Faculty

How CU 91��Ҹ� built a biomedical engineering powerhouse

Alexander James Servantez — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 21:35:35 +0000

How CU 91��Ҹ� built a biomedical engineering powerhouse Alexander Jame… Mon, 03/23/2026 - 15:35

Alexander Servantez

When the first biomedical engineering class graduated from CU 91��Ҹ� in 2023, about a dozen students walked across the stage.

They weren’t just earning degrees—they were laying the foundation for a degree program on the rise.

Today, that once-small start has evolved into a powerful engine for biomedical innovation and education. With robust industry partnerships, national accreditation and a potent local research pipeline, the Biomedical Engineering Program (BME) has quickly ballooned into the College of Engineering and Applied Science’s fourth-largest degree-granting program.

But how does a program go from modest beginnings to powerhouse in such a short time? Director Corey Neu believes it was only ever a matter of time.

“We’ve had biomedical research in our laboratories for years,” said Neu. “We’ve had individual course offerings and other opportunities for people to learn about biomedical engineering. However, it was never organized into a formal degree-granting program.”

That is, until 2018, when a conversation amongst faculty began to spark some lofty ideas.

The early journey

At the time, CU 91��Ҹ� only offered a biomedical engineering minor. The program featured just one course, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, dedicated specifically to the field.

Professor and inaugural Program Director Mark Borden (right) with a student in his lab.

Of course, there were other classes offered in various departments in the college where students could learn biomedical engineering principles. But without any real structure, faculty members realized they were starting to fall behind.

“We were hearing reports from the dean that students were choosing to go to other universities simply because we didn’t offer a degree in biomedical engineering,” Neu said. “The time was right. A lot of people came together from many different units and entities on campus to finally design a true program.”

The group’s program proposal was accepted by the CU Board of Regents in spring 2019.

In spring 2020, Professor Mark Borden was elected as the inaugural director and the program was launched. But the challenge ahead was immense. COVID shutdowns quickly tested the program’s early momentum.

Borden said a strong network of campus resources and key contributors helped keep the program on track.

“I was very lucky to have experienced people like Rob Davis in my corner. He volunteered his services as undergraduate chair early in the process and he helped solve so many problems,” said Borden. “Dean Keith Molenaar was also extremely helpful when he first started, too. He instituted a leadership program with outside consultants that really gave our program a voice and brought us together.”

Breaking ground

Despite its early obstacles, the newly established BME program welcomed roughly 20 total students—all of them transfers—during its first semester. That number surged to 122 students in fall 2020 with the help of the program's first undergraduate and graduate classes.

Students working together in a BME classroom.

Now, the program is home to nearly 466 students, including 396 undergraduates and 70 graduate students.

In addition to building the program, Borden said they also focused on building community and collaboration amongst the undergraduate cohort.

“We structured courses strategically so that students could easily get to know each other as they moved through our curriculum,” he said. “Then, we helped the students invigorate the Biomedical Engineering Society student chapter. They introduced a career symposium, built a peer mentorship program and helped lead programming and events throughout the academic year.”

New classes and opportunities were piloted nearly every semester with significant input from existing students in the program.

And finally, in spring 2023, Borden and his team turned to one final step: earning national accreditation.

“At that time, I was already looking to pass leadership to someone who can build off our foundation. However, I made a promise to our first graduating class that I would get the program accredited before I step down,” said Borden. “We got to work, received a strong review and were officially accredited in fall 2024.”

A maturing program

With his goal accomplished, Borden handed the program’s leadership to Neu. But the momentum and achievements continued to mount.

Today, the program matriculates over 100 students every year. Its undergraduate program ranks among the top 50 biomedical engineering programs in the nation, while its graduate program is ranked No. 21 among public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report.

A graduate student working in the Neu lab.

