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 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.
  • There are four areas of research emphasis in the biomedical engineering program: biomedical imaging, biomedical instrumentation, biomechanics and biomaterials. These emphasis areas are expected to grow, especially biomedical imaging thorough collaborations with the departments of Medical Physics and Radiology in the School of Medicine and Public Health.
  • The biomedical engineering undergraduate degree program, which began in 1999, is already ranked 17th in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

Cluster structure

Cluster faculty work with 17 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 45 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

  • Robert Radwin, Professor and Chair, Biomedical Engineering. Also, Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering (College of Engineering) and Orthopedics and Rehabilitation (School of Medicine and Public Health)

Cluster Faculty

  • Walter Block, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Medical Physics, School of Medicine and Public Health
  • Naomi Chesler, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Medicine (School of Medicine and Public Health)
  • Nimmi Ramanujam, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering (College of Engineering) and Medical Physics (School of Medicine and Public Health)

Lead Dean