Turtle receive Goldwater Scholarships
Benjamin Dulken and Cameron Turtle, both juniors who are majoring in Bioengineering at the UW, have been honored with Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships. Dulken has been working in the lab of BIOE faculty member Suzie Pun, and Turtle has worked in several labs and is a founding member of Bioengineers Without Borders at the UW.
April 4, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
The Washington Life Sciences Discovery Fund, a foundation in Washington state providing grant support for biomedical research, awarded nearly $600,000 of funding in its latest round of grants, which were announced recently. Among the recipients are UW Bioengineering faculty members Barry Lutz and Patrick Stayton.
April 4, 2011 | UW Today
BIOE faculty member Paul Wiggins among six UW researchers awarded Sloan Research Fellowships
Paul Wiggins, assistant professor of bioengineering and physics, is among six UW faculty members who were recently awarded Sloan Research Fellowships, given by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Wiggins, who joined the UW last fall, studies the physics of biological systems at the microscopic scale.
March 2, 2011 | Seattle Times
UW Bioengineering Professor Eric Chudler featured in the Seattle Times
Eric Chudler has been trying for years to get people to use more of their minds to think about their brains. He's a neuroscientist at the University of Washington who as a sideline teaches young children about their brains.
March 1, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
Colin Studholme coming to UW with joint appointment in Bioengineering and Pediatrics
Colin Studholme, head of the biomedical image computing group at the University of California-San Francisco, is joining the UW as a professor with a joint appointment in the Departments of Bioengineering and Pediatrics. Studholme’s research is focused on mathematical and computational techniques to study brain anatomy and its change over time. His most recent work involves developing techniques for imaging and modeling early human brain growth, to better understand the process of early brain surface folding.
February 11, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
Recent symposium on biointerface research held in honor of Thomas Horbett
A group of researchers in bioengineering and a variety of other fields, hailing from the U.S. and around the world, gathered for a two-day symposium last week to honor Thomas Horbett, professor emeritus in the Departments of Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering at the UW. The event, “Biointerface Symposium 2011: Proteins and Cells at the Biointerface,” was held in Seattle on Feb. 7-8. The symposium was held in honor of Horbett’s 40 years of leadership and research contributions in the areas of protein adsorption, cell interactions, blood compatibility, and biocompatibility. Researchers from the UW and many other institutions presented lectures on topics such as microfluidics in the area of biomaterials, engineering materials for gene delivery, interactions between proteins and surfaces, and bio-resorbable vascular scaffolds.
February 10, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
UW Bioe Affiliate Professor Leroy Hood awarded the NAE 2011 Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize
"for automating DNA sequencing that revolutionized biomedicine and forensic science."
His research on fundamental biology (immunity, evolution, genomics and neurobiology) and on bringing engineering to biology through the development of five instruments—the DNA and protein sequencers and synthesizers and the ink jet printer for DNA arrays—all of these instruments have been commercialized (Applied Biosystems and Agilent).
February 2, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
Buddy Ratner to receive highest award from biomedical engineering organization AIMBE
Buddy Ratner, professor in the Departments of Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering at the UW, has been selected to receive the Pierre Galleti Award, the highest honor bestowed by the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). The institute represents more than 50,000 biomedical engineers around the country, and it awards this honor in recognition of his or her contributions to public awareness of medical and biological engineering, and to the promotion of the national interest in science, engineering and education.
January 3, 2011 | UW Today
Students’ water-testing tool wins $40,000, launches nonprofit
University of Washington engineering students have won an international contest for their design to monitor water disinfection using the sun’s rays. The students will share a $40,000 prize from the Rockefeller Foundation and are now working with nonprofits to turn their concept into a reality.
Nov 2, 2010 | UWnews
Pat Stayton, professor in the Department of Bioengineering, has been named director of the UW’s new Molecular Engineering and Science Institute. The institute will focus on how medical and energy applications of molecular engineering, which is very small-scale construction made possible by advances in chemical synthesis that allows for this new class of nanotechnology. The institute will be housed in the Molecular Engineering and Science Building that is under construction on the UW campus just south of Red Square.
Nov 26, 2010 | UW Bioengineering
Roy Martin and Yoky Matsuoka honored with UW Medicine Inventor of the Year awards
Roy Martin, research professor emeritus of anesthesiology and bioengineering, and Yoky Matsuoka, faculty member in Computer Science and Engineering and adjunct professor of bioengineering, were honored at UW Medicine’s 2010 Inventor of the Year Award celebration on Oct. 26 at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Martin received the 2010 Inventor of the Year award, and Matsuoka received the 2010 Emerging Inventor of the Year.
August, 2010 | UWNews
UW Bioengineering undergrad program ranked 6th nationwide by U.S. News & World Report
The University of Washington Bioengineering undergraduate program is ranked 6th in the country—its highest ranking ever—according to new ratings of bachelor’s degree programs by U.S. News & World Report.
