Area of Study:
Computational & Integrative Bioengineering
Computational and Integrative Bioengineering provides a quantitative framework that combines the topics of other thrusts of the department. Bioengineers can apply computational methods to solve outstanding biological and pathophysiological problems and foster collaboration and exchange among bioengineering research areas. This thrust interacts with all other thrusts in Bioengineering. Growing collaborations include Drug Delivery and Engineered Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering.
The Computational and Integrative Bioengineering thrust is designed to help bioengineers develop facility with experimental design and analysis. Students will learn to use quantitative analysis as part of their armamentarium to pursue careers in biosystems, bioinformatics, biotransport, biomechanics, biosignals, biochemical and matabolic engineering and control analysis as it is applied to the biological and medical sciences. The sciences that can be strongly support by quantitative analysis include physiology, pharmacology, medicine, biochemistry, and medical imaging.
The program helps students to develop knowledge in the mathematical, computational, physio-chemical, and physiological or biochemical foundations of the biological topics under study. Students learn a set of intellectual tools to describe and understand integrated sets of phenomena that are related to their experimental and practical foci.
Within this thrust area, students can concentrate on the biological sciences, ranging from cell and molecular biology through systems biology and physiology. They might focus their efforts on engineering mathematics, modeling and simulation analysis, and data analysis using models. To those concentrations they can add breadth in engineering, mathematics, computer science, and biological science.
All students begin their study of Computational Bioengineering with BIOEN 485. From there, they can branch into three basic tracks, given in the chart below. One leads to specialization in integrative systems and polulation kinetics via BIOEN 540 and 584, another to work in molecular modeling via BIOEN 575, which the third leads to studies of fluid flow, microcirculatory transport and simulation in biology via BIOEN 550 and 542. Other courses may be taken for further breadth.
The chart below summarizes courses that guide students through Computational and Integrative Bioengineering.