The program has also emerged as a leader in representation and inclusivity. Nearly 56% of BME’s students are women, a rare milestone for engineering programs.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the program’s growth, though, is its development of strong industry partnerships. Colorado features the highest concentration of biomedical-related jobs in the country, with over 90 companies based in the region.

Major companies like Terumo BCT and Medtronic, who recently entered a research agreement with the university, play an active role in the program. They support undergraduate senior design projects and collaborate with graduate researchers in university labs—something Neu says is crucial to student outcomes.

“We work with companies all around the state and even beyond. They advise us on our curriculum and help guide our direction forward,” Neu said. “These partnerships help us educate students optimally and they also help our students secure fantastic jobs and internships.”

He also believes expanding the program’s research enterprise is the key to unlocking its full potential.

Similar to the program’s healthy industry relationships, Neu’s goal is to unlock more research and educational opportunities with CU Anschutz, the 91��Ҹ� system’s medical school.

“It’s important for our students to participate in clinical rotations and interface with medical doctors,” said Neu. “We’re not just trying to create excellent engineers—we want our engineers to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with medical professionals, too.”

But most of all, Neu and his team remain focused on the program’s founding mission: cultivating the next generation of engineers capable of tackling the world’s most pressing health challenges.

When the first biomedical engineering class graduated from CU 91��Ҹ� in 2023, about a dozen students walked across the stage. Today, that once-small start has evolved into a powerful engine for biomedical innovation and education. But how does a program go from modest beginnings to powerhouse in such a short time?

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91��Ҹ�ers build ultra-efficient optical sensors shrinking light to a chip

Alexander James Servantez — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 18:42:22 +0000

91��Ҹ�ers build ultra-efficient optical sensors shrinking light to a chip Alexander Jame… Mon, 02/23/2026 - 11:42

BME professor Won Park is co-advising a research project building high performing optical microresonators to open the door for new sensor technologies. In the future, the microresonators could be used for compact microlasers, advanced chemical and biological sensors and even tools for quantum metrology and networking.

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91��Ҹ�ers create shape-shifting, self-navigating microparticles

Mallory Phillips — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 21:34:13 +0000

91��Ҹ�ers create shape-shifting, self-navigating microparticles Mallory Phillips Thu, 01/22/2026 - 14:34

91��Ҹ�ers, including BME faculty member Wyatt Shields at CU 91��Ҹ� have created tiny, microorganism-inspired particles that can change their shape and self-propel, much like living things, in response to electrical fields.

One day, these shape-shifting “active particles” could be used as microrobots that deliver medications inside the human body, particularly in areas that are hard for drugs to reach on their own, or for building large-scale dynamic materials that are responsive and self-healing.

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Donated blood has a shelf life. A new test tracks how it's aging

Alexander James Servantez — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 17:33:08 +0000

Donated blood has a shelf life. A new test tracks how it's aging Alexander Jame… Wed, 01/21/2026 - 10:33

Roughly 6.8 million people donate blood in the United States alone, helping save millions of lives, according to the American Red Cross. But just like groceries sitting on store shelves, red blood cells age over time. That's why Associate Professor Xiaoyun Ding and medical collaborators at CU Anschutz have created a new chip device to help give blood centers and hospitals a reliable way to monitor the quality of red blood cells after they sit for weeks in storage.

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Xu selected to receive a 2025 Packard Fellowship award

Alexander James Servantez — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 16:44:20 +0000

Xu selected to receive a 2025 Packard Fellowship award Alexander Jame… Wed, 10/15/2025 - 10:44

Assistant Professor Nicole Xu has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering. The award provides some of the nation’s most promising early career scientists and engineers flexible funding to test novel ideas and lead research that drives real-world impact.

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91��Ҹ�ers pioneer fluid-based laser scanning for brain imaging

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 19:50:36 +0000

91��Ҹ�ers pioneer fluid-based laser scanning for brain imaging Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 10/14/2025 - 13:50

Darwin Quiroz is exploring new frontiers in miniature lasers with major biomedical applications.

