Courses

597A/697A Special Topics - Nature's Materials
Material science and mechanical engineering approaches are used to explore the structure-function relationships of natural biomaterials.  Principles that govern mechanical behavior are used to discuss design approaches for synthetic bio-inspired and biomimetic materials. The main focus is on structure/function relationships of materials.  There is also emphasis on mechanical design and function, with some discussion of cellular interactions. Materials covered include skin, horn, nail, hoof, hair, wood, plants, spider silk, nacre, bone, tendon, ligament, cartilage, meniscus, and tissue engineering scaffolds. Topics for bio-inspired and biomimicked materials include structural and energy absorbing materials and biomedical materials for clinical applications.

597D/697D Special Topics - Drug Delivery
This course covers the breadth of drug delivery, from systemically delivered nanoparticles to local drug releasing systems. The course will consider the pharmaceutics of drugs and their disease target, and describe how to engineer drug delivery systems for these scenarios. Mathematical models, clinical examples, industry trends, and emerging research topics will be covered throughout the course.

597K/697K Special Topics - Biotransport
An introduction to transport phenomena in biological systems covering fundamental principles of fluid mechanics and mass transfer at the cellular, tissue, and organ levels. Topics include macroscopic and microscopic mathematical descriptions of physiological fluid mechanics in circulation and tissue and mass transport related to convection and diffusion in biological systems; transmembrane and transvascular transport; biochemical interactions; mass separations; and kinetics of biochemical reactions. Course material will be reinforced using examples in drug delivery, tissue engineering, bioengineered systems, and tumorigenesis.

597M Special Topics - Biomedical Microfluidics
Introduction to the field of biomedical microfluidics and biochips. It covers the fundamentals of microfluidic phenomena and microfabrication. The course also includes the design of microfluidic components and some biomedical applications of microfluidic systems.

597N/697N Special Topics - Neuroengineering
This course seeks to build a foundation of physical principles underlying neuroengineering techniques, including electrical, optical, and magnetic approaches to neural recording and stimulation. We will discuss neural recording probes and materials considerations that influence the quality of the signals and longevity of the probes in the brain. This will be accompanied by the discussion of evolution of neural probes from microwires in the 1950s, to Utah arrays in the 1980s, to modern Neuropixels, meshes, and fibers. We will then consider physical foundations for optical recording and modulation approaches. Materials physics of optical fibers, GRIN lenses, light-emitting devices, and photodetectors will be discussed and followed by the in-depth review of devices and systems involved in optogenetics, photometry, and endoscopy. Finally, the course will deliver an introduction to magnetism in the context of biological systems. We will focus on magnetic neuromodulation methods including transcranial magnetic stimulation and nanomaterials based approaches to remote control of neural activity.

597P/697P Special Topics - Intro to Biophotonics
This course covers basic concepts in electromagnetism and light-matter interactions of biomedical significance. Topics covered include: optical properties of biological cells, tissues and biomaterials; visible and near-infrared light absorption, scattering and fluorescence spectroscopy; advanced microscopy techniques, optical coherence tomography, vibrational spectroscopy, photoacoustic imaging, photodynamic therapy and their relevance to human disease diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

597T Special Topics - Tissue Engineering
An introduction to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

597U/697U Special Topics - Immunoengineering
This course will first provide an understanding of basic immunology and then transition to apply these fundamental principles to the design of immunoengineering solutions to biomedical disease challenges. Basic immunological principles that we will cover in the first part of the course include the cells of the immune system and their function, innate and adaptive responses, antigen presentation, T and B cell responses, and immunological memory. In the second part of the course, we will focus on understanding how these basic principles are applied in the design of immunomodulatory nanomaterials, antibody engineering, systems immunology, and development of cell-based therapies. This application-oriented second part of the course will involve overviews of the scientific literature to cover this rapidly evolving field. Throughout the course, we will focus on the biomedical challenges of cancer and infectious disease.

696 Independent Study
Credit, 1-6.

699 Masters Thesis
Credit, 1-6.

899 Doctoral Dissertation
Credit, 18.

Ph.D. students are encouraged to take graduate courses in other engineering departments or Biology with advisor approval, if courses are applicable to their research.

For more information on course offerings visit http://bme.umass.edu.