Biomedical Engineering
Established in 1966, Boston University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering is ranked among the nation’s best and offers the Bachelor of Science, Master of Engineering, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy, and participates in BS/MD (MMEDIC) and MD/PhD programs with the BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. The department presents a unique, quantitative and multiscale approach to biomedical engineering, from molecular and cellular levels through tissue, neural, and whole-organ systems. Research by faculty and students takes place in departmental and selected adjunct laboratories and in 14 affiliated centers.
The mission of the Biomedical Engineering department is to pursue excellence in biomedical engineering education, research, and innovation, generating and imparting knowledge to better healthcare and the societal condition. To achieve our educational mission, we cultivate our students’ problem-solving and communication skills, nurture their creativity, promote their ability to think critically and independently, and help them to understand and ethically apply scientific and engineering approaches.
The department is a world leader in the research areas of neuroscience, computational bioengineering, biomolecular engineering, systems & synthetic biological engineering, cell & tissue engineering, multiscale biomechanics, micro & nano biosystems, biomedical optics, and photonics. New and emerging areas that complement these and the direction, strengths, and priorities of Boston University include machine learning and data science in bioengineering and (bio)information management. We also continue to build complementary efforts in translational biomedical engineering that couple to and leverage similar efforts on the Medical Campus.
From understanding the human genome to pioneering diagnostic tools to engineering molecular solutions to disease, Boston University biomedical engineers are committed to advancing research and education in ways that will positively impact the human condition.
The undergraduate curriculum incorporates a strong interdisciplinary component that combines the quantitative aspects of engineering analysis and design with the full spectra of biology and physiology, from the molecular and cellular levels to entire systems and organisms. All premedical requirements can be satisfied within this program. We prepare graduates for engineering positions in the medical technology and biotechnology industries, as well as for advanced studies in engineering, science, medicine, business, law, or other health-related disciplines.
At the graduate level, translational research opportunities abound and enable students to work with some of the world’s leading biomedical researchers at BU’s College of Engineering and Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and at Boston’s other leading research hospitals. The department builds complementary efforts in translational biomedical engineering aimed at rapidly bringing innovations to patient care.
Affiliations
The Department of Biomedical Engineering’s affiliates include a number of medical institutions in addition to our own BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center. These affiliations include Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, New England Medical Center, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Most of our affiliations have been made at the individual faculty level and through graduate students receiving training in the context of collaborations between faculty members at both institutions. In some cases, we have MDs working in our laboratories on the Charles River Campus. We also have faculty, undergraduates, and graduate students working in laboratories at area hospitals.
Biomedical Engineering faculty and students also collaborate with numerous colleagues in the Boston University College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College. These include, for example, research collaborations in physical therapy; speech and hearing sciences; health sciences (neuroanatomy and exercise physiology); physics; molecular bioengineering; neuroscience and engineering; and biomechanics.