Quiroz, a physics PhD student in the lab of BME Professor Juliet Gopinath in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, and also co-advised by Professor Victor Bright from Paul M. Rady in Mechanical Engineering, is co-first author of a new study that demonstrates how a fluid-based optical device known as an electrowetting prism can be used to steer lasers at high speeds for advanced imaging applications.

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BME undergraduate student helps uncover new treatment for respiratory syndrome

Alexander James Servantez — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 15:53:40 +0000

BME undergraduate student helps uncover new treatment for respiratory syndrome Alexander Jame… Fri, 09/26/2025 - 09:53

Alexander Servantez

For many undergraduate students, CU 91��Ҹ�’s Summer Program for Undergraduate 91��Ҹ� (SPUR) is an opportunity to obtain early hands-on experience in a lab setting.

Aiming to increase undergraduate research engagement and interest, the program pairs nearly 125 engineering students from across the college in research labs with faculty members and graduate mentors. For 10 weeks, students foster unique, hands-on research experiences and develop crucial skills that serve them well beyond their undergraduate journey.

But for Joshua Smith, it was more than just exposure and learning—it was the chance to contribute to a real scientific breakthrough.

Smith, an undergraduate student in the Biomedical Engineering Program (BME), started his SPUR research journey under the supervision of Assistant Professor Wyatt Shields and graduate mentor Bianca Santana in the Shields Lab. Their project, like something straight out of a health sci-fi movie, involved studying a method of drug transport to the lungs using tiny microrobots to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

“Usually, therapies are based on something called ‘passive delivery,’ which means a drug is injected or inhaled and the patient is left to hope everything works okay from there,” said Smith. “In this method of drug delivery, not much of the treatment actually gets where it needs to go. We’re trying to develop a new method of active transport where we can direct where those drugs go after they enter the body.”

The winding road to treatment

ARDS is a life-threatening lung condition characterized by severe lung inflammation and fluid build-up. It often arises as a complication of other illnesses or injuries and has been seen to develop in a significant percentage of COVID-19 patients—nearly 61 to 81% of those requiring intensive care, according to a study in the National Library of Medicine.

BME undergraduate student Joshua Smith working alongside graduate mentor Bianca Santana of the Shields Lab. (Credit: Jesse Morgan Petersen)

Most ARDS treatment options today are ill-equipped to address the underlying cause of the illness. Current therapies merely look to support the patient and improve select symptoms.

That’s why Smith and his lab group began exploring RNA-based gene therapy, a next-generation therapeutic approach that uses molecules from ribonucleic acid to influence genetic expression, modulate biological pathways and treat diseases.

“We are testing circular RNA, which is a different kind of RNA. Its ends are covalently bonded together, meaning it's less susceptible to degrading enzymes and immune responses,” Smith said.

RNAs face difficulties crossing cellular membranes on their own, so the group is exploring another new solution: pairing them with lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). These tiny, spherical vesicles encapsulate the RNA and increase membrane permeability, allowing them to access the cell.

But that’s not the only obstacle. Drug delivery, especially to the lungs, is extremely difficult. The lungs are protected by a viscous mucosal barrier that acts as a physical shield, trapping and blocking potentially infectious inhaled particles and pathogens.

Smith says that’s where the microrobots come in. By attaching the LNPs to the biodegradable, polymeric microbots, he and his team believe they have the power to overcome the tough layer of mucus and safely deliver drugs to the lungs in a much more targeted manner.

“These little bots—we can control them using acoustic, electric and rotating magnetic fields,” said Smith. “If our project is successful, it can lead to much more of the drug reaching its intended destination, thus making the RNA way more effective and efficient.”

Early exposure to discovery

For Smith, a certain allure behind the project captured his curiosity.

“I was looking through SPUR projects one night and I saw the word ‘robot’ in the chemical engineering section. Honestly, it just sounded like it was interdisciplinary and super cool,” Smith said. “When you get to combine two different fields, that’s the best part about science.”

