Fall 2018 Highlights Report
Illinois Bioengineering UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
Contents
2
Everitt Lab
6
Research Highlights
18
New Faculty
20
Awards & Honors
22
New Research Funding
24
Graduate Education
26
Undergraduate Education
28
New College of Medicine
The 2018 Illinois Bioengineering Annual Highlights Report informs alumni, industry partners, peers, friends, our faculty/students/staff, and other stakeholders about the department’s accomplishments and newsworthy events (FY2018).
Bioengineering Leadership Interim Department Head Michael F. Insana Associate Department Head of Graduate Programs Joseph Irudayaraj Associate Department Head of Undergraduate Programs Andrew Smith Director of Undergraduate Programs Marcia Pool Director, Master of Engineering (M.ENG.) Program Dipanjan Pan
bioengineering.illinois.edu
External Advisory Board Members Gilda Barabino, City College of New York James Duncan, Yale University Archelle Georgiou, Georgiou Consulting Beverly Huss, Qool Therapeutics Robert Nerem, Georgia Tech Ben Noe, Medtronic Douglas Noll, University of Michigan Geert W. Schmid-Schoenbein, University of California San Diego Rick Stevens, Argonne National Lab Mehmet Toner, Harvard University Robert Tranquillo, University of Minnesota Frank Yin, Washington University, St. Louis Writing and photography contributors: Heather Coit Josh Nielsen Doris Dahl Laura Schmitt Da Yeon Eom Emily Scott Miranda Holloway L. Brian Stauffer Mike Koon Liz Ahlberg Touchstone
Department Head Message
Dear Friends and Colleagues, The Illinois Department of Bioengineering reached another milestone this past summer as we moved into our new home in Everitt Lab following a two-year, $55 million renovation. The 124,000square-foot building provides our students and faculty with state-of-the-art facilities necessary to educate the next generation of bioengineering health care innovators and leaders, while providing additional lab space for research that can help improve the human condition. [See pages 2-4] Everitt Lab’s central campus location on the southernmost border of the engineering campus enables Bioengineering to serve as a conduit for even more multidisciplinary research collaborations that promise to transform medicine. One of those collaborations is with our campus' new Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the first engineering-based medical school in the world. Among the Everitt Lab spaces we share with the College of Medicine is the $10 million dollar Jump Simulation Center that opened this summer. Our department is busy integrating this state-of-the-art medical training facility into bioengineering laboratory courses, senior design projects, and technology transfer efforts. The opportunities are very exciting. We are proud of the role that Bioengineering faculty played in conceptualizing and designing an innovative medical school curriculum, and we look forward to our continued contributions as faculty members and administrative leaders. [See page 28-29] Recently, we welcomed two young assistant professors to the department— Fan Lam and Paul Jensen—who will make important contributions to, respectively, MR spectroscopic imaging in neuroscience and computational genomics for microbial health. [See pages 18-19] I invite you to enjoy reading through this report to learn about the groundbreaking research, the changes being made in our educational programs, and the other accomplishments of our faculty and students.
Michael F. Insana Interim Department Head Donald Biggar Willett Professor of Engineering
Highlights Report I Fall 2018
1
Everitt Lab
A new state-of-the-art home for Bioeng
Following a two-year, multi-million-
One of those collaborations is
dollar renovation, historic Everitt
with the new Carle Illinois College of
Laboratory became the new home of
Medicine, the world's first medical
the Illinois Bioengineering Department
school designed from the start with an
in June.
engineering-focused curriculum. Carle
The more than 124,000-square-foot
Illinois welcomed its inaugural class of
building provides Bioengineering
32 medical students in July 2018. For
students and faculty with state-of-the-
the next two years as space is
art instructional and research facilities,
renovated for the college in the
where they can learn, create, and
Medical Sciences building, medical
innovate. In addition, Everitt Lab's
students will work alongside
central campus location enables
Bioengineering students in Everitt Lab.
Bioengineering to serve as a conduit
In addition, Carle Illinois students
for even more multidisciplinary
will permanently hone their physician
collaborations that promise to
skills in the $10 million Jump Simulation
transform medicine and improve
Center located in the basement of
the human condition.
