Biomaterials are vital engineered tools that are used in some form across all of medicine. From the light weight but mechanically strong metals used in hip implants, to the optically transparent and permeable polymers used in contact lenses, to the lipid nanoparticles used to deliver important vaccines, biomaterials are the foundation of current and emerging medical therapies. Biomaterials interact directly with biological systems requiring them to have excellent biocompatibility while also maintaining appropriate physical, chemical, electrical, magnetic and/or mechanical properties that ensure they can perform their intended functions. BU BME biomaterials faculty are at the cutting-edge of biomaterials research, innovation and translation. At BU BME, diverse and interdisciplinary teams are: synthesizing new advanced biocompatible and bioactive biomaterials with tunable properties; fabricating biomaterials with nano- and micro-scale architectures to study multicellular microenvironments; and applying biomaterials as diagnostic contrast agents, surgical sealants, drug delivery devices, hydrogel carriers for cell transplantation and 3D matrices to engineer new tissues and organs.

BU BME is also committed to preparing the next generation of biomaterials scientists and engineers to advance medical innovation using biomaterials through the NIH T32 Translational Research in Biomaterials (TRB) training program.

Biomaterials Engineering Faculty 

Primary Faculty: Christopher Chen, Mark Grinstaff, Liangliang Hao, Timothy O’Shea, Michael Smith, Michelle Teplensky, Joe Tien, Joyce Wong

Research Faculty: Elizabeth Bartolak-Suki, Jeroen Eyckmans

Affiliated Faculty: David Bishop, Elise Morgan, Arturo Vegas

Affiliated Research Centers

BME Biomaterials Engineering in the news:

  • March 9, 2023

    Bringing Hope to Ben

    On a lifelong mission to help a childhood friend, Tim O’Shea is working on a new way to repair spinal cords By Patrick L. Kennedy Ben Harvey was an active fifteen-year-old. He was a rower, a swimmer—one of the fastest in the state of Queensland, Australia. And especially, he played rugby. In... [ More ]

  • May 17, 2022

    Biotech Developing “Tissue Therapeutics” to Treat Diseased Organs Launches from BU and MIT Labs

    Greater Boston has become the nation’s biotech hub—the Silicon Valley of life sciences, according to some—and Massachusetts is now reportedly home to more than 1,000 biotech companies, employing more than 80,000 people. One of the newest multimillion-dollar firms helping to drive the boom has its roots in a Boston University lab. Satellite Bio—fueled by technology codeveloped by BU biomedical engineer Christopher Chen—launched in April after announcing it had secured $110 million in venture funding. [ More ]

  • April 14, 2022

    BU Bestows Top Honor on Grinstaff

    BU President Robert Brown has announced the appointment of College of Engineering Professor Mark Grinstaff (BME, Chemistry, MSE, MED), along with Gary Lawson of the School of Law and Dana Robert of the School of Theology, as William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professors—the highest recognition the University bestows on faculty. The funds... [ More ]

  • February 15, 2022

    Inventor Mark Grinstaff Named a 2021 AAAS Fellow

    By Andrew Thurston A pioneering treatment that targets advanced breast cancer. Biodegradable sealants to close wounds in cranial surgery. Self-lubricating condoms to reduce disease spread. A prolific inventor, Professor Mark Grinstaff (BME, Chemistry, MSE, MED) holds more than 200 patents or pending applications covering a wide swath of medical challenges. Now, [ More ]

  • June 1, 2021

    Professor Ji-Xin Cheng and Coworkers Published in Nature Communications

    BU researchers reported an ultrafast fingerprint-stimulated Raman spectroscopic imaging platform, with broad applications to cancer metabolism, brain mapping, and biofuel production, in Nature Communications on May 24th, 2021.  This work was funded by grants from the Department of Energy and the NIH.  [ More ]

  • May 26, 2021

    3 BME Professors Elected to IAMBE

    Congratulations to BU BME Professors Chris Chen, Joyce Wong and Mark Grinstaff on being elected 2021 Fellows of The International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering. [ More ]

  • March 31, 2021

    Joyce Wong Named President-Elect of AIMBE

    Professor Joyce Wong (BME, MSE), has been named president-elect of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), one of the foremost biomedical engineering societies in the country. Her term as president will begin in 2022. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., and numbering 50,000 members, including the nation’s most accomplished biomedical... [ More ]

  • February 3, 2021

    Society For Biomaterials Honors Professor Joyce Wong

    Professor Joyce Wong received the prestigious 2020 Clemson Award for Basic Research. The award acknowledges an original and outstanding contribution to the basic knowledge and understanding of the interaction between materials and tissue. [ More ]

  • December 24, 2020

    Joyce Wong Elected National Academy of Inventors Fellow

    Whether innovating COVID-19 negative pressure isolation tents for hospitals, devising a way to image and treat abdominal surgical adhesions, or creating a method to enhance tissue engineering, Wong has adopted a mindset of innovation. [ More ]

  • April 17, 2020

    ENG Faculty Pivot to Fight COVID-19

    Engineers are using their skills to solve critical challenges during the pandemic [ More ]