November 1, 2024
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Biomedical Engineering Department celebrates new biomanufacturing program, other fall 2024 successes

Biomedical engineering graduate students Geena Boasi, left, and Alexia Bartlow work in the Douglas Hsu Research Laboratory in the Biotechnology Building at the Innovative Technologies Complex. Biomedical engineering graduate students Geena Boasi, left, and Alexia Bartlow work in the Douglas Hsu Research Laboratory in the Biotechnology Building at the Innovative Technologies Complex.
Biomedical engineering graduate students Geena Boasi, left, and Alexia Bartlow work in the Douglas Hsu Research Laboratory in the Biotechnology Building at the Innovative Technologies Complex. Image Credit: Jonathan Cohen.

The fall semester at Binghamton University is well underway, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science is excited to share its achievements in education and research during the second half of 2024.

Department news

Distinguished Professor and Biomedical Engineering Department Chair Kaiming Ye and Professor Shelley Dionne, dean of Binghamton’s School of Management, will lead the creation of a biomanufacturing project management training program at Binghamton University. Also involved in establishing the program is Professor Sha Jin. The $1.6 million workforce training project is partially supported through BioMADE, a Manufacturing Innovation Institute working to secure America’s future through bioindustrial manufacturing innovation, education and collaboration.

Research news

A new $42.8 million project led by the Mayo Clinic hopes to develop an implantable device that acts as a living pharmacy to treat inflammatory disease — and Associate Professor Ahyeon Koh will do a portion of that research at Binghamton. She will focus on creating an electrode array to generate the oxygen needed to sustain the cells that produce the antibodies fighting the diseases.

Assistant Professor Siyuan Rao is making advancements toward understanding the mechanisms that keep our brains functioning and developing effective treatments to help when things go wrong. Her latest research outlines hydrogel chemistry and microfabrication methods for miniaturizing and integrating multiple components into brain bioelectronics. Hydrogels resemble living tissue because of their high water content, softness, flexibility and biocompatibility.

Professor Sha Jin received a research award from New York state for “Eliminating Landfilled Food Waste by Upcycling to Environmentally Friendly Green Products.” The goal of the project is to help eliminate food waste from landfills, slowing down or reversing the climate change.

Assistant Professors Qianbin Wang and Siyuan Rao led research with PhD student Dorcas Matuwana on a remotely triggered on-demand liposomal delivery system to treat glaucomatous neurodegeneration. The drug delivery system presents the potential of a promising minimally photo-triggered therapeutic option for glaucoma treatment. Also part of the research were Eunji Hong, PhD ’23; Sizhe Huang, PhD ’24; and PhD students Xinxin Xu, Geunho Jang and Ruobai Xiao.

In a new Binghamton University Faculty Focus video, Assistant Professor Tracy Hookway highlighted her research on creating cardiovascular cells from human skin cells in her lab to investigate the complex interplay of cells within the heart. Also, in the Academic Minute podcast, Hookway talked about some of the questions we still have about the heart and how it functions.

Student news

In September, the Watson Career and Alumni Connections Office hosted a bus trip to the Regeneron Pharmaceuticals facility in Rensselaer, N.Y. The experience provided insight into the innovative work at this leading biotechnology company, as students toured the Process Sciences and Quality Control departments and learned about their upstream and downstream processes, followed by a networking lunch with Binghamton University alumni and industry professionals. Students loved seeing the cutting-edge facilities at Regeneron, which is one of Watson’s top employers for full-time jobs and internships.

During her time at Binghamton, Clara Rodriguez ’24 was part of the inaugural cohort for the Watson College Scholars Program when she arrived at Binghamton in fall 2021. The program aids economically challenged undergraduates with a priority for applicants from historically underrepresented backgrounds. She also took part in many other academic, research and extracurricular activities, and she was Watson College’s undergraduate speaker at Commencement this spring.

A piece in this year’s Watson Review magazine looked at senior capstone projects from different departments at the college. The BME project created an automated preparation system for syringes so hospitals could cut down on these expenses and boost productivity.

PhD student Joab Dorsainvil, MS ’23, was awarded an National Science Foundation/Air Force Research Lab internship earlier this year. He recently shared his experience at Binghamton in a testimonial video for the BME program.