Everitt Lab. The Jump Center combines medical equipment and the latest
2
Illinois Bioengineering
ineering
simulation technology to enhance
Head Mike Insana. "Similarly, we
student training in various settings,
believe that the work that occurs in
including an operating room, intensive
this building going forward will help
care unit, clinic office, and virtual reality
revolutionize human health in the
skills lab. This type of advanced
21st century."
training ultimately aims to improve
An official reopening celebration
patient health outcomes and lower
will take place on Friday, September 21,
health care costs.
2018, nearly 70 years to the day after
Many Illinois alumni will remember
the building originally opened as the
Everitt Lab as the longtime home
Electrical Engineering Building—it
(1948–2014) of the Electrical &
was renamed Everitt Laboratory in
Computer Engineering department.
1988 in honor of the late Dean
"The groundbreaking research and
William Littell Everitt, who led the
instruction that occurred in Everitt Lab
transformation of the College of
during the last half of the 20th century
Engineering (1949–1968) into the
helped lay the foundation for today's
research and education powerhouse
information age," said Bioengineering
it is today.
Professor and Interim Department
Highlights Report I Fall 2018
3
Everitt Lab
A new state-of-the-art home for Bioengineering The Jump Simulation Center
Illinois Bioengineering is the first department in the country to have a medical simulation center located in its building. The simulation center, used by the medical students, is also used by bioengineering students for design, capstone, professional master’s, and research projects.
Exceptional research and collaborative spaces
New office and lab space for more than 20 Bioengineering faculty who are exploring synthetic bioengineering; computational & systems biology; molecular, cellular, & tissue engineering; bioimaging; and bio-micro & nanotechnology areas.
The finest instructional labs
State-of-the-art instructional lab space that enhances students' hands-on learning in Physiology, Cell & Tissue Engineering, Bioinstrumentation, and Senior Design courses.
4
Illinois Bioengineering
William Everitt: An engineering luminary
An inventor, author, exemplary educator, and engineering visionary, William Everitt helped transform the Illinois Electrical Engineering (EE) Department and College of Engineering into the research and education powerhouses they are today through his leadership in the two decades following World War II. Everitt rose to prominence during the late 1920s and 30s when he wrote the book Communication Engineering—one of the first textbooks anywhere to incorporate research results (largely his own) in a form suitable for classroom instruction. During World War II, Everitt led the operations research staff in the Army Signal Corps, making important contributions to radar development and training. From this experience, he recognized that the technological breakthroughs that were helping win the war were fueled by the work of scientists and physicists rather than engineers. When he became EE department head at Illinois in 1945, he led a curriculum transformation and hired some of the brightest young faculty, who would not only teach but would conduct research, as well—a novel idea at the time. In 1949, he became dean of the College of Engineering and implemented these reforms college-wide for the next 19 years. Everitt retired as dean in 1968, but he continued to influence U.S. telecommunications policy and direction through government service. Among his many honors, he received the Institute of Radio Engineers Medal of Honor, he was named one of the two top EE educators by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, he was a founding member of the National Academy of Engineering, and he received 10 honorary doctorates. He died on September 6, 1986, at the age of 86.
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Research Highlights
New method provides all-digital pathology of tumor and microenvironment Professor Rohit Bhargava and members of his research group recently demonstrated a new imaging method that simultaneously sub-types cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment. Their approach combined artificial intelligence algorithms, a novel infra-red microscope, and machine learning models, which enabled them to quickly and accurately sub-type breast cancer samples with greater accuracy compared to conventional analysis by a pathologist. As a result of this work, the team has advanced IR imaging as a viable clinical tool for breast cancer diagnosis. Moreover, IR imaging offers an opportunity for cancer analysis to be truly all digital in recognizing disease and quantifying its severity. Shachi Mittal, et. al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, June 2018
Above: Rohit Bhargava's group has demonstrated an all-digital pathology method of a tumor and its microenvironment.
