Innovation & Impact – UW Bioengineering eNews Autumn/Winter 2018

Welcome to UW Bioengineering’s Innovation & Impact!

I’m pleased to share with you this update on the recent achievements of our faculty, fellows and students. Their work advances our mission to engineer better health care for a boundless future, for Washington and for the world.

With warm wishes for a happy holiday season and new year,

Cecilia Giachelli, Ph.D.
W. Hunter and Dorothy Simpson Endowed Chair, Professor
Department of Bioengineering
University of Washington

Defining Global Leadership in the Future of Medicine

UW Bioengineering ranked fourth among biomedical engineering programs by 2018 Global Ranking of Academic Subject

Factors in the ranking included the number of papers published by each institution, the impact factor of the journals in which the papers were published and the number of high-profile awards won by faculty.

Welcoming New Faculty

Cardiac systems simulation expert Patrick Boyle engineers methods to prevent heart rhythm disorders and sudden cardiac death

Assistant Professor Patrick Boyle will lead the Cardiac Systems Simulation (CardSS) Lab, which will pursue a better understanding of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, explore applications of cardiac regenerative medicine, and apply emerging technologies such as optogenetics to develop new treatments.

MAB design instructor Soraya Bailey to guide students towards creating user-focused, real-world clinical solutions

Teaching engineering students to create thoughtful, user-focused design, and connecting her students with clinicians and public health experts is the professional passion of Soraya Bailey’s, who serves as BioE’s design instructor for its Master of Applied Bioengineering (MAB) program.

Faculty & Trainee News

Herbert Sauro to lead $6.5M NIH-funded Center for Reproducible Biomedical Modeling

The objective of Center for Reproducible Biomedical Modeling is to understand, simulate and model biological systems, from cells and organs to whole bodies, to advance medicine and bioengineering.

Matthew O’Donnell receives 2019 IEEE Biomedical Engineering Award

Matthew O’Donnell, professor of bioengineering and dean emeritus of the College of Engineering at UW, is recognized “for leadership in biomedical ultrasonics and medical imaging technologies.”

Suzie Pun elected to Washington State Academy of Sciences 2018

As an Academy member, Robert F. Rushmer Professor Suzie Pun will contribute to efforts to increase the role and visibility of science in Washington state.

Deok-Ho Kim leads $3.2M NIH-CASIS project to launch heart-on-a-chip into space

Associate Professor Deok-Ho Kim will contribute to research aimed at understanding the effects of microgravity, such as that experienced in outer space, on human health.

Eric Chudler hosts new episode of Emmy®-winning BrainWorks exploring brain-computer interface technology

BrainWorks is co-produced and hosted by Eric Chudler, research associate professor of bioengineering and the executive director of the Center for Neurotechnology at UW. The episode explores the promising opportunities of brain-computer interface technology to treat stroke, spinal cord injuries and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Stem cells restore working heart muscle in monkeys after heart failure, find team led by Chuck Murry

Monkeys with heart failure regrew working heart muscle after receiving human stem cells, report a UW team led by Charles Murry, professor of bioengineering, pathology and cardiology/medicine.

Former Giachelli Lab postdoc Mary Wallingford defines new directions for obstetric cardiovascular medicine

At UW, former Giachelli Lab postdoc Mary Wallingford pursued novel research aimed at advancing knowledge of the body’s least understood organ, the placenta. Now as an assistant professor at Tufts University, Dr. Wallingford pursues new directions for improving obstetric cardiovascular medicine.

Startup A-Alpha Bio turns research into impact with drug safety screening platform

Learning the language of business, with the help of UW’s Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, enabled the A-Alpha Bio team to launch their ideas from the lab to a startup company, and introduce their technology to Seattle’s entrepreneurship community and beyond.

Featured Publications

Macrophage-targeted drugamers with enzyme-cleavable linkers deliver high intracellular drug dosing and sustained drug pharmacokinetics against alveolar pulmonary infections

Fang-Yi Su et al.
Patrick Stayton, Daniel Ratner labs
Journal of Controlled Release

Analysis of the Myc-induced pancreatic B cell islet tumor microenvironment using imaging ToF-SIMS

Blake Bluestein et al.
Lara Gamble’s lab / Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Biointerphases

A Carboxylate to Amide Substitution That Switches Protein Folds

Stefano Gianni et al.
Valerie Daggett’s lab / University of Rome / Imperial College London /
Angewandte Chemie International Edition

Cationic polymers for non-viral gene delivery to human T cells

Brynn Olden et al.
Suzie Pun’s lab
Journal of Controlled Release

Human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes restore function in infarcted hearts of non-human primates

Yen-Wen Liu et al.
Chuck Murry’s lab / UW Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Cardiology, Pathology and Radiology / National Cheng Kung University / City of Hope – Beckman Research Institute / National Research Tomsk State University
Nature Biotechnology