Department of Bioengineering

Orsborn develops new approach to interface design
Often when people talk about game theory, we think of competition. But for UW Bioengineering’s Professor Amy Orsborn and Electrical & Computer Engineering’s Professor Sam Burden, it’s about cooperation. Their teams developed a new approach to neural interface design that can learn from and adapt to individual users. Read more about their recent work, which was published in Nature Machine Intelligence.

FACULTY NEWS

Pun named editor

The American Chemical Society named Professor Suzie Pun Editor-in-Chief of ACS Nano Medicine. Pun aims to make the newly established journal “the premier forum for scientists and engineers working in nanomedicine, biologics development and delivery, and therapeutic applications of synthetic biology.” Read more about Pun’s vision for ACS Nano Medicine.

$11M BRAIN Initiative grant

An $11 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s BRAIN Initiative led by Professor Andre Berndt will support better tools to observe brain activity in real time with greater precision. The project focuses on genetically encoded protein-based fluorescent indicators, or protein sensors, to map neuronal activity and to understand neurodegenerative diseases. Learn more.

Chiu AIMBE Fellow

The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) named Professor Daniel Chiu to its College of Fellows Class of 2026. The AIMBE College of Fellows represents the top two percent of biological engineers. Chiu was elected for developming nanomaterials that “transformed molecular detection at the single molecule level.” Read more.

RESEARCH
Stockpiling proteins
In a Science Advances publication, Professor Paul Wiggins and his team explored why cells stockpile some proteins that are required for growth. Read an interview with Wiggins on the work.

A source of hope
A gift to the Bioengineering Graduate Student Support Fund from David Emmes will ensure that “they get the opportunity to thrive” and that scientific research continues to have a positive impact on “society, national security, and the economy.” Read more about Emmes’ support.

Ultrasound cavitation for drug delivery
Professor Mike Averkiou and collaborators at Philips Ultrasound used microbubbles produced by ultrasound cavitation to improve drug delivery in hepatocellular carcinoma, a common liver cancer. The work appeared in the Journal of Controlled Release.

STUDENT NEWS
Masters students build AI-based tool for electronic medical records
A multidisciplinary team with UW Master of Applied Bioengineering students at its core is building WiseFind AI. The AI-based tool will make electronic medical records easier to use and provide the students an unparalleled opportunity for real-world impact. Read more.

SFB outstanding research award for Meinhold
Katherine Meinhold, who completed her PhD this spring, received the Student Award for Outstanding Research from the Society for Biomaterials. Learn more.

NIH research service award for Torp
PhD student Lily Torp earned a Kirchstein National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health for her work developing genetically encoded sensors based on G protein-coupled receptors. Read a profile of Torp.

Fulbright Scholar heads to Finland
Director of Academic Services Kalei Combs earned the Mid-Career Professional Development Grant from the Fulbright Finland Foundation for the fall of 2026. While a Fulbright Scholar, she will develop a framework for a new doctoral biomedical research exchange between the University of Washington and Tampere University in Finland. Tampere University confers more than a quarter of all engineering and technology degrees in Finland and is recognized for its interdisciplinary culture and international collaborations.

Combs has devoted nearly a decade to supporting Bioengineering’s doctoral students, with a focus on improving the research experience, expanding opportunities, and advancing access and collaboration.
“We are delighted to welcome Kalei Combs to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology at Tampere University. This Fulbright-supported visit offers a valuable opportunity to deepen collaboration between our universities and to strengthen doctoral-level exchange in biomedical research. With a vibrant community across medicine, life sciences, data science, and health technology, we look forward to fruitful cooperation.”
Dean Seppo Parkkila, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology at Tampere University.

FEATURED PUBLICATIONS
Cecilia Villegas-Novoa, Yuli Wang, Hao Wang, Ian Jan, Christopher E. Sims, Nancy L. Allbritton. Geometrically Constrained Growth Factor Concentration Favors Enrichment of Goblet Cells and Mucus Formation. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. 2026 May 11;12(5):2700-2713. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.5c02107.

Justin Daho Lee, Amanda Nguyen, et al., Farid Moussavi-Harami, Michael Regnier, David Baker, David L. Mack, Elizabeth Nance, Patrick M. Boyle, Andre Bernd. Monitoring in real time and far-red imaging of H2O2 dynamics with subcellular resolution. Nature Chemical Biology. 2026 Apr;22(4):556-567. doi: 10.1038/s41589-025-01891-7.

Kairui Jiang, Nataly Kacherovsky, et al., Suzie H. Pun. Discovery and Cryo-EM-Guided Development of a Neuropilin-2-Binding Aptamer for Receptor Antagonism. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 2026 May 21. doi: 10.1021/jacs.6c03590.

Choi HJ, Lo TW, Cutler KJ, Huang D, Will WR, Wiggins PA. Protein overabundance is driven by growth robustness. Science Advances. 2026 Mar 20;12(12):eadz9623. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adz9623.

Devon J. Griggs, Noah Stanis, Julien Bloch, Jasmine Zhou, Karam Khateeb, Shawn Fisher, Larry Shupe, Felix Schwock, Eberhard E. Fetz, Hesamoddin Jahanian, Azadeh Yazdan-Shahmorad. A large-scale optogenetic neurophysiology platform for improving accessibility in non-human primate behavioral experiments. Nature Communications. 2026 Feb 24;17(1):3128. doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-69448-3.

P. Magala, L.M. Tuttle, et al., G. Interlandi, W.E. Thomas, E.V. Sokurenko, R.E. Klevit. Ultraslow conformational dynamics and catch bond formation of a bacterial adhesin revealed by a single-domain variant of FimH, Proceedings of the National Academies of Science of the USA. 123 (22) e2519139123. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2519139123.
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