Jonathan Sachs named Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering

July 11, 2025 — University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering Dean Andrew Alleyne has appointed Professor Jonathan Sachs as Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, effective July 1, 2025.

“The Department of Biomedical Engineering is really hitting its stride,” Sachs says, pointing to multiple recent FDA approvals and clinical breakthroughs. “I’m enormously appreciative of the opportunity to partner with our talented faculty, staff and students as we usher in a new phase of breakthrough biomedical technologies. We have an amazing community, and I’m excited to build on our momentum by continuing to invest in excellence and innovation in our research and teaching, while also focusing fresh energy on building our department’s vibrance and visibility.”

Sachs joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 2006, and was elected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering in 2024.

His research efforts focus on innovative discoveries at the molecular scale. His work combines experimental biophysics and cell biology with sophisticated computational modeling using some of the world’s fastest supercomputers to explain how molecules malfunction in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer's, and inflammatory diseases like arthritis. 

He and his students use that new knowledge to develop cutting-edge approaches to discover new therapeutic strategies, including small molecule drug discovery and protein engineering.

Sachs has served in several leadership roles within his research discipline, including editor-in-chief of Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology and head of the Legislative Relations Working Group for the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB). 

In addition, he has held several leadership positions at the University, including head of the College of Science and Engineering Consultative Committee, a member of the Department of Biomedical Engineering Head Advisory Committee, and a member of several awards and search committees.

Sachs received his bachelor’s degree in mathematical biochemistry from the University of Michigan and his PhD in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship funded by the National Institutes of Health in molecular biophysics at Yale University, where he developed expertise in experimental biophysics and biochemistry for the study of membrane proteins.