Courses
The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the Student Link for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.
View courses in
-
ENG BE 511: Biomedical Instrumentation
Physiological signals, origin of biopotentials (ECG, EMG, EEG), biomedical transducers and electrodes. Biomedical signal detection, amplifications and filtering. Analog front-ends of biomedical instruments. Electrical safety in medical environment. Laboratory experiments supplement lectures. -
ENG BE 515: Introduction to Medical Imaging
Methods of obtaining useful images of the interior of the body using X-rays, ultrasound, and radionuclides. Image formation and display. Projection radiography. Radiation detectors. Conventional and computerized tomography. Nuclear imaging. Automating diagnosis and non-invasive testing. Radiation safety. 4 cr -
ENG BE 517: Optical Microscopy of Biological Materials
In this course students will learn the practice and the underlying theory of imaging with a focus on state-of-the-art live cell microscopy. Students will have the opportunity to use laser scanning confocal as well as widefield and near-field imaging to address experimental questions related to ion fluxes in cells, protein dynamics and association, and will use phase and interference techniques to enhance the detection of low contrast biological material. Exploration and discussion of detector technology, signals and signal processing, spectral separation methods and physical mechanisms used to determine protein associations and protein diffusion in cells are integrated throughout the course. Students will be assigned weekly lab reports, a mid-term and a final project consisting of a paper and an oral presentation on a current research topic involving optical microscopy. 4 cr -
ENG BE 519: Spch Pr Hum/Mch
This course description is currently under construction. -
ENG BE 521: Continuum Mechanics
The main goal of this course is to present a unified, mathematically rigorous approach to two classical branches of mechanics: the mechanics of fluids and the mechanics of solids. Topics will include kinematics, stress analysis, balance laws (mass, momentum, and energy), the entropy inequality, and constitutive equations in the framework of Cartesian vectors and tensors. Emphasis will be placed on mechanical principles that apply to all materials by using the unifying mathematical framework of Cartesian vectors and tensors. Illustrative examples from biology and physiology will be used to describe basic concepts in continuum mechanics. The course will end at the point from which specialized courses devoted to problems in fluid mechanics (e.g. biotransport) and solid mechanics (e.g. cellular biomechanics) could logically proceed. Same as ENG ME 521; students may not receive credit for both. 4 cr -
ENG BE 524: Skeletal Tissue Mechanics
The course is structured around classical topics in mechanics of materials and their application to study of the mechanical behavior of skeletal tissues, whole bones, bone-implant systems, and diarthroidal joints. Topics include: mechanical behavior of tissues, (anisotropy, viscoelasticity, fracture and fatigue) with emphasis on the role of the microstructure of these tissues; structural properties of whole bones and implants (composite and asymmetric bean theories); and mechanical function of joints (contact mechanics, lubrication, and wear). Emphasis is placed on using experimental data to test and to develop theoretical models, as well as on using the knowledge gained to address common health related problems related to aging, disease, and injury. Same as ENGME524 and ENGMS524. Students may not receive credit for both. 4 cr -
ENG BE 526: Fundamentals of Biomaterials
Provides the chemistry and engineering skills needed to solve challenges in the biomaterials and tissue engineering area, concentrating on the fundamental principles in biomedical engineering, material science, and chemistry. Covers the structure and properties of hard materials (ceramics and metals) and soft materials (polymers, colloids, and hydrogels). Meets with BE726 lectures. Note that the laboratory portion is not offered in BE 526. 4 cr -
ENG BE 527: Principles and Applications of Tissue Engineering
Provides the chemistry and engineering skills needed to solve challenges in the biomaterials and tissue engineering area, concentrating on cell-biomaterial interactions, biomaterial-host response, and inflammation. Covers the rheological properties of polymers and gels as well as fatigue and fracture of materials. Specific applications of tissue engineering. Meets with BE 727 lectures. Note that the laboratory portion is not offered in BE 527. 4 cr -
ENG BE 533: Biorheology
