Research

Bioinstrumentation is the development of technologies for the measurement and manipulation of parameters within biological systems, focusing on the application of engineering tools for scientific discovery and for the diagnosis and treatment of disease.  Examples include instrumentation for imaging, disease diagnosis, and therapeutics.

Biomaterials include living tissue and artificial materials used for the repair, replacement, and stimulation of biological systems. Nanotechnology involves the development and use of technologies that operate on the nanometer length scale, around the size of a large biomolecule. Exciting efforts are underway to combine these two areas to assemble materials from nanoscale building blocks.

Cell and tissue engineering centers on the application of physical and engineering principles to understand and control cell and tissue behavior. Cellular engineering focuses on cell-level phenomena, while tissue engineering and regenerative medicine seek to generate or stimulate new tissue for disease treatment. 

Computational biology focuses on the application of computational techniques to problems in molecular biology, genomics, and biophysics. Using tools adapted from computer science, mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, and other quantitative disciplines, computational biologists address a wide variety of problems ranging from analysis of protein structure and function, to management of clinical data.

Systems biology approaches living systems as interactive, multifaceted networks rather than as a collection of individual units. Synthetic biology seeks to build parts, devices, and systems from biological components. The goals of these efforts can include using microorganisms to synthesize materials of medical or industrial value, and even to repurpose bacteria to fight disease.