But it wasn’t just a learning experience. Smith said he was able to observe first-hand, and even play a role in a key discovery.

Smith inspecting a piece of lab equipment in the Shields Lab. (Credit: Jesse Morgan Petersen)

“We tested cell viability in circular RNA over the course of a five-day experiment. We were looking to see how much protein the cells produced when exposed to circular RNA as opposed to linear RNA,” said Smith. “We found that circular RNA produced 20 times more protein than linear RNA for a longer period of time. This means the therapies we are working on can be 20 times more effective and last a day longer than other industry standards.”

Smith says these findings have the potential to make a broad impact in the field of gene therapy as a whole, not just ARDS.

“Our project is unique because we’re not just focusing on a specific drug,” Smith said. “We’re focused on drug delivery. Our experiment can easily be applied to other areas, or at least the base concepts of RNA-based gene therapy.”

Going forward, Smith’s experience in the lab has inspired him to potentially pursue medical school after his undergraduate journey. It also illuminated other career fields with ample opportunities to conduct important research.

Regardless of where he ends up, Smith says he’ll bring a strong air of confidence with him.

“There’s definitely expectations and a steep learning curve when it comes to working in a lab,” said Smith. “But throughout the summer, I feel like I grew to be more of a partner, not just a mentee. I was a big contributor to our project and I’m excited to apply what I learned towards my future.”

The project, like something straight out of a health sci-fi movie, combines RNA-based gene therapy with tiny microrobots for drug transport to help treat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

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Credit: Jesse Morgan Petersen

Three new faculty members joining the BME department for Fall 2025

Alexander James Servantez — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 17:41:55 +0000

Three new faculty members joining the BME department for Fall 2025 Alexander Jame… Mon, 09/08/2025 - 11:41

Alexander Servantez

The Biomedical Engineering Program (BME) at CU 91��Ҹ� is welcoming three new faculty members this fall semester.

From responsive biomaterials and pedagogical research to quantum imaging, these talented scientists and engineers bring a wealth of knowledge and passion to our teaching and research missions. Please join us in welcoming them to our college and campus community!

Jun Li

Assistant Professor

Li received a Bachelor of Engineering from China’s Zhejiang University in 2016. He then earned a PhD in materials science and engineering in 2021 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed his postdoctoral training in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University. He is joining CU 91��Ҹ� as an assistant professor in both mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering.

Li’s research integrates responsive biomaterials and advanced manufacturing into wearable and implantable devices that have the power to tackle a wide range of challenges in both healthcare and sustainability. In many cases, these devices can mechanically mimic tissues and organs to enable biological functions and also incorporate electronic capabilities that provide healthcare solutions, including sensing and electro-stimulation.

Li says the aging global population is driving an urgent need for advanced healthcare materials and devices that can restore body function, expand life longevity and improve the overall quality of life. His research developing novel, responsive biomaterials and devices can provide solutions to address those challenges.

He also says his research fits right into the spirit of community at CU 91��Ҹ�. “I am excited about the science, technology and opportunity ahead at this campus surrounded by the beautiful mountains to help shape a better future,” Li said. “Sko Buffs!”

James Long

Assistant Teaching Professor

Long received a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering from Rice University in 2017. He then received both a master’s degree and PhD in biomedical engineering from Duke University in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Long served as teaching faculty at Rice University after earning his doctorate degrees and now finds himself as an assistant teaching professor at CU 91��Ҹ�.

Throughout his career, Long has developed courses and learning modules in various biomedical engineering areas, including biostatistics, instrumentation and transport phenomena. He has collaborated with other teaching faculty across the country on several efforts to advance biomedical engineering education, from investigating the role of problem-based learning in student self-efficacy to creating a national peer mentorship program to help faculty form inter-institutional connections.