This is an introductory course whose main goal is to acquaint students with basic concepts of elasticity, viscoelasticity, plasticity, viscoplasticity, poroelasticity, non-Newtonian flow and related phenomena that often characterize mechanical behavior of biological materials. In studying these phenomena, different approaches have been utilized, including methods of continuum mechanics, phenomenological approaches, mathematical modeling and microstructural approaches that relate structural features with the overall behavior. Illustrative examples of application of these methods to studies of various biological materials at the system, organ, tissue, cellular and molecular levels will be presented. The course provides good foundations for further studies in the areas of rheology, mechanics of solids, cellular and tissue mechanics and mechanobiology. -
ENG BE 549: Structure and Function of the Extracellular Matrix
This is an introductory course dealing with the detailed structure of the basic units of the extracellular matrix including collagen, elastin, microfibrils and proteoglycans as well as the functional properties of these molecules. The focus is mostly on how the structure of these components determine the functional properties such as elasticity at different scales from molecule to fibrils to organ level behavior. The biological role of these components and their interaction with cells is also covered. Interaction of enzymes and the matrix in the presence of mechanical forces is discussed. Mathematical modeling is applied at various length scales of the extracellular matrix that provides quantitative understanding of the structure and function relationship. Special topics include how diseases affect extracellular matrix in the lung, cartilage and vasculature. The relevance of the properties of native extracellular matrix for tissue engineering is also discussed. Meets with MS 549 and ME 549. 4 cr. -
ENG BE 555: Introduction to Biomedical Optics
This course surveys the applications of optical science and engineering to a variety of biomedical problems, with emphasis on optical and photonics technologies that enable real, minimally-invasive clinical and laboratory applications. The course teaches only those aspects of the biology itself that are necessary to understand the purpose of the applications. The first weeks introduce the optical properties of tissue, and following lectures cover a range of topics in three general areas: 1) Optical spectroscopy applied to diagnosis of cancer and other tissue diseases; 2) Photon migration and diffuse optical imagine of subsurface structures in tissue; and 3) laser-tissue interactions and other applications of light for therapeutic purposes. Some classes will invoke traditional lectures, and others will be "inverted," devoted to discussing and understanding application problems, with students having read textbook sections or online material prior to class. -
ENG BE 556: Optical Spectroscopic Imaging
This introductory graduate-level course aims to teach students how electromagnetic waves and various forms of molecular spectroscopy can be used to study a complex biological system by pushing the physical limits on engineering system design.The course will cover fundamental concepts of optical spectroscopy and microscopy, followed by specific topics covering fluorescence-based , absorption-based, and scattering-based spectroscopic imaging. In addition, this course will provide in-depth discussions of linear and nonlinear spectroscopic imaging in the aspects of theory, instrumentation, image data analysis and enabling applications. Students will learn how to give a concise and informative presentation of a recent literature to the class. Students will be able to challenge their creativity in designing advanced imaging instrument of data analysis methods as part of their course assignments. The students will learn how to write and present a convincing proposal for the required final project to be designed by interdisciplinary teams formed among the students. -
ENG BE 560: Biomolecular Architecture
Provides an introduction to the molecular building blocks and the structure of three major components of the living cells: the nucleic acids, the phospho- lipids membrane, and the proteins. The nucleic acids, DNA and RNA, linear information storing structure as well as their three-dimensional structure are covered in relationship to their function. This includes an introduction to information and coding theory. The analysis tools used in pattern identification representation and functional association are introduced and used to discuss the patterns characteristic of DNA and protein structure and biochemical function. The problems and current approaches to predicting protein structure including those using homology, energy minimization, and modeling are introduced. The future implications of our expanding biomolecular knowledge and of rational drug design are also discussed. 4 cr -
ENG BE 562: Computational Biology: Genomes, Networks, Evolution
The algorithmic and machine learning foundations of computational biology, combining theory with practice are covered. Principles of algorithm design and core methods in computational biology, and an introduction of important problems in computational biology. Hands on experience analyzing large-scale biological data sets. 4 cr -
ENG BE 567: Nonlinear Systems in Biomedical Engineering
