Faculty in the department conduct research in a variety of subspecialties within BME including tissue engineering, electrophysiology, bone biomechanics and image processing. Research opportunities exist at both undergraduate and graduate levels to allow students to utilize their classroom knowledge on real-world problems.

Major Research Areas:

Tissue engineering research utilizes combinations of biomaterials and cells to restore function to otherwise damaged tissue. Areas of focus are orthopedic, nervous, lung, and cardiovascular tissue. Faculty: Rebecca Kuntz Willits, Cheryl A. Miller, and J. Gary Bledsoe.

Orthopedic Biomechanics research includes the characterization of constructs used in orthopaedic trauma treatment and fixation; characterization of spinal constructs used in vertebral body fusion, and the design of surface coatings that promote bone growth around orthopaedic implant sites. Faculty: J. Gary Bledsoe.

Electrophysiology research includes the characterization of electrical activity at the single channel and whole-cell level. Areas of focus include the design of high-resolution techniques of monitoring the stimulus-secretion coupling process in excitable cells. Faculty: David Barnett.

Biomedical Signal Processing research focuses on the analysis and classification of sleep patterns using wavelet theory, spectral analysis, neural networks, and support vector machines. Additional efforts include the development of electrodes for recording from neo-natal rodents and the design of recording chambers for analysis of the effects of low frequency electromagnetic radiation on sleep. Faculty: David Barnett, Cecil Thomas, and A. Michael Anch.