- Advanced Materials by Design: Theory and Computation
- African Diaspora and the Atlantic World Research Circle
- Agroecology
- American Indian Studies
- Bioethics
- Biomedical Engineering
- Biophotonics
- Chemical Biology
- Chemistry
- Cognitive Sciences
- Communication Technologies Research
- Comparative Political Economy
- Comparative U.S. Studies
- Computational Sciences
- Computational Systems Biology
- Computer Engineering
- Computer Sciences
- Cultural Studies in a Global Context
- Disability Studies
- Energy Sources and Policy
- Expressive Culture and Diversity in the Upper Midwest
- Food Pathogens and Toxins
- Functional Brain Imaging
- Functional Organic Materials
- Genomics
- Global Governance and International Finance
- Initiative for Studies in Transformational Entrepreneurship
- Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program
- International Environmental Affairs and Global Security
- International Public Affairs
- Land Use
- Law, Society and Justice
- Mathematical Physics - String Theory
- Middle Eastern Studies
- Molecular Biometry
- Nanophase Inorganic Materials and Devices
- Political Economy
- Poverty Studies
- Religious Studies
- Science and Technology Studies
- Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
- Structural Biology
- Symbiosis
- Translational Research - Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Very High Energy Astrophysics and Cosmology
- Visual Culture
- Vitamin D
- Women's Health Research/Biology of Sex and Gender Differences
- Zebrafish Biology
Cluster focus
The objectives of this cluster are to promote research to: 1) assess anatomical treatment sites with minimal harm to healthy tissues; 2) diagnose diseases and disorders with minimal exposure to toxic agents; 3) treat illnesses by targeting therapies directly to the affected site without acting on unaffected sites; and 4) monitor physiology and health with minimal effect on the body. Some examples of this work are endoscopic surgery, targeted drug delivery, and image-guided surgery and biopsy. The cluster has established expertise in the areas of biomedical computing, biomedical visualization, medical imaging and minimally invasive surgery. A graduate program in biomedical engineering that began here in the 1970s has undergone a revival of concerted effort in this area that began 10 years ago. This cluster is a major part of that revival. When the university committed cluster faculty to the program in 1998, the Whitaker Foundation also saw potential in biomedical engineering and awarded the group a generous grant to help the program grow quickly. This program has led the College of Engineering to establish the Department of Biomedical Engineering. The original idea for the cluster evolved from evaluating research in the College of Engineering, the School of Medicine and Public Health, the School of Pharmacy, and other colleges and schools, and applying that knowledge to overcome challenges in medicine and biology using an engineering approach for problem solving and design. Today Biomedical Engineering aims to advance health care by combining education, discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship through its interdisciplinary educational programs and translational research. This cluster was formerly funded as Minimally Invasive Medicine.
Cluster accomplishments
- The cluster was so successful that it spurred the development of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, which today manages the graduate degree program as well as a new undergraduate degree program.
- The Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program is ranked 22nd in the world and the Undergraduate Program is ranked 17th in the world by the US News & World Report. The Undergraduate degree is the only biomedical engineering program that requires experiential learning through real-world client-based design projects. Students showcase their designs during the Biomedical Engineering Design Expo, a public event held every semester.
- The Biomedical Engineering Program was one of nine departments in the country to receive an award from the W.H. Coulter Foundation for translational research partnership. The grant provides $1 million a year for five years. This program will foster early-stage collaborations between biomedical engineering researchers and clinicians that will enable researchers to deliver their advances more quickly to patients who need them.
- Faculty in Biomedical Engineering are nationally recognized for excellence. The National Institute of Health named the program among the top 14 NIH-research-funded biomedical engineering programs in the country, even though it is one of the smallest. The faculty have worked collaboratively on grants that involved multiple investigators, often from multiple colleges.
- Many faculty affiliated with the Department of Biomedical Engineering have been involved with startup companies and hold patents through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). Students also hold patents through WARF for their work in Biomedical Engineering.
- Biomedical engineering is one of the largest interdisciplinary graduate programs on campus with affiliates from the College of Agriculture and Life Science, College of Engineering, the School of Medicine and Public Health, School of Pharmacy and the School of Veterinary Medicine.
- Cluster faculty research focuses on understanding vascular remodeling in systemic and pulmonary hypertension and cardiovascular tissue engineering and work in rapid magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The MRI work has led to accelerated imaging technology (including quantitative flow imaging, 3D imaging methods to measure the cerebral spinal fluid flow in Chiari malformation patients, chronic tendon [hamstring] injuries, and non-invasive, quantitative measures of cartilage structure).This work is utilized by several Biomedical Engineering and School of Medicine and Public Health faculty to provide unprecedented flow analysis in patients with pulmonary hypertension. New biomedical imaging research in the School of Medicine and Public Health Wisconsin Institute for Medical Research involves medical physics, radiology and other collaborators across campus. And, faculty have received funding from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.
- The Tong Biomedical Engineering Design Awards encourages biomedical engineering students to design and create engineered prototypes of their ideas for the potential pursuit of new business ventures in biomedical industries. The awards provide funds for prototype fabrication, promoting and rewarding innovative design prototypes, and assisting promising design projects to continue development through funding and student employment to work on advancing their design.
Cluster structure
Cluster faculty work with 22 faculty members in the biomedical engineering department on the undergraduate and graduate program and on major collaborative research grants. A larger group of more than 55 affiliated faculty members from several schools and colleges regularly collaborates on research projects with department faculty and helps advise graduate students.
Cluster coordinator, faculty and lead dean
Cluster Coordinator
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Robert Radwin, Professor and Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering. Also, Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering (College of Engineering) and Orthopedics and Rehabilitation (School of Medicine and Public Health)
Cluster Faculty
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Walter Block, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Physics, School of Medicine and Public Health
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Naomi Chesler, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Medicine (School of Medicine and Public Health)
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Weibo Cai, Assistant Professor, Radiology, Medical Physics, School of Medicine and Public Health
Lead Dean
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Paul Peercy, Dean, College of Engineering