August 11, 2010 | UWNews.org
UW engineers and physicians design scaffold to help stem cells rebuild heart muscle
A new polymer scaffold developed by a team of UW Bioengineering researchers and their colleagues can help support the re-growth of heart muscle tissue from stem cells. The new method for encouraging the growth and integration of stem-cell-derived cardiac muscle cells was described in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
August 9, 2010 | UW Bioengineering
UW Bioengineering has received nearly $60,000 in grant funding through the university’s Student Technology Fee program—with three grants allowing the department to upgrade the computers, file server, and 3D printer available to students in BIOE. Norbert Berger, computing services manager for the department, wrote proposals for the department to secure the grants.
July 27, 2010 | UW BIOE
The UW Bioengineering Cardiovascular Training Grant (BCTG) program is now accepting applications for graduate student trainee positions. The BCTG program gives students interested in cardiovascular science and engineering an opportunity to train under outstanding mentors. Applications are due by Aug. 2.
July 27, 2010 | UWNews
Multifunctional nanoparticle enables new type of biological imaging
Spotting a single cancerous cell that has broken free from a tumor and is traveling through the bloodstream to colonize a new organ might seem like finding a needle in a haystack. But a new imaging technique from the University of Washington is a first step toward making this possible. (more)
July 16, 2010 | UW BIOE
Yongmin Kim honored for distinguished service by Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society
Yongmin Kim, former chair of the Department of Bioengineering, has been honored for his outstanding research, educational contributions, and distinguished service by the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.
July 15, 2010 | UW BIOE
Nine Bioengineering graduate students receive NSF and Heart Association fellowships
Five current graduate students and two students joining the UW Department of Bioengineering for their graduate education have received NSF Fellowships, one of the highest awards given to graduate students. Two other students in the department have received American Heart Association pre-doctoral fellowships, a prestigious program that helps students start careers in cardiovascular and stroke research.
June 28, 2010 | Science
Eric Chudler’s Neuroscience For Kids website honored by the journal Science
Neuroscience For Kids, a website created by UW Bioengineering faculty member Eric Chudler, has been honored by the journal Science as part of its Science Prize in Online Educational Resources (SPORE) Awards. The website and a companion essay by Chudler were featured in the June 25 issue of the journal.
June 3, 2010 | UW Bioengineering
Xiaohu Gao honored as Faculty Innovator by UW College of Engineering
Xiaohu Gao has received a Junior Faculty Innovator award as part of the UW College of Engineering’s Community of Innovator Awards, which honor extraordinary efforts by faculty, staff and students.
May 17, 2010 | UW Bioengineering
UW Bioengineering researchers Paul Yager and Barry Lutz have received an NIH Challenge Grant to develop a more sophisticated version of compact microfluidic diagnostic devices. The new devices will use fluid channels with different lengths to help conduct multiple chemical steps, rather than being limited to a single chemical step, like previous generation devices.
May 11, 2010 | UW Bioengineering
Buddy Ratner to deliver University Faculty Lecture
Buddy Ratner, professor in the Departments of Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering, has been selected to give the 2010 University Faculty Lecture at the UW. Ratner is the Michael L. & Myrna Darland Endowed Chair in Technology Commercialization in the Department of Bioengineering.
The distinction of giving the University Faculty Lecture honors faculty whose research, scholarship or art has been widely recognized by their peers and whose achievements have had a substantial impact on their profession, on the research or performance of others and perhaps on society as a whole.
May 3, 2010 | UW Bioengineering e-news
When BIOE undergrad student Karin Asplund traveled to Ecuador for an internship, her faculty mentor, Dan Ratner, challenged her to think of ways to use her bioengineering skills to solve health problems in the developing world. After Asplund returned to the UW and reported her findings, many of her fellow undergrads wanted to help address health disparities in developing areas. They channeled their passion for the issue into Bioengineers Without Borders, a new student organization devoted to using bioengineering to address global health problems.
April 15, 2010 | University Week
Engineering Summit to address challenges in aerospace, computing, biotech
The National Academy of Engineering's Grand Challenges Summit in Seattle will take place May 2 and 3. The one-time event is a forum for students and engineers from academia and industry to discuss problems they will try to solve in the coming decades.
"This is a unique event to talk about what it really means to be an engineer in the 21st century, and how engineering and related disciplines are going to affect life in the coming years," said Matt O'Donnell, the UW's dean of engineering. "For students, it's a chance to discuss the issues that will define their careers. For others, it's an opportunity to learn about fundamental issues for our society in the 21st century."
March 15, 2010 | Time magazine
Both the National Cancer Institute and the World Health Organization say there isn't evidence to support the assertion that cell phones are a public-health threat. But some scientists worry that there has been a dangerous rush to declare cell phones safe, using studies they feel are inadequate and too often weighted toward the wireless industry's interests. An analysis published by bioengineer Henry Lai determined that far more independent studies than industry-funded studies have found at least some type of biological effect from cell-phone exposure.
