Recent News
For news from previous years, please visit our news archives page and the University of Rochester Newscenter.
2024 News
Tau Beta Phi Engineering Honor Society 2024
Rochester’s chapter of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society recently initiated 30 new members. Throughout the academic year, our chapter hosts a variety of activities including community service, social events, corporate information sessions, and study sessions to help other engineering students succeed.
Undergraduates pair research with reporting, science with sign language, and programming with pondering
The Wells Prize honorees exemplify the best of the multidisciplinary educational opportunities available at Rochester.
Society of Women Engineers Chapter Attends WE24
Proud moment! Ten members of the University of Rochester Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers student chapter recently returned from WE24: Together We Rise conference in Chicago - the world's largest conference for women in engineering!
New liquid biopsy method offers avenue to quick, affordable cancer diagnosis
The method uses ultrathin membranes to capture tiny packets of cellular material called extracellular vesicles.
Scientists developing microchips with brain and lung tissue to study viral neuroinflammation
Researchers will use tissue-on-chip technology as a new way to explore the relationship between the lungs and brain.
Patented ultrasound technologies improve diagnosis for cancer and other diseases
Four recently issued patents, developed by Kevin Parker, the William F. May Professor of Engineering at the University’s Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, and his doctoral students, boost ultrasound scanners to detect obscured pathologies.
Allie Jia Hui Tay Receives Tau Beta Pi Scholarship
Congratulations to Allie Jia Hui Tay ’25 BME, who received a Tau Beta Pi Record Scholarship. This award commemorates Leroy E. Record, KS A ’29, whose generous bequest provides earnings to support awards in perpetuity.
Scientists Leverage Ultrasound to Build New Blood Vessels in Living Tissue
A team led by Professors Diane Dalecki and Denise Hocking have developed a novel technique that could be used to treat damaged tissue in a range of medical applications.
BME Welcomes Dr. Benjamín Castañeda
We are pleased to announce that as of July 2024, Dr. Benjamín Castañeda has officially joined the faculty of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Rochester. Ben obtained his M.Sc. in Computer Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology (2004) and his Ph.D. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from University of Rochester (2009). Previously, he was a full professor of the Department of Engineering and Director of Academic Affairs of the School of Science and Engineering at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru. In this university, he founded the Medical Imaging Laboratory and the Biomedical Engineering undergraduate program.
Azmeer Sharipol Awarded F99/K00 Grant From NCI
Azmeer Sharipol, PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering (Frisch Lab), was recently awarded the National Cancer Institute (NCI) F99K00 predoctoral to postdoctoral fellow transition award.
NIH-Funded Centers Look to Make Tissue Chips FDA-Ready Tools
The University of Rochester team, led by James McGrath, Ph.D., is working with Duke University researchers to develop tissue chip tools to better understand the roles of physiological barriers in disease.
Samantha Romanick Discusses Ongoing Research of Microplastics on WXXI & EARTHDAY.ORG
Samantha Romanick, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the McGrath lab studying microplastics, was recently featured on WXXI's Connections with Evan Dawson, and in an EARTHDAY.ORG event.
Veena Ganeshan Receives President's Staff Community Service Award
Veena Ganeshan, PhD, a Senior Instructor & Sr Laboratory Engineer in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, received the President's Staff Community Service Award.
Nasir Uddin Receives DP1 Grant to Study Liver Disease and Brain Health in People Living with HIV
A new $2.7 million Director’s Pioneer Award (DP1) grant from the National Institute Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) has been awarded to Nasir Uddin, PhD, to study how non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) impacts brain function in people living with HIV.
Researchers Find Intriguing New Tool for Tendon Healing: Nanoparticles for Precision Drug Delivery
Targeted Medication Reduced Scar Tissue Formation, Improved Mechanical Function in One Treatment
Allison Lopatkin Named 2024 Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences
Allison Lopatkin ’13, is one of 22 early-career scientists selected nationwide to explore some of the most pressing questions in human health and medicine.
Upstate New York's Inaugural MPS Symposium Celebrates Success
On June 3, 2024, the inaugural Upstate New York MPS Symposium (UNY-MPSS 2024) was held at the University of Rochester. The event was a tremendous success, with nearly 100 attendees from over a dozen institutions from across Northeast America, including some representation from as far as the West Coast.