6
Illinois Bioengineering
Handheld spectral analyzer turns smartphone into diagnostic tool Professor Brian Cunningham has developed an inexpensive ($550) spectral transmission-reflectance intensity (TRI) analyzer that attaches to a smartphone and analyzes patient blood, urine, or saliva samples as reliably as clinic-based instruments that cost thousands of dollars. He and his students used the TRI analyzer to perform two commercially available assays—a test to detect a biomarker associated with pre-term birth in pregnant women and the PKU test for newborns to indirectly detect an enzyme essential for normal growth and development. Their tests results were comparable to those acquired with clinic-grade spectrometer instrumentation. The device's ability to analyze multiple samples quickly and reliably makes it suitable for patients who lack convenient access to a clinic or hospital with diagnostic test facilities or for patients with urgent health situations requiring rapid results. Source: Kenneth Long, et. al, Lab on a Chip, August 2017
Cunningham's TRI Analyzer is capable of performing the three most common types of tests in medical diagnostics, so in practice, thousands of already-developed tests could be adapted to it.
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Research Highlights
Muscle stem cells could address diabetes-related circulation problems A serious and debilitating condition in diabetic patients, peripheral artery disease (PAD) occurs when arteries in the limbs become narrowed, causing pain and limiting mobility. Left untreated, PAD often leads to foot ulcerations and limb amputations. Working in a mouse model, Assistant Professor Wawrzyniec Dobrucki and Kinesiology Professor Marni Boppart found that injecting mesenchymal stem cells prompted new blood vessels to grow, improving circulation in the affected tissues and function in the affected limbs. The stem cells also induced changes in gene expression in the surrounding tissues, prompting the release of factors to reduce inflammation and increase circulation. Their results suggest that stem cell treatment could be effective in helping patients with severe PAD be able to exercise—one of the prescribed treatments for the disease—or it could save an extremity before it needs amputation. Source: Jamila Hedhli, et. al., Theranostics, Sept. 2017
Above: Professors Marni Boppart and Wawrzyniec Dobrucki found that stem cells helped alleviate complications from peripheral artery disease in diabetic mice.
8
Illinois Bioengineering
Carefully crafted light pulses control neuron activity Chemists have long used carefully crafted light beams, called coherent control, to regulate chemical reactions. Now, Bioengineering faculty Stephen Boppart and Parijat Sengupta are the first researchers to successfully use these ultra-fast light pulses to control function in a living cell. The researchers used light to excite a light-sensitive channel in the membrane of optogenetic mouse neurons. When the channels were excited, they allowed ions through, which caused the neurons to fire. However, the same technique could be used on cells that are naturally responsive to light, such as those in the retina. Because the light pulses can trigger neurons to fire, this technology may one day help patients with light-sensitive circadian or mood problems. Source: Kush Paul, et. al., Nature Physics, Sept. 2017
(Left to right) Professors Stephen Boppart and Parijat Sengupta, graduate student Eugene Ark, and research scientist Kush Paul used ultrafast pulses of tailored light to make neurons fire in different patterns, the first example of coherent control in a living cell.
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Research Highlights
Novel chip-based gene expression tool analyzes RNA quickly and accurately
Illinois Bioengineering, Mayo Clinic, and Northwestern University researchers have demonstrated a novel gene expression analysis technique that can quickly and accurately measure levels of RNA directly from a cancerous tissue sample while preserving the spatial information across the tissue — something that conventional methods cannot do. Led by Professor Rashid Bashir, the team created a fingernail-size silicon chip that automatically cuts a centimeter-sized cancer tissue sample into hundreds or thousands of tiny pieces that are analyzed in parallel using loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) without the need for any analyte purification. In less than two hours, the team was able to amplify and analyze the mRNA of TOP2A, a nuclear enzyme and known marker of prostate cancer's aggressiveness. Other Bioengineering faculty involved in this research include: Rohit Bhargava, Wawrzyniec Dobrucki, and Andrew Smith. Source: Anurup Ganguli, Nature Communications, January 2018
Above: The pixelated spatial gene expression tool can analyze an entire tissue sample and identify cancer cells in a process that takes less than two hours.
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Illinois Bioengineering
Novel design strategy advances gene circuit design
Ting Lu has created an integrated modeling framework to advance synthetic biology.