March 25, 2010 | The New York Times
Research offers clue into how hearts can regenerate in some species
Researchers have now discovered that in nature, hearts are regenerated in a quite different way, one that does not depend on stem cells. Bioengineer Chuck Murry is quoted.
March 22, 2010 | King TV
UW develops early detection for lung cancer
Bioengineering Adjunct and Mechanical Engineering Professor Eric Seibel invents three-diminsional imaging technology with potential to find lung disease even before it develops.
March 29, 2010 | UW Bioengineering
New program bridges aspirations—career gap
What does it take to become a scientist? About 20 community college students are about to find out thanks to an $804,472 National Institutes of Health grant recently awarded to Eric Chudler. Chudler, a Bioengineering research associate professor and a long-term champion of student outreach efforts, will lead the five-year Building Bridges to Bioengineering (B3) program to encourage under-represented minority students to enroll in science studies at four-year universities.
March 22, 2010 | The Seattle Times
Columnist Jerry Large talks with John Medina about promoting academic success in children, one of the most e-mailed Seattle Times stories last week. Medina is an affiliate professor of bioengineering.
March 22, 2010 | The Seattle Times
Great potential in meshing state's life-sciences, global-health riches
With its concentration of medical-related companies and global health organizations, the state has the rich soil needed for growing jobs and new products. Some local projects are already poised to break new ground. Bioengineer Paul Yager has been testing DxBox, a new tool that can take a few drops of blood and test for six diseases in about 10 minutes.
March 2010 | UW Columns Magazine
Innovations help bodies heal better, naturally
Facing a condition that requires a medical implant can be daunting. Eye lenses, pacemakers, artificial hips — even though devices like these have revolutionized medicine and improved countless lives, the body's natural response is still to "wall them off" with scar tissue.
That's why finding a synthetic material the body will tolerate — and even welcome — is so important. The UW, led by bioengineering professor Buddy Ratner, has been the world leader in the search for a solution for nearly 40 years. And it looks like that solution has finally arrived.
March 8, 2010 | UW Bioengineering
Seelig experiments with programming cells for smart drug delivery
A single human cell can build itself into an entire human body. Tapping into our cells’ remarkable programming secrets could lead to sophisticated drug delivery systems targeted at diseased tissue and able to avoid surrounding healthy tissue.
Georg Seelig, a newly appointed adjunct assistant professor in Bioengineering, is attempting to program biological systems within cells to be intensely targeted. He brings a programming and electrical engineering perspective to the challenge, which dovetails well with smart therapeutic drug research already under way in Bioengineering.
March 8, 2010 | University Week
BioE student Jesse Burk-Rafel selected for unique scholarship program
Jesse Burk-Rafel, a senior Honors student in bioengineering, was recently selected as a 2010-11 Luce Scholar.
A native of Bainbridge Island and graduate of Bainbridge High School, Jesse is the first UW student to receive the scholarship as an undergraduate since 1977 and one of 18 nationwide to receive this scholarship this year. Previous Luce scholars were awarded the scholarship as graduate students or after they finished their undergraduate degree. The last time an undergraduate was awarded the scholarship while a current student was in 1977; in 1994 a UW graduate student received the scholarship. Jesse is only the sixth UW student selected as a Luce Scholar.
Feb. 18, 2010 | University Week
Regenerative medicine pioneer Atala speaks at Rushmer Lecture
When your car's fuel pump wears out, you don't junk the car, you replace the pump and drive on down the road. Today, when people need replacement parts for their bodies, they have to either make do with a plastic or metal replacement device that temporarily extends life, or wait for someone else's generosity or misfortune to make their organs available. For a century, doctors and scientists have dreamed of a time when new, tailor-made organs could be grown for their recipients. That time is at hand.
Feb. 11, 2010 | University Week
If they gave Academy Awards for the best science music video, the UW would be a serious contender. Bioengineer Albert Folch used music to control the movement of a lab instrument and filmed it through a microscope. The results are mesmerizing, and offer a new way to view the science of microfluidics.
Feb. 4, 2010 | University Week
Sheih profiled in series on undergrad research
Alyssa Sheih has been involved with undergraduate research since the day that she started at UW. As an incoming freshman, she was a NASA Space Grant recipient. With that scholarship came the opportunity for hands-on research.
Feb. 4, 2010 | UW Bioengineering
Eichinger receives Department's first Volunteer Service Award
Joseph E. Eichinger, a medical device entrepreneur, friend of and collaborator with the UW Department of Bioengineering, received the department’s first Volunteer Service Award at a reception last week.
Jan. 14, 2010 | University Week
Gates Foundation funds technology to measure micronutrients in malnourished populations
Malnutrition stunts growth, impairs mental function and reproduction, and diminishes a person's productivity and work capacity.
In fact, organizations concerned with improving health among the world's poor rank improved nutrition as one of the essential steps toward progress. Good nutrition prevents disease and thus lowers healthcare costs, but more importantly, it improves a person's ability to overcome poverty.