BME Professors Receive 2024 University Research Awards
Last week, the Office of the Vice President for Research announced seven Hajim School researchers will receive 2024 University Research Awards (URA).
2024 Undergraduate Awards
Congratulations to several of our outstanding biomedical engineering majors that have won awards from the BME Department, and the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences.
BME Students Invent Tick Collection System For Researchers in Costa Rica
Days before they are set to present their final design to the University of Rochester community during Design Day, a team of senior biomedical engineering students (Sarah Manning, Rachelle Gomez-Guevara, Lawrence Chen and Anjali Patel) tinkers with a small radio-controlled car they have tricked out to handle rough terrain, travel long distances, and carry flannel flags.
Hearing, Balance & the Brain
Researchers at the University of Rochester and Medical Center (URMC) aim to discover better drug-delivery methods and improve mechanistic and functional understandings of the hearing, balance, and brain connection.
Tochukwu Iyke-Nzeocha Earns Sue S. Stewart Award
Congratulations to biomedical engineering student Tochukwu Iyke-Nzeocha ’24 for earning the Sue S. Stewart Leadership and Community Service Award. Tochukwu was presented the award at the 2024 Susan B. Anthony Legacy Awards Ceremony on Saturday, 4/13.
Ernestina Domey Awarded Two Optica Scholarships
Ernestina Domey, a first-year BME masters student working in the Baran Lab, has achieved an impressive milestone by receiving two prestigious Optica scholarships!
Tochukwu Iyke-Nzeocha Receives NSBE 2024 Edward E. Barnette Jr. Community Impact Scholarship
Tochukwu Iyke-Nzeocha '24, BME major and president of the UR NSBE chapter, received the prestigious 2024 Edward E. Barnette Jr. Community Impact Scholarship.
Chloe Zhang Wins Award at AS&E Graduate Research Symposium
Congratulations to Chloe Zhang, PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering, for winning "best presentation" at the AS&E Graduate Research Symposium.
Nedergaard Recognized with Nakasone Award for Pioneering Research
Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, has been recognized by the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO) with its 2024 Nakasone Award for her “groundbreaking discovery and exploration” of the glymphatic system, the brain’s unique waste removal system, and the role that sleep plays in its function.
The Science Behind Solar Eclipse Glasses
In anticipation of the total solar eclipse happening in Rochester, New York, on April 8, 2024, James Zavislan, a professor of optics and of biomedical engineering and an associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Rochester, wants everyone to understand the risks involved and how to have a safe, enjoyable eclipse experience.
Improved Neuromonitoring Could Prevent Brain Injuries for Patients on ECMO Life Support
Rochester researchers are developing multimodal, non-invasive ways to study the brain’s physiology and reduce neurological issues associated with the therapy.
Building Better Tools to Predict Kidney Injury in Kids
Children who come into the ICU for any number of reasons may wind up with acute kidney injury, a dangerous condition in which kidneys can no longer filter waste from the blood.
Printing Plant-based Pharmaceuticals—Without Plants
A multidisciplinary team of 10 undergraduates (including biomedical engineering majors: Ines Drissi Qeytoni, Allie Tay, and Wenqi Di) pioneered new technologies to more efficiently replicate useful chemicals found in plants, including those endangered by Earth’s changing climate.
Alayna Loiselle Receives Orthopaedic Research Society’s Boskey Award
Congratulations to Dr. Alayna Loiselle on receiving the Orthopaedic Research Society’s Adele L. Boskey, PhD Award for her contributions to musculoskeletal research and mentorship of next-generation scientists.
BME Welcomes Dr. Cherice Hill
We are pleased to announce that as of January 2024, Dr. Cherice Hill has officially joined the faculty of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Rochester.
Marvin Doyley Receives the Advocacy and Action Award
Marvin Doyley, the Wilson Professor of Electronic Imaging and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the Advocacy and Action Award during last week’s Presidential Stronger As One Diversity Awards ceremony.
New NIH-funded Center Could Soon Reduce the Need for Pharmaceutical Trials on Animals
The University of Rochester will house a new national center focused on using tissue-on-chip technology to develop drugs more rapidly and reduce the need for animal trials.
Abolhassani and Chen Take 2nd Place in America’s Got Regulatory Science Talent Competition
Graduate students from across the University of Rochester presented their proposals to improve regulatory science as participants in the America’s Got Regulatory Science Talent Student Competition held by UR CTSI this past December.