Synthetic gene circuits can be programmed to create novel cellular functions; however, their utilization is hindered by a lack of effective tools for rational circuit design. Associate Professor Ting Lu created a novel circuit modeling framework that explicitly integrates circuit dynamics with host physiology through multilayered circuit-host coupling. Using Escherichia coli as a model host, the framework successfully captured a large set of experimental host physiology data, elucidated the enriched behaviors of representative circuits, and furthermore showed the translatability to multiple bacterial host species. This work is a fundamental step toward a quantitative and predictive understanding of gene circuit behavior. It aids in developing effective synthetic biology solutions to combat super bugs, produce advanced biofuels, and manufacture better functional materials. Source: Chen Liao, et. al., Nature Microbiology, Sept. 2017
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Research Highlights
Drug-delivering nanoparticles seek and destroy cancer stem cells
Hidden in tissue, cancer stem cells can cause the disease to return years after the initial tumor was treated. Associate Professor Dipanjan Pan has designed nanoparticles encapsulated with the drug niclosamide, which is commonly prescribed to treat tapeworm infections, but in cancer stem cells it turns off key gene pathways that give the cells the stem-like properties that enable them to grow and spread. Pan's nanoparticles specifically bind to a protein that marks the surface of breast cancer stem cells. By using an alreadyapproved drug and easy-to-manufacture nanoparticles, this system could become an accessible and cost-efficient treatment to prevent cancer recurrence in patients. Source: Santos Misra, et. al., Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, Nov. 2017
Above: Dipanjan Pan's group developed nanoparticles that can target cancer stem cells (yellow), the rare cells within a tumor (blue) that can cause cancer to recur or spread. Source: Jamila Hedhli, et. al., Theranostics, Sept. 2017
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Illinois Bioengineering
New technique can track drug and gene delivery to cells With targeted drug and gene therapies, finding the target cells is only half the battle. Once these agents reach a cell’s surface, they still have to get inside and do their job. Associate Professor Andrew Smith developed a tracking system that maps drug and gene delivery vehicles to evaluate which are most effective at infiltrating cells and getting to their targets, insight that could guide development of new pharmaceutical agents. Working with human and mouse cancer cells, Smith’s group used singlemolecule imaging, which allows them to observe individual molecules over time, and quantum dots, which act like tiny beacons inside cells. This allowed them to see, count and track all of the delivery agents that entered the cell. Their study found that highly charged molecules are adept at getting inside cells but fail to reach their intended targets once inside. This insight provides researchers with design rules for better ways to deliver genes and proteins to cells. Source: Mohammad Zahid, et. al., Nature Communications, May 2018
Associate Professor Andrew Smith, right, and graduate student Mohammad Zahid developed a technique to track molecules that deliver drugs and genes to cells.
Highlights Report I Fall 2018
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Research Highlights
The way microbes eat could explain their diverse, stable communities Made up of groups of microorganisms that share a common space, microbial communities exist in and on every living person, playing a role in human health and disease. For years, scientists have wondered how such highly complex communities could also be so stable. Professor Sergei Maslov and a colleague from the National Center for Biological Sciences in India, who had previously collaborated on a predictive model to measure microbial community stability based on an economic concept called the stable marriage problem, have recently used game theory to create a mathematical model that sheds light on the issue. The model shows that these communities exist and thrive based on the resources that the member bacteria consume, rather than on how the bacteria cooperate or compete or how they respond to environmental changes. Their work lays the foundation for a mathematical understanding of how the flow of nutrients affects diversity, stability, and reproducibility of species composition in microbial communities. Source: Akshit Goyal and Sergei Maslov, Physical Review Letters, April 2018
Above: Sergei Maslov recently used game theory to create a mathematical model that explains how microbial communities exist and thrive based on the resources that the member bacteria consume.
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Illinois Bioengineering
Ultrasound-guided nanobubbles could enhance cancer treatments Hypoxic or oxygen-starved tumor cells often become resistant to conventional radiation and chemotherapy treatments. When this happens, doctors typically increase the therapeutic dosage, which can adversely affect the patient. Professor Joseph Irudayaraj and colleagues at Purdue University have recently demonstrated a new nanotechnology- and ultrasound-based cancer treatment approach that used a Doppler ultrasound beam to precisely guide tiny oxygen-laden nanobubbles to hypoxic regions of a bladder cancer tumor. As a result of their experiment, which was done in a mouse model, the hypoxic tissue was reoxygenated, enabling the reduction of the chemo drug by 50%, and the tumor's ability to grow was significantly suppressed. Source: Pushpak Bhandari, et. al., Nature Scientific Reports, Feb. 2018
Joseph Irudayaraj's nanobubble technology delivers oxygen to hypoxic cancer tissue, leading to improved efficacy of chemo drug treatment.
