From biomedical engineering and medical device development to genetic research
and biological process technology, IT researchers play a major role in the growing
field of biotechnology. Here is a look at 13 of the most innovative projects
underway.
Building on Minnesota's long tradition of biomedical innovation
and excellence, electrical engineering professor Dennis Polla envisions
the University as a world leader in biomedical engineering education
and research.
"Imagine what we can do,” Polla urged a crowd of medical
technology experts who had gathered to welcome him as the new head
of the University's Biomedical Engineering Institute (BMEI) at a
May event showcasing current biomedical engineering research and
his vision for BMEI's future.
That vision includes five initiatives that will build upon BMEI's
existing strengths and thrust it into an international leadership
role in the 21st century, says Polla. They include:
creating an undergraduate program
forming multidisciplinary research teams
expanding interactions with industry
redefining the BMEI faculty
creating a national academic model for biomedical engineering
Undergraduate Program: “Creating the undergraduate
program is a top priority,” says Polla. Students admitted into
BMEI's first freshman class in fall 2000 can choose between a four-year
bachelor's degree program or a five-year program that combines a
master's degree in biomedical engineering with a bachelor's degree
in another engineering discipline.
BMEI faculty members are working with IT, the Medical School, and
other University officials to develop the undergraduate curriculum
and to revamp BMEI's existing master's and doctoral programs.
"The undergraduate program will be tremendously successful
because of the rich set of experiences we can offer in science,
engineering, and medicine,” says Polla.
Research Teams: BMEI's major research efforts will focus
on physician-driven health care problems, says Polla, with its 40
faculty members organized into multidisciplinary, intercollegiate
teams to tackle them.
"BMEI has given us a leg up in this process,” says Polla.
“The close relationship we have developed between IT and the
Medical School should make some of the traditional barriers [to
collaboration] transparent."
Several current projects fit this model, adds Polla. For example,
he and electrical engineering professor William Robbins are collaborating
with Susan Mantell, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering,
and Ronald McGlennen, an assistant professor of laboratory medicine
and pathology, to design microchip-based tools for human diagnostics.
"That project provides an opportunity for people from IT disciplines
to work with a medical expert to design a solution for a specific
health care problem and then immediately test it in clinical trials,”
says Polla. “That is the type of thing we can excel in."
Industrial Interactions: Fostering interactions with industry
has been part of BMEI's mission since its inception, but Polla hopes
to develop creative new research partnerships with companies from
both Minnesota's “Medical Alley” and countries around
the world.
To help achieve that goal, BMEI has established five industrial
interaction laboratories that provide research opportunities and
resources for its corporate partners. Those laboratories focus on
blood and biocompatibility, rapid device prototyping, tissue characterization,
medical instrumentation and devices, and microtechnology.
"Scientists from industry can spend time in these labs learning
techniques that will be useful to them,” explains Assistant
Professor Daniel Mooradian, director of the Blood and Biocompatibility
laboratory and one of BMEI's associate directors for external relations.
“A lot of small companies also make use of this opportunity
to do early research and development work” that they couldn't
otherwise afford.
"We need to be able to do this work with local companies,
since that's such an important part of the local economy,”
he adds.
BMEI's planning and policy board, which includes faculty and representatives
of industry, also plays an important role in helping faculty members
effectively collaborate with industry, says Polla.
Redefined Faculty: As the first faculty member tenured in
biomedical engineering, Mooradian represents an important milestone
in Polla's plans to establish a formal Department of Biomedical
Engineering, perhaps as early as next year. The new department would
be shared between IT and the Medical School.
Although BMEI has functioned as a department since 1995, it must
meet several requirements to gain formal departmental status from
the Board of Regents, explains Polla. However, two of the most important
hallmarks of a formal department—tenure-granting authority and
an undergraduate program—are in place or in the works, and Polla
expects BMEI to clear the final hurdles in the next several months.
Biomedical engineering will also hire five to seven additional
faculty members in the next several years. Polla also hopes to encourage
more faculty members from both colleges to participate in biomedical
engineering research.
A National Model: BMEI's innovative approach to research,
education, and outreach has garnered national attention, says Polla.
Other institutions regard the University as a model for their own
programs.
"The interdisciplinary model we're developing here is the
first of its kind,” says Polla. “It has not been duplicated
anywhere in the world."
