Biomedical Engineering Faculty
Matthew Petroll, Ph.D.
Program Chair
Training Tracks: Tissue Engineering, Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Cell motility and mechanics, corneal repair and regeneration, in vivo confocal imaging
Thiru Annaswamy, M.D.
Training Track: Biomaterials, Mechanics and Tissue Engineering
Research Interests: Physical medicine and rehabilitation, motor control, neuroscience
Richard Briggs, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: MRI (fMRI, fcMRI, DTI, ASL) and MRS physics and neuroimaging applications
Shawn C. Burgess, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: NMR spectroscopy and Mass Spectroscopy in conjunction with the application of stable isotope tracers to study metabolic function
Jeffrey Cadeddu, M.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Urology; laparoscopy, telesurgical mentoring
Roger Chan, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomaterials, Mechanics and Tissue Engineering
Research Interests: Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine; biomaterials; biomechanics (tissue mechanics); biorheology; bioacoustics; laryngeal physiology
Jonathan Cheng, M.D.
Training Track: Biomaterials, Mechanics and Tissue Engineering
Research Interests: Nerve regeneration; long nerve gap repair; nerve-machine interface
Changho Choi, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: In vivo 1H and 13C MR spectroscopy; MRS applications in brain tumors and neuropsychiatric diseases; MR physics and MR method development
Michael Devous Sr., Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Psychiatric and neurologic disorders; PET; SPECT
Michael DiMaio, M.D., FACS
Training Tracks: Biomaterials, Mechanics and Tissue Engineering, Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Cardiac regeneration, spectral imaging
Robert Eberhart, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomaterials, Mechanics and Tissue Engineering
Research Interests: Biomaterials; circulatory assist devices
Joseph Forbess, M.D.
Training Tracks: Biomaterials, Mechanics and Tissue Engineering, Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Minimally invasive surgery, cariopulmonary perfusion
Jinming Gao, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomolecular and Protein Engineering
Research Interests: Theranostic nanomedicine; cancer molecular imaging; nanotechnology
Nick Grishin, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomolecular and Protein Engineering
Research Interests: Computational biology
Connie Hsia, M.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Heart-lung interaction; lung morphometry; structure-function correlation of lung growth
Hao Huang, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI); animal MRI; DTI based tractography; pulse sequence development
Michael Jessen, M.D.
Training Track: Biomaterials, Mechanics and Tissue Engineering
Research Interests: Circulatory assist devices; cardiac metabolism
Qui-Xing Jiang, Ph.D.
Training Tracks: Protein Engineering, Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Lipid effects on voltage-gated ion channels, surface-engineering technology for imaging biological complexes of low abundance
Nitin Karandikar, M.B.B.S., M.D., Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomaterials, Mechanics and Tissue Engineering
Research Interests: Immunology of multiple sclerosis (MS), autoimmune demyelination, Immune responses to HCV infections; allodepletion to prevent graft-versus-host-disease; immune regulation by T cells
Zoltan Kovacs, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Generation and application of hyperpolarized 13 C-Iabeled compounds and 89Y-complexes for MRI/ Radiopharmaceutical applications
Padmaker Kulkarni, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Molecular Imaging, PET/SPECT, Alzheimer’s Imaging
Matthew Lewis, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Molecular imaging instrumentation, linear and non-linear diffraction tomography, tensor tomography, applied inverse problems
Wen-Hong Li, Ph.D.
Training Tracks: Protein Engineering, Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Intercellular communications through gap junctions; molecular engineering of fluorescent sensors for cellular imaging; wide field, confocal and multiphoton fluorescence microscopy; mechanisms and functions of cellular calcium signaling
Hanzhang Lu, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Development of MRI technologies to study human brain physiology and metabolism, Improvement of clinical diagnosis of brain disorders
Ananth Madhuranthakam, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Development of novel MR imaging techniques for whole-body cancer screening and staging
Craig Malloy, M.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: C MRS methods for measuring cardiac intermediary metabolism flux and function analysis/Neurotransmitter metabolism of human brain
Weihua Mao, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Tumor tracking and motion compensation in real-time; Personalized online adaptive radiation therapy; Heat-enhanced radiation therapy
Ralph P. Mason, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Tumor pathophysiology and MR assessment of prognostic biomarkers/hypoxia and pH
Roderick McColl, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: fMRI; DICOM
Matthew Merritt, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: M R hyperpolarization for NMR sensitivity enhancement, metabolomics, efficient NMR Data Reduction
John Minna, M.D.