Long’s pedagogical research focuses on teaching interventions to improve students’ professional communication skills and alternative grading strategies to improve student motivation. He believes a complete education on the technical and ethical implications of biomedical science and engineering, is the key to training the next generation of engineers to tackle the complex problems of modern healthcare.

“I’m excited to help the BME program grow and adapt to the ever-changing needs of industry and modern healthcare,” he said.”

Yide Zhang

Assistant Professor

Zhang earned his PhD in electrical engineering at the University of Notre Dame, where he advanced multiphoton fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy and super-resolution microscopy. As a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech, he expanded his research to include photoacoustic imaging, quantum imaging, and ultrafast imaging technologies. His work focuses on developing innovative optical imaging techniques that surpass current limits in speed, accuracy, and accessibility, with applications ranging from real-time fluorescence imaging to noninvasive hemodynamics and quantum-enhanced imaging.

Zhang's research aims to pioneer optical imaging technologies that exceed current limitations in speed, accuracy, and accessibility, with a strong focus on translational applications. His interests span multiple areas, including fluorescence lifetime imaging, super-resolution microscopy, photoacoustic imaging, and quantum imaging. A key aspect of his work is developing innovative solutions to enable high-quality, real-time imaging of biological structures and processes, which can advance both fundamental science and clinical applications.

“I am particularly excited about the interdisciplinary environment fostered by the Engineering Center at CU 91��Ҹ�, where all the engineering departments are physically connected within a single-building complex,” Zhang said. “This unique setup greatly facilitates collaborations across disciplines and enables researchers and students to share ideas and resources more easily. I look forward to contributing to this vibrant research community and engaging with students from diverse backgrounds.”

The Biomedical Engineering Program (BME) at CU 91��Ҹ� is welcoming three new faculty members this fall semester. From responsive biomaterials and pedagogical research to quantum imaging, these talented scientists and engineers bring a wealth of knowledge and passion to our teaching and research missions.

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New optical technique could transform brain imaging in animals

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 17:27:07 +0000

New optical technique could transform brain imaging in animals Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 09/05/2025 - 11:27

CU 91��Ҹ� postdoc Catherine Saladrigas is helping bring high-resolution imaging into miniature microscopes for neuroscience research. Collaborators on this project include Juliet Gopinath, BME faculty member.

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"Cyborg jellyfish" could aid in deep-sea research, inspire next-gen underwater vehicles

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 18:00:00 +0000

"Cyborg jellyfish" could aid in deep-sea research, inspire next-gen underwater vehicles Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/14/2025 - 12:00

CU 91��Ҹ� engineer Nicole Xu, an assistant professor with BME, first became fascinated with moon jellies more than a decade ago because of their extraordinary swimming abilities. Today, Xu has developed a way to harness their efficiency and ease at moving through the water in ways that could make some types of aquatic research much easier.

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Faculty

How CU 91���Ҹ� built a biomedical engineering powerhouse

The early journey

Breaking ground

A maturing program

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91���Ҹ�ers build ultra-efficient optical sensors shrinking light to a chip

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91���Ҹ�ers create shape-shifting, self-navigating microparticles

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Donated blood has a shelf life. A new test tracks how it's aging

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Xu selected to receive a 2025 Packard Fellowship award

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91���Ҹ�ers pioneer fluid-based laser scanning for brain imaging

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BME undergraduate student helps uncover new treatment for respiratory syndrome

The winding road to treatment

Early exposure to discovery

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Three new faculty members joining the BME department for Fall 2025

Jun Li

James Long

Yide Zhang

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New optical technique could transform brain imaging in animals

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"Cyborg jellyfish" could aid in deep-sea research, inspire next-gen underwater vehicles

Off

How CU 91��Ҹ� built a biomedical engineering powerhouse

91��Ҹ�ers build ultra-efficient optical sensors shrinking light to a chip

91��Ҹ�ers create shape-shifting, self-navigating microparticles

91��Ҹ�ers pioneer fluid-based laser scanning for brain imaging