Biomedical Engineering Summer 2021 Update

Location, location, location

Brenda Ogle

Dear BME community,

One of our themes the past academic year was “Prioritizing our Proximity.” We sought to augment relationships with our thriving local medtech community and our medical school and clinics with a goal of translating discovery to medical utility.

Groundbreaking discoveries from BME start-ups

There’s been a sharp uptick in the licensing of technology and initiation of new startup companies based on the technology of University of Minnesota BME faculty over the last three years.

And over the past year, many of these companies made dramatic breakthroughs that are bringing meaningful change to the practice of medicine. We share these highlights below, which range from completing the world’s largest clinical trial for treating tinnitus to demonstrating in situ growth of a tissue-engineered heart valve.

This builds on UMN’s rich tradition of advancing products and technologies that benefit the public good. The University ranks eighth in the U.S. for “innovation impact,” spun out a record number of start-ups (a tie with the previous year), and recently hit the $1 billion mark in research expenditures.

Tapping into local biomedical engineering expertise

To continue this momentum, we recently launched UMN BME-Industry Grand Rounds. The interactive forum unites industry leaders, clinical staff, UMN faculty, and trainees to discuss frontline topics in biomedical engineering.

We held three pilots and are expanding both the number of events and their reach from a local to international scale. Watch for more information and, in the meantime, view our past events!

Infusing industry perspectives into the student experience

Our senior design series builds on our department’s translational momentum. Unique to UMN, each year clinical staff and local industry members advise our design teams. They interact with students and the greater BME and UMN community to address a biomedical design challenge.

This year’s senior design winners developed a nasal washing system for comprehensive virus sampling, a new diagnostic for long-term liver function, and an accessible, low cost, and point-of-care physical therapy tracking tool. Congratulations to all teams for their strong effort!

Opening new doors for discovery

Our location keeps getting better. In April, UMN announced it will host a new research center for organ and tissue preservation. The center will be one of two in the U.S. that the Biostasis Research Institute (BRI) launched and funded. This is bolstered by last summer’s announcement of the $26 million NSF Engineering Research Center, ATP-Bio.

This expands what’s already possible given our unique location, situated next to our medical school and other University of Minnesota health sciences and in the heart of a major medical device industry and an emerging biotechnology sector. The opportunities for innovation are endless.

Take care and be well,

Brenda Ogle
Professor and Head
Department of Biomedical Engineering

Booming BME Start-ups

 

Woman wearing headphones and with device in mouth as part of tinnitus treatment

Largest clinical trial of its kind could help millions with tinnitus (Neuromod Devices)

Professor Hubert Lim and team showed that combining sound and electrical stimulation of the tongue can significantly reduce tinnitus, and that therapeutic effects could be sustained for up to 12 months.

 

 

COVID-19

Clinical trial to treat COVID-19 based on a computational model (M Health)

Professor Dave Odde and team are studying if giving metformin, ivermectin, fluvoxamine, or a combination of these medications to individuals shortly after they develop COVID-19 will decrease the severity of their symptoms.

 

 

Lab-created heart valves

Lab-created heart valves grow with the recipient (Vascudyne, Inc.)

A groundbreaking study from Professor Robert Tranquillo and team could potentially reduce multiple pediatric heart valve replacement surgeries.

 

 

Patient lifting their leg

Clinical trials evaluate adaptive software for paraplegic patients (StimSherpa)

A trial involving Professor Tay Netoff is testing and optimizing the use of epidural spinal cord stimulation to restore volitional movement in people suffering from chronic complete motor spinal cord injury and paraplegia.

Funding Highlight

molecular dynamics and brain renderings

Two BME researchers secure $13M+ in two years

Professor Alexander Opitz has secured nearly $7 million to advance brain stimulation technologies, while Professor Jonathan Sachs has received more than $6 million to better understand molecular dynamics and develop new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.

Read more about Professor Sachs' research

Read more about Professor Opitz's research

Research Highlight

 

engineered immune cells attack a tumor

New BME research optimizes body’s own immune system to fight cancer

A first-of-its-kind study from Professor Paolo Provenzano shows how engineered immune cells move faster to attack a tumor.

Teaching Highlight

 

Casim Sarkar

Casim Sarkar receives prestigious teaching award

The Morse-Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Award recognizes Professor Sarkar for outstanding contributions to undergraduate education.

Student Spotlight

 

NSF Graduate Research Fellows 2021

BME community members receive NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Four students connected to our department—including a recent graduate and incoming students— have been awarded 2021 fellowships through the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).