Training Track: Biomaterials, Mechanics and Tissue Engineering
Research Interests: Molecular biomarkers of response to cancer therapy
Alan Nugent, M.D., M.B.B.S., FRACP
Training Track: Biomaterials, Mechanics and Tissue Engineering
Research Interests: Biodegradable Stents for Congenital Heart Disease
Orhan K. Oz, M.D., Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Application of structural (X-ray, CT, and MR) and functional (SPECT and PET) imaging methods to quantify changes in bone mass and metabolism induced by metabolic bone diseases; In vivo assessment of beta cell mass and function by novel probes; Novel PET and SPECT probe development for bone cells
Steven Patrie, Ph.D.
Training Track:
Research Interests:
Karen Pawlowski, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomaterials, Mechanics and Tissue Engineering
Research Interests: Cellular mechanisms involved in sensory neural hearing loss; investigations of biomedical engineering technologies applied to the temporal bone and auditory system; role of biofilms in chronic recurrent infections of the temporal bone
Ivan Pedrosa, M.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Development of novel MRI techniques for improved diagnosis of abdominal/pelvic diseases and noninvasive in-vivo assessment of physiology and response to therapy in tumors
Matthias Peltz, M.D.
Training Track:
Research Interests:
Fangyu Peng, M.D., Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Translational cancer imaging and therapy, including identification of new targets for molecular cancer imaging with PET-CT and targeted cancer therapy
Matthew Petroll, Ph.D.
Training Tracks: Tissue Engineering, Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Cell motility and mechanics, corneal repair and regeneration, in vivo confocal imaging
Neil Rofsky, M.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Translation of novel MR imaging methods (arterial spin labeling, diffusion, perfusion) to important problems in clinical medicine
Dean Sherry, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Responsive MRI contrast agents, targeted MR and PET agents, carbon-13 tracers of metabolism, high-field magnetic resonance spectroscopy in vivo
Scott Smith, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Neural cardiovascular control during exercise; reflex dysfunction in heart failure; reflex dysfunction in hypertension
Rhonda Souza, M.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Internal Medicine/VAMC; investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in the development and neoplastic progression of Barrett’s esophagus, focusing on the intracellular signaling mechanisms and biologic relevance of acid and/or bile acid exposure, the components of reflux, on Barrett’s esophagus using animal models, cell culture, and human biopsy tissues
Xiankai Sun, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Development of PET, SPECT, and MRI imaging probes to assess biological abnormalities and evaluation of disease treatment
D. Gomika Udugamasooriya, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Development and evaluation of classes of high affinity and specific multi-site binding ligands for cancer cells via a genome-wide targeted approach
Elena Vinogradov, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Endogenous and exogenous MRI contrast agents and mechanisms in-vivo, CEST and PARACEST imaging, hyperpolarization.
Ellen Vitetta, M.D., Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomolecular and Protein Engineering
Research Interests: Monoclonal antibodies and immunotoxins in cancer and AIDS; new vaccines
Sally Ward, Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomolecular and Protein Engineering
Research Interests: Antibody engineering; fluorescence microscopy; Fc receptor and growth factor receptor trafficking; development of therapies for cancer and autoimmunity
Cuneyt Yilmaz, Ph.D.
Training Tracks: Biomaterials, Mechanics and Tissue Engineering, Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Mechanical system design for medical experiments, lung mechanics, advanced lung imaging
Takeshi Yokoo, M.D., Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Applied mathematics and MRI methods for translational research in liver imaging with special focus of evaluation of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).
Dawen Zhao, M.D., Ph.D.
Training Track: Biomedical and Molecular Imaging
Research Interests: Functional and molecular optical and MR imaging of tumor vasculature and its response to novel therapeutics in animal models of primary and metastatic brain tumors