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 five affiliated centers.
The mission of the Biomedical Engineering department is to pursue excellence in biomedical engineering education, research, and innovation, creating and imparting knowledge for improving society, healthcare, and the human condition.
The department is a world leader in the research areas of neuroscience, computational bioengineering, biomolecular engineering, systems & synthetic biological engineering, cell & tissue engineering, and multiscale biomechanics. New and emerging areas that complement these and the direction, strengths, and priorities of Boston University are micro & nano biosystems, biomedical optics and photonics, bioimaging, 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 surgical tools, Boston University biomedical engineers are committed to advancing research and education in biotechnology; biomolecular engineering; biomedical imaging and sensing; vision, speech, and hearing; cardiopulmonary engineering; neuroscience; micro-and nano-systems; synthetic biology; systems biology; and biomechanics and biomaterials.
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. Virtually all premedical requirements can be satisfied in this program. We prepare graduates for engineering positions in the medical devices and biotechnology industries, as well as for advanced study in engineering, science, medicine, business, law, or other health-related disciplines.
At the graduate level, students 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 Hospital, 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 project work with 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; and biomechanics.