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Research Highlights
New microscope tracks tumor progression
Professor Stephen Boppart and his group have developed a new microscope system that can image living tissue in real time and with molecular and metabolic detail, without any chemicals or dyes. The SLAM microscopy system uses precisely tailored pulses of light to simultaneously image with multiple wavelengths. This enables the researchers to study concurrent processes within cells and tissue, and could give cancer researchers a new tool for tracking tumor progression and physicians new technology for tissue pathology and diagnostics. In a recent study, the group looked at mammary tumors in rats, along with the surrounding tissue environment. Thanks to the simultaneous data, they were able to observe the range of dynamics as the tumors progressed and how different processes interacted. Similar results have been obtained from human tissue specimens, as part of an ongoing study. Source: Sixian You, et. al., Nature Communications, May 2018
Above: The SLAM microscope images living tissue in real time with molecular and metabolic detail, allowing researchers to monitor tumors and their environments as cancer progresses.
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Illinois Bioengineering
Engineering biological noise to improve human health While a great deal of progress has been made in synthetically creating single- and multi-cellular systems, scientists need to better understand fluctuations in gene expression if they want to engineer more complex systems. Bioengineering Assistant Professor Roy Dar and an MIT colleague recently proposed that these fluctuations, also known as biological noise, should be recognized as a design element that can be actively controlled within the fundamentals of bioengineering. Their perspective ran as a cover story piece published in APL Bioengineering in early May 2018. To demonstrate this control, Dar and members of his research group published a paper in the same issue on how to fine-tune noise in gene expression using nucleosome occupancy. The nascent noise engineering field holds promise in controlling the patterning of tissue for human health, biasing decision-making in disease, or manipulating plants for global food security. Sources: Roy Dar and Ron Weiss, APL Bioengineering, June 2018 and Melina Megaridis, et. al., APL Bioengineering, June 2018
Roy Dar (right) and his group recently demonstrated how to fine-tune noise in gene expression using nucleosome occupancy.
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New Faculty
Fan Lam: Developing and translating new metabolic imaging technologies to study brain function, neurodegenerative diseases, and assess the effectiveness of treatments.
Fan Lam, an expert in magnetic resonance imaging, joined the Bioengineering faculty in August 2018 after working as a Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Fellow the past couple of years. Lam is developing new models, data acquisition strategies, and quantitative analysis and computational tools to address the speed, resolution, and sensitivity challenges for magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI), which detects and quantifies numerous molecules in the brain like metabolites and neurotransmitters without the need of injecting any contrast agents into the body. Already, Lam has helped advance this technology by establishing a new technological framework for achieving rapid, ultrahigh-resolution MRSI. “Now we are able to achieve whole brain mapping of a number of metabolites in just five minutes with resolution matching that of a standard functional MRI scan," said Lam, who collaborated with Electrical & Computer Engineering Professor Zhi-Pei Liang on the technology. "This is already more than an order of magnitude improvement over any existing methods." As a Bioengineering faculty member, Lam plans to collaborate with colleagues in the Beckman Institute and the Carle Illinois College of Medicine to develop and translate new metabolic imaging technologies to study brain function, neurodegenerative diseases, and assess the effectiveness of treatments.
18 2
Illinois Bioengineering
Bioengineering at Illinois
Paul Jensen: Exploring how Streptococcus bacteria interact with all other bacteria and how bacterial imbalances cause disease.
A Bioengineering faculty researcher since 2016, Paul Jensen recently became a tenure-track Bioengineering assistant professor. His research focuses on the Streptococcus bacteria, which is present in the mouth, upper respiratory tract, intestine, and on the skin. This microbe, however, is also responsible for tooth decay and infections like strep throat, pink eye, scarlet fever, and meningitis. "When you get an infection from strep, something has gone out of control," said Jensen, who is also a researcher at the Carl Woese Institute for Genomic Biology on campus. "My research group studies how strep interact with all other bacteria and how bacterial imbalances cause disease." Specifically, Jensen and his group study the Streptococcus mutans and sobrinus bacteria that cause cavities. They have built a bacteria model and analyzed the network that drives their physiology. In addition, his group has recently sequenced the entire genome of S. sobrinus, which is considered groundbreaking since a complete genomic profile did not yet exist for this particular microbe.
