biomedical engineering

The seemingly unrelated conditions of hypertension, epilepsy and overactive bladder may be linked by electrical activity in a protein long studied by a biomedical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis. After new technology recently revealed the structure of the protein, his lab will collaborate with two others to take an unprecedented look into its molecular mechanisms, potentially leading to the development of new drugs for these and other conditions.

Stroke patients who learned to use their minds to open and close a device fitted over their paralyzed hands gained some control over their hands, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

By changing one small portion of a stimulus that influences part of one molecule’s function, engineers and researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have opened the door for more insight into how the molecule is associated with high blood pressure, autism and movement disorders.

New research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that the protein behind Alzheimer’s disease shape-shifts, changing its internal structure in order to infiltrate brain cells and become toxic.

Biomedical engineer Lori Setton’s collaborative research is pioneering new ways of providing relief to those who suffer neck and back pain.

​A team of engineers, led by Washington University’s Lihong Wang and postdoctoral researcher Junjie Yao, found that by genetically modifying glioblastoma cancer cells to express BphP1 protein, derived from a bacterium commonly found in soil and water, they could clearly see tiny amounts of live cancer cells as deep as 1 centimeter in tissue using photoacoustic tomography.

​To the nearly 2 million people in the United States living with the loss of a limb, prosthetic devices provide restored mobility, yet lack sensory feedback. A team of engineers and researchers at Washington University is working to change that so those with upper limb prosthetics can feel hot and cold and the sense of touch through their prosthetic hands.

Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert, PhD, of the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis, recently graduated from Executive Leadership in Academic Technology and Engineering (ELATE) at Drexel University, a professional development program for women in academic STEM fields.

Mark Anastasio, PhD, professor in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis, has been elected to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering’s College of Fellows in recognition of his important contributions to biomedical engineering.

Lihong Wang, PhD, the Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the School of Engineering & Applied Science is applying a novel time-reversal technology that allows researchers to better focus light in tissue, such as muscles and organs. ​