2023 News Archives
Danielle Benoit elected to National Academy of Inventors
Danielle Benoit, formerly the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Biomedical Engineering and director of the Materials Science Program at Rochester, has been elected to the 2023 class of fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). The honor recognizes her contributions to the field of biomedical engineering.
BME 101 Poster Session 2023
The BME 101 annual poster session took place on Friday, December 8, 2023. This annual event provides a platform for undergraduate students in Professor Edward Brown's BME 101 course (Introduction to Biomedical Engineering) to team up and explore a topic in biomedical engineering that interests them.
James McGrath: ‘Neat’ way of teaching becomes a student rite of passage
“Dr. McGrath’s passion for biomechanics is palpable from the very first lecture,” says Arthur Masiukiewicz ’24. “He truly wants to make sure that every student understands the material. He executes this by encouraging students to ask questions in every lecture, and by prompting students with questions of his own to spark discussion of the material.”
Wired For Research
In a laboratory at the University of Rochester’s Center for Advanced Brain Imaging & Neurophysiology, Sophea Urbi Biswas ’24 pores over brain wave signals recorded from a person listening to an audiobook next door. Biswas, a senior biomedical engineering student from Bangladesh, is attempting to see if the syntactic features of the words and phrases the participant listens to are reflected in the waves picked up by the electroencephalography (EEG) cap they wear.
Meet the Next Generation of Cancer Researchers
Christina Kaszuba, a second-year student in the Biomedical Engineering graduate program, appreciates the various perspectives, such as a lecture that covered complementary approaches to cancer care with diet, exercise, and social well-being. “When I tell people what I do — whether it’s family or friends — they’re excited because they know I’m excited,” Kaszuba says.
Ram Haddas Lab Receives Biedermann Innovation Award from Scoliosis Research Society
Ram Haddas, PhD, MBA has received the Scoliosis Research Society’s Biedermann Innovation Award. Dr. Haddas is the Director of the UR Medicine Motion Analysis Laboratories and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics, Biomedical Engineering, and faculty of the Center for Musculoskeletal Research (CMSR).
This two-year award will help fund Dr. Haddas’ research project “Improving Care for Spinal Deformity Patients: Utilizing Wearable Tools for Functional and Disability Assessments”. With this grant and the other research grants this year, more than $450,000 will be dedicated to spinal care and research innovation.
McGrath Appointed William R. Kenan, Jr., Professorship
James McGrath has been named the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor in Biomedical Engineering. The honor is awarded in support of a university teacher whose enthusiasm for learning, commitment to teaching and interest in students will make a notable contribution to the University's undergraduate community.
Siladitya Khan Receives IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Fellowship
Siladitya Khan (Graduate Student Member, IEEE) received the prestigious 2023 IEEE Instrumentation & Measurement Fellowship that will support his graduate dissertation research with Professor Steve McAleavey (Senior Member, IEEE) on developing and testing a non-invasive quantitative viscoelastic imaging system with Acoustic Radiation Force (ARF) induced shear wave elastography for mapping mechanical properties of infectious microenvironments.
John Cognetti Receives Outstanding Dissertation Award
John Cognetti was recently selected as the recipient of the 2023 Outstanding Dissertation Award for Engineering. This award is in recognition of the truly outstanding dissertation and exceptional research as a graduate student at the University of Rochester.
Dalecki Bestowed with Hajim School Lifetime Achievement Award
Wendi Heinzelman, Dean of the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Diane Dalecki at the BME Graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 13, 2023.
Antonio Ladron de Guevara Ruiz '24 Places Second in Art of Science Awards
Biomedical engineering student Antonio Ladron de Guevara Ruiz ’24 takes second place in the 13th annual Art of Science competition. His submission, "Cerebrospinal fluid flows through wide perivascular spaces into the brain", featured superimposed particle tracks illustrating the entry of cerebrospinal fluid into the brain through periarterial spaces.
Deb Contestabile Receives ACE Staff Award
Deb Contestabile received an AS&E ACE staff recognition award for the month of April 2023. Staff play a critical role to the success of AS&E and the University as a whole. ACE awards recognize staff that display the University’s visions and values. Awardees are nominated by faculty, staff, or students and the winners are chosen on the first of each month by the Dean of the Faculty.
Regulatory Science Contest Sparks Solutions to Food Poisoning, Opioid Abuse, Drug Shortages
On March 1, 2023, students from across the University of Rochester gathered for the 10th annual America’s Got Regulatory Science Talent competition. Nine student teams shared their innovative ideas on how to address regulatory science challenges outlined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Teams vied for the top spot and a chance to present their solution to the FDA in Washington D.C. in April where they will join the winners of the University of Maryland’s competition and meet with the FDA’s chief scientist Namandjé Bumpus, PhD.
EWB goes beyond ‘just building something’
Six Hajim students who are members of the Engineers Without Borders student chapter were in Don Juan, Dominican Republic, during January break. They were making adjustments to a water purification system the EWB chapter installed for an elementary school during previous trips.
The team members included EWB chapter president Hannah Rickert ’25 of biomedical engineering, past president Andrew Rojnuckarin ’23 of chemical engineering, and Katie Lambright,’26, Rosemary MacLean ’23, Bridgit Nguyen ’26, and Hong Zhang ’25, all of biomedical engineering.
Christopher Lu (‘23) Featured Researcher
Christopher Lu (‘23), BME major, has been featured by the University Office of Undergrad Research in their Student Research Corner. Each month they feature a few students so that you can learn about what types of research they are doing and give their peers advice on starting their own research experience.
Gina Eagan wins ACE award
Gina Eagan, Student Programs Assistant with BME, recently won an ACE staff award. ACE awards honor AS&E staff who exemplify the University’s deep commitment to Meliora (ever better!). Embedded in that ideal are the values we share: equity, leadership, integrity, openness, respect, and accountability. Awardees are nominated by faculty, staff, or students and the winners are chosen on the first of each month by the Dean of the Faculty.
Benjamin Miller selected as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI)
Benjamin Miller, a pioneer in developing compact chips and biosensors for disease detection and personalized medicine, has also been selected as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
BME 101 Poster Session 2022
The annual “BME 101: Introduction to Biomedical Engineering” poster session was held on Friday, December 9, 2022. Each year, undergraduate students in this course gather in teams of two and research a topic in BME of their choosing. The teams put together a poster describing that topic, and performing some technical analysis. On the last Friday of the semester the students present their posters to BME faculty and students.