Highlights Report I Fall 2018
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Awards & Honors
Amos
Bashir
Cunningham
Dar
Irudayaraj
Teaching Associate Professor Jenny
Assistant Professor Roy Dar received a
Amos is receiving the 2018 American
2018 Illinois Student Government’s
Society for Engineering Education
Teaching Excellence Award, which
(ASEE) Illinois-Indiana Section
recognizes five exceptional instructors
Outstanding Teaching Award—one of
each year on the University of Illinois at
12 regional ASEE teaching awards
Urbana-Champaign campus.
Pan
nationwide. Joseph Irudayaraj, who conducts research Professor Rashid Bashir will receive the
on biosensor nanomaterials and multi-
2018 Robert A. Pritzker Distinguished
scale live cell monitoring, was invested as a
Lecture Award in October. This award is
Founder Professor of Bioengineering on
the Biomedical Engineering Society's
campus. This faculty honor is supported by
highest honor for outstanding
the Grainger Engineering Breakthroughs
achievements and leadership in the
Initiative, which provides funding to help
science and practice of biomedical
attract and retain the best faculty.
engineering. Bashir was also named a Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) fellow
Kris Kilian and Dipanjan Pan were among
in recognition of his research
11 young faculty worldwide to be named
contributions in the broad field of
2017 Young Innovators of Cellular and
BioMEMS and biomedical
Molecular Bioengineering.
nanotechnology. Nobel Laureate and MRI pioneer Paul Professor Brian Cunningham was
Lauterbur, an Illinois professor of
selected as one of five IEEE Photonics
chemistry and the Bioengineering
Society Distinguished Lecturers for 2018-
Program, was inducted (posthumously)
2019, which enables him to present his
into the Engineering and Science Hall of
research to Photonics Society chapters
Fame.
around the country.
20
Illinois Bioengineering
Lauterbur
Nie
Perez-Pinera
Pool
Smith
Sutton
Known for his work in biomedical
Andrew Smith and Princess Imoukhuede
nanotechnology, molecular engineering,
were promoted to associate professor
and the development of image-guided
with tenure effective August 2018.
surgical systems, Shuming Nie was
They were both among the 10 campus
invested as a Grainger Distinguished
faculty also awarded 2018 Campus
Chair in Engineering at Illinois. He was
Distinguished Promotion awards for
also named to the Analytical Scientist
their stellar achievements.
magazine's 2017 Power List as one of the 10 Giants of Nano, including microfluidic
Professor Brad Sutton was elected
and nanoscale science.
an AIMBE fellow for outstanding contributions to image reconstruction
Assistant Professor Pablo Perez-Pinera
technology for MRI. He also received the
received a scientist development grant
$150,000 Beckman Institute's Vision
from the American Heart Association to
and Spirit Award, which recognizes a
use gene expression tools to correct
researcher who exemplifies founder
dystrophin cardiomyopathy. These
Arnold Beckman's vision of excellence
prestigious grants support highly
and collaboration.
promising young scientists conducting cardiovascular and stroke research. Teaching Associate Professor Marci Pool was named an Engineering Innovation Fellow by the College of Engineering on campus. She has developed problembased labs, guided capstone design teams, and helps run the department's education outreach programs.
Highlights Report I Fall 2018
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A Sampling of New Research Funding
New assay technology may improve prostate cancer outcomes
Bioengineering faculty Andrew Smith and Brian Cunningham received a $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a new assay technology that could determine the effectiveness of prostate cancer drug treatments and aid in disease prognosis. The team, which includes researchers from the Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, Mayo Clinic, and Medical College of Wisconsin, is focusing on detecting nucleic acid-based biomarkers in a single drop of blood. By frequently measuring the concentrations of microRNA biomarkers in a patient's blood during his cancer treatments, they believe they can determine precise therapeutic regimens for each patient. The team can measure the nucleic acids in such a small blood sample because they know how to amplify signals from a single molecule using light-emitting quantum dots and electric fieldenhancing photonic crystals.
