Greetings from BME at Washington University in St. Louis. Since its founding in 1997, the tireless efforts of our faculty, students and staff along with the generous support of many friends and colleagues have enabled us to build one of the most highly-ranked biomedical engineering departments. Our department now consists of 19 core faculty, 105 graduate students and 448 undergraduate students. We are housed in first-class research and teaching facilities, the Uncas A. Whitaker Hall for Biomedical Engineering and Stephen F. & Camilla T. Brauer Hall. We eagerly look to the future with confidence and optimism.
Our department builds upon a long tradition of excellence and cooperation across the university to bring a modern, interdisciplinary approach to advancing basic science and enables us to better understand, diagnose and treat diseases affecting humankind.
Our core faculty's research focuses on five cutting-edge areas of biomedical engineering:
- biomaterials and tissue engineering which seeks to develop materials and processes to promote healing and regeneration of functional tissues
- cardiovascular engineering which seeks better understanding as well as innovative ways to diagnose and treat diseases of the cardiovascular system
- imaging which seeks to develop new technologies to complement the already strong research and clinical imaging activities in our community
- molecular, cell and systems engineering which seeks to develop innovative approaches for treating disease by manipulating molecules, cells or systems.
- neural engineering which involves fundamental and applied studies related to neurons, neurla systems, behavior, and neurological disease
Our core and 55 affiliated faculty from other departments, including our world-class medical school, work together in a number of interdisciplinary research centers and pathways. This large community enables us to cover a broader spectrum of biomedical engineering research areas. The resulting rich diversity of research, spanning length scales from molecules to the whole organism, together with a solid curriculum grounded in engineering, have enabled our nearly 700 undergraduate and 100 graduate alumni to make a meaningful impact in many of the premier academic, medical, legal and industrial organizations around the world.
As remarkable as this past decade has been, there are even more exciting opportunities ahead as we continue to build upon our strengths and leverage special opportunities to increase our impact. We plan to nearly double the number of core faculty to provide more depth and breadth to our research areas. The recently completed Brauer Hall, which adjoins Whitaker Hall, provides the physical infrastructure necessary for our expanded research and teaching efforts.
It has been a privilege and an honor for me to have had the opportunity to guide this endeavor. None of our achievements would have been possible, however, without the contributions, encouragement, commitment and guidance of a multitude of colleagues, friends and supporters. To all of them, I and my colleagues express our sincerest and utmost appreciation.
Frank C-P Yin, MD, PhD
The Stephen F. & Camilla T. Brauer Distinguished
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Department Chair