PhD Program Overview
The doctoral degree is the highest degree that can be awarded to a student. Attainment of this degree demonstrates high achievement in the field of Bioengineering, including excellence in scientific research and continued intellectual leadership as an independent researcher. A student seeking the PhD in our department undertakes a rigorous set of core courses, thrust courses, courses outside the department to broaden background, and a focused research project. Three major milestones punctuate that work: the Qualifying Examination, the General Examination, and the Final Examination (dissertation defense).
The goal of our graduate program is to prepare bioengineers for careers in industry and the academy. Our objectives are:
- To provide bioengineers with an in-depth understanding of mathematics, engineering principles, physics, chemistry, physiology, and modern biology.
- To train bioengineers to apply basic sciences to medical and biological problems, using engineering principles.
- To train bioengineers to recognize and provide engineering solutions to clinical problems.
- To train students to do bioengineering research.
- To train students to teach bioengineering at the graduate and undergraduate levels.
- To train students to apply bioengineering research to commercially viable problems.
Note: not all students need to be trained in all areas.
Thrust Areas of Study
There are five general areas of study, "thrust areas", in which students can focus their training. Those five areas are as follows:
D2H2 focuses on the development of technology to deliver health care outside of the traditional hospital and physician's office. The program grew from earlier developments in instrumentation and sensors, notably in ultrasonic systems for diagnosis and therapy, telemedicine, and microfluidic chemical analytical systems. Students can emphasize ultrasound for diagnosis and therapy, telemedicine, MEMS and microfluidics or electronic medicine, systems engineering and their clinical applications.
Engineered Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering concentrates on the development of artificial materials with surfaces that direct appropriate healing in their host patients. The work allows students to investigate prosthetics for hard and soft tissues, the control of inflammation, development of revascularization and biomineralization as well as surface immobilazation and analysis strategies. A growing area in Engineered Biomaterials is tissue engineering that is focused on the cardiovascular system.
Molecular Bioengineering and Nanotechnology has two broad activities: Molecular Biomechanics and Smart Drug Delivery. Molecular Biomechanics seeks to understand the mechanical properties of molecular systems and to develop mechanical systems that are based on engineered biomolecules. Smart Drug Delivery develops novel, molecularly based methods of the delivery of therapeutic molecules to patients. The systems operate with feedback responses to body signals and with targeted transport of stable or temporarily stabilized pharmaceuticals around and through biological barriers.
Medical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy is a systems-oriented program that allows students to develop image-guided surgery, high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and image analysis, segmentation and visualization to provide support to, e.g., the next generation of low-cost ultrasound machines. Medical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy provides some of the technology that makes possible the systems of D2H2.
Computational and Integrative Bioengineering is central to many if not all aspects of Bioengineering. Computational Bioengineering tools are required in all areas of research from D2H2 to Molecular Bioengineering through whole-body, organ and cellular-level research. Computational Bioengineering provides an integrated approach to quantitative problem solving that is useful in all of the sub-fields of bioengineering.