Identifying extracellular matrix biomarkers could lead to targeted lung cancer therapies
Bioengineering Assistant Professor Gregory Underhill and colleagues at the Mayo Clinic have developed an engineering-based tool that helps unravel the extra-cellular matrix's (ECM's) composition and underlying mechanisms that enable cancer to spread and become resistant to treatment. Their cell microarray platform, which analyzes lung cancer drug responses within certain ECM microenvironments, has shown that ECM proteins together with ASCL1, a protein that can result in the development of small cell lung cancer, changed how tumor cells respond to certain drugs. Based on this work, Underhill and his team received a two-year $375,000 National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute R21 grant to apply their high-throughput method to further studies.
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Illinois Bioengineering
Bioengineering at Illinois
A new approach for editing RNA
Precisely modifying genomic DNA with gene editing tools is revolutionizing biomedicine and biotechnology. Despite the rapid progress in genetic engineering, some limitations hinder widespread use of DNA editing tools. For example, these tools simply introduce stochastic mutations at target sites, which often lead to gene disruption. Correcting most genetic diseases, though, requires precise introduction of point mutations at target loci. In addition, gene editing tools frequently introduce mutations at off-target sites in genomic DNA, which are not reversible with current technologies. Assistant Professor Pablo Perez-Pinera recently received NIH funding to investigate a new approach for editing RNA. His method couples RNA binding domains with deaminase domains, which will enable editing RNA with single base resolution. This research may enable novel gene therapy modalities for correcting monogenic diseases or specific point mutations linked to cancer.
Highlights Report I Fall 2018
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Graduate Education
Medina
A snapshot of PhD students who earned prestigious, nationally competitive fellowships
Gapinske
Ostadhossein
Natalia Gonzalez Medina NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, 2018 Advisor: Andrew Smith Research: Using nanocarriers and combination drug therapy to increase catabolic metabolic effects and to decrease inflammation in adipose tissue. Michael Gapinske NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, 2018 Advisor: Pablo Perez-Pinera Research: Using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool to look for new ways to control gene transcription and splicing. Fatemeh Ostadhossein American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship Advisor: Dipanjan Pan Research: Developing a novel way to detect and treat bacterial infections in the heart through the use of antimicrobial nanoparticles.
Illinois alumni invest in Bioengineering
Doctoral student Jungeun "Jenny" Won received the Department of Bioengineering's McGinnis Medical Innovation Graduate Fellowship, which is made possible by a generous gift from entrepreneur and Illinois Mechanical Engineering alumnus Jerry McGinnis, who invented the CPAP device used for treating sleep apnea. A member of Professor Stephen Boppart's group, Won is developing a novel, non-invasive imaging technique based on optical coherence tomography to better diagnose and understand middle ear infections, which affect more than 80% of young children.
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Illinois Bioengineering
Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) in Bioengineering students make valuable research contributions
Twenty-two students earned M.Eng. degrees this year through our professional, one-year, non-thesis master's degree program, which provides students with experimentation, design, engineering, and entrepreneurship activities. Through extensive coursework in engineering, business classes, independent studies, and a capstone project, students gain technical knowledge in computational genomics, general bioengineering, or bioinstrumentation. As an example of the caliber of their projects, one team of M.Eng. students helped sequence the first complete genomes for three strains of a bacterium that causes some of the worst cases of tooth decay—groundbreaking work for that field. "This exemplifies the students' ability to synthesize their learning experience with a completely new insight, resulting in an original research publication," said Professor Dipanjan Pan, director of the M.Eng. program.
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Undergraduate Education
Challenge-inspired learning
Front row left to right: Pierce Hadley, Sreyesh "Rishi" Satpathy, Hanway Wang, Lily Barghi, and Kassidy Zhou Back row left to right: Christian Pressnall, Lauren Sargeant, Madelyn O'Gorman, Miranda Dawson, and Kinsey Schultheis
In 2018, the first group of Cancer Scholars Program (CSP) students graduated from Illinois uniquely prepared to tackle one of the great health challenges of our time. CSP students conduct research as early as their freshman year and have access to clinical, patient-oriented, and entrepreneurial opportunities alongside comprehensive technical training. Of the 10 CSP graduates, five have taken jobs in industry, two are pursuing medical school, and three are enrolling in graduate school. The CSP is part of the Cancer Center at Illinois, led by Bioengineering Professor Rohit Bhargava, which unites more than 100 faculty, graduate students, and researchers who uncover fundamental knowledge, innovate new technologies, and strive to enable cancer-free lives.