Introduction to nonlinear dynamical systems in biomedical engineering. Qualitative, analytical and computational techniques. Stability, bifurcations, oscillations, multistability, hysteresis, multiple time-scales, chaos. Introduction to experimental data analysis and control techniques. Applications discussed include population dynamics, biochemical systems, genetic circuits, neural oscillators, etc. 4 cr. -
ENG BE 568: Systems Biology of Human Disease
This course will train students to apply or develop computational network, modeling, and machine learning concepts to probe into the systems biology of disease. The aim of this course is to cover general concepts in biological computing that provide the foundation of thinking computationally about anomalous behavior in biological systems that cause diseases. The course also aims to teach students to work in teams and develop the skills to plan and coordinate a scientific project. The course will cover computational frameworks, such as biological networks (including metabolic, regulatory, and signal transduction networks), micro array analysis, proteomic analysis, next generation sequencing, imaging, machine learning, probabilistic inference, genetics, pathway analysis, network and graph theory, and other technologies to medical diseases initially focusing on clincal problems such as cancer, diabetes, inflammation, and aging. The course is aimed at seniors and graduate students in biomedical engineering or bioinformatics; however, students from other disciplines ranging from medicine to physics or computer science can attend the class with some prerequisites. 4 cr. -
ENG BE 569: Next Generation Sequencing
The advent of high throughput sequencing is virtually changing biology and medicine. The technology enables us to catalog the entire functional parts list of living organisms from bacteria to human, develop and validate regulatory networks for controlling gene expression in systems biology models and develop novel biomarkers for personalized medicine that guide pharmacological treatments. In this course we will review the foundations of the field, starting from the biophysical foundations of current or emerging single molecule DNA sequencing techniques, through an introduction to the analytical tools to model and analyze NGS Data, and finally discussing clinical applications such as predicting drug response focusing on cancer. The course will involve bi-weekly homework assignments that include theoretical analysis and modeling, working with multiple analysis tools for NGS data including assembly, re-sequencing, alignments, RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, DNA methylation, mutation analysis and detection, copy number variation detection, and their applications to cancer. 4 cr -
ENG BE 570: Introduction to Computational Vision
Introductory course in biological visual neuroscience and computational vision. Provides a survey of the psychophysical, neuroanatomical and neurophysiological substrates of visual mechanisms underlying perception of visual motion, depth, objects, and space and of decision making mechanisms. Discussion of theoretical, explanatory, paradigms for these visual mechanisms. Topics addressed include psychophysics, methods from single cell recording physiology and low field potentials (LFP),multimodal imaging and computational modeling of various visual tasks and their modulation by attention. We will briefly address learning mechanisms and their relationship to brain plasticity. A term project is required for graduate credit. 4 cr. -
ENG BE 571: Introduction to Neuroengineering
This course covers current and future neurotechnologies for analyzing the brain and for treating neurological and psychiatric diseases. It focuses on the biophysical, biochemical, anatomical principles governing the design of the current neurotechnologies, with a goal of encouraging innovations of new generation of therapies. Topics include basic microscopic and macroscopic architecture of the brain, the fundamental properties of individual neurons and ensemble neural networks, electrophysiology, DBS, TMS, various imaging methods, optical neural control technologies, optogenetics, neuropharmacology, and gene/stem-cell therapies. Discussions of related literatures and design projects will be involved. Enrollment is limited to 30 students. The course is open to MS, MEng, and PhD students, as well as qualified undergraduate seniors. This course meets with BE 771. 4 cr. -
ENG BE 601: Linear Algebra
The first of four math modules designed to reinforce basic mathematical and computer programming concepts pertinent to graduate research in biomedical engineering. This course will emphasize the five cornerstones of applied linear algebra: Linear combinations, decompositions, orthogonality, metric, and linear transformations. Topics include LU and QR factorizations, finite difference methods for solving partial differential equations (PDEs), least squares, Fourier series and wavelets, solid mechanics, Markov chains, principal component analysis, and signal processing techniques. This course will provide the necessary linear algebra background needed to solve problems in BE 602, 603 and 604. 2 cr.