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Illinois Bioengineering
A redesigned undergraduate curriculum
Halfway through a five-year, $2 million redesign of its undergraduate curriculum, Illinois Bioengineering has introduced three new project-based classes for freshmen and sophomores that help them understand their field and career options, select a technical area of concentration, and perhaps more importantly, understand the medical and societal needs that require bioengineering-inspired solutions. Funded by the National Science Foundation Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED) program, the new curriculum is focused around clinical needs—thus the slogan, no solution without a need. A major highlight of the new curriculum is a sophomore-level career immersion course, where students interact with physicians, nurses, technicians, and paramedics in various clinical settings at Carle Foundation Hospital so they can better understand the health system, the needs of the patient, the needs of the practitioners they are shadowing, and design better solutions for those needs.
Highlights Report I Fall 2018
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From ideation to creation: Bioengineering and the new Carle Illinois College of Medicine
On July 9, the world's first engineering-focused College of Medicine officially welcomed its inaugural class of 32 students. While launching a new medical school required the vision, expertise, creativity, and hard work of scores of people, Bioengineering faculty played key roles in its conceptualization, curriculum design, and overall implementation. In addition, 13 bioengineering professors are among the Carle Illinois faculty.
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Illinois Bioengineering
Bioengineering professors serving on the faculty of the new Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Amos
Marjanovic
Bashir
Bhargava
Pan
Boppart
Peres Pinera
Cunningham
Sirk
Dobrucki
Smith
Insana
Sutton
The impact
The curriculum
"Just as a physicist must be skilled in math, we believe that the physician innovators and leaders of tomorrow will need to also be skilled in engineering and data sciences. Our new curriculum adds this fourth pillar of engineering science to basic science, clinical science, and medical humanities to revolutionize medical training and begin the forward design of human health." Bioengineering Professor Rashid Bashir, PhD
"I believe the Carle Illinois College of Medicine is the first to fully develop an entirely new curriculum based on the integration of engineering, quantitative sciences, and technology into medical education." Bioengineering Professor Stephen Boppart, MD + PhD
Carle Illinois faculty member & Executive Associate Dean and Chief Diversity Officer
"We are already seeing that other medical schools are planning changes to infuse engineering into their curriculum. However, this brings additional challenges that require tradeoffs. We have a huge advantage by starting a medical school from scratch with this focus on engineering at the forefront of planning." Bioengineering Professor Brad Sutton, PhD
Carle Illinois faculty member, Faculty Executive Committee, and Director of IDEA Projects course
"In our medical school, students will learn the same basic science through a more quantitative lens and will be able to interact with material in new ways This is unique for a school to value the background training students have and tailor the curriculum to their strengths and weaknesses." Bioengineering Teaching Associate Professor Jenny Amos, PhD Carle Illinois faculty member & Director of Assessment and Evaluation
Carle Illinois faculty member & Curriculum Oversight Committee Highlights Report I Fall 2018
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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Everitt Laboratory 1406 W. Green Street Urbana, IL 61801
PAID CHAMPAIGN, IL PERMIT NO. 453
217.333.1867
bioengineering.illinois.edu
Illinois Bioengineering: The 1st Bioengineering department in the country • to receive a multi-million-dollar National Science Foundation RED grant to revolutionize its undergraduate curriculum. The immersive, needs-focused courses prepare students to address real-world biomedical needs with innovative bioengineering ideas and solutions. • to ideate and create the world's first engineering-based college of medicine. The novel medical curriculum integrates
Bioengineering fast facts July 2017 - June 2018:
engineering, biology, medicine, and medical
18
tenure track faculty
humanities in one integrated 4-year
51
graduate program faculty
curriculum with design, capstone, and data
10
research and teaching faculty
science projects.
250
undergraduate students
32
M.Eng. and M.S. students
78
Ph.D. students
60
B.S. degrees awarded
bioengineering students for design, capstone,
31
M.Eng. and M.S. degrees awarded
professional master’s, and research projects.
10
Ph.D degrees awarded
• with a medical simulation center located in the same building. The simulation center, used by the medical students, is also used by