UT Southwestern Biomedical Engineering

Chair @SamuelAchilefu, Ph.D., is featured in this Science in 60+. Learn about his invention, Medical Vision Goggles, which help surgeons eliminate all cancer cells after tumor removal. The goal is to make them available to surgeons worldwide. bit.ly/3F6qAFg #UTSWScience

We’re proud to share that our Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the 2026 Best Graduate Schools in Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering.

Yesterday, we hosted James Duncan, Ph.D., Chair of Biomedical Engineering at Yale University, as a 2026 Distinguished Seminar. Dr. Duncan shared how advanced fMRI and AI methods enable objective biomarkers and more personalized treatment insights for autism spectrum disorders.

Join us TODAY at 11 a.m. as we welcome Chulhong Kim, Ph.D., of Pohang University of Science and Technology, for a BME Seminar Series. Join us in person on UT Southwestern’s East Campus in Room EA1.116 or virtually on Zoom at bit.ly/4sCmLKz.

Join us one week from today as we welcome James Duncan, Ph.D., for the first BME Distinguished Seminar Series of the year. Dr. Duncan is the Ebenezer K. Hunt Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Yale University. Learn more about this hybrid event at: bit.ly/4t4GqE0

Next week, Binbin Ying, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Internal Medicine, will join other invited speakers at the 2026 International Symposium on Medical Robotics. For more information, visit sites.google.com/view/ismr2026-….

Join us next Thursday at 11 a.m. as we welcome Chulhong Kim, Ph.D., for a BME Seminar Series as he presents “Multimodal Photoacoustic Ultrasound Imaging: From Bench to Bedside and Products.” Join us in person in Room EA1.116 or virtually on Zoom at utsouthwestern-edu.zoom.us/j/93611417444.

Last week our department hosted @ARPAHealth for a site visit. The visit included a lab tour of one of our research labs recently awarded ARPA‑H funding, and an informational session where investigators learned more about ARPA‑H.

Join us in two weeks as we welcome James Duncan, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Yale University, for the first BME Distinguished Seminar Series of the year! To learn more about this hybrid event, visit: bit.ly/4t4GqE0

📰 We’re excited to share a first for our department! The Biomedical Engineering Department has officially released its first-ever print newsletter, Engineering Health. 🎉 Read it on the web now by visiting: bit.ly/4cBxQa1.

At @utswmedcenter, ARPA-H is meeting innovators who are not intimidated by the hardest problems in medicine. H/T PRINT Program PI Muhammad Rizwan whose organ-printing technology could work to end organ donor shortages. @utswbme Learn more about PRINT: arpa-h.gov/explore-fundin…

Binbin Ying, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, will share his research with UT Dallas and UT Austin over the course of the next week. His presentation will discuss soft medical devices that can integrate safely and gently with the body's delicate tissues.

Phospholipids aren’t just “helper” lipids. 🧬 New research from @GDE_UTSW shows they play a key role in how lipid nanoparticles deliver mRNA—boosting cell entry, organ targeting, and protein production. Learn more at: bit.ly/4dzl10Q

Upgrades to the Cancer Vision Goggles platform from the @Achilefu_Lab make it wearable, hands-free, and single-operator — bringing standardized, quantitative near-infrared tumor imaging one step closer to routine surgical use. Read more at: ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11432…

Congratulations to Qiang Feng, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow in the Gao Lab, for receiving a Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research Award from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). It covers registration and travel to the AACR Annual Meeting 2026 next month.

Our BME researchers developed an mRNA therapy that restores cGAS in cancer cells, boosting cGAMP production and activating STING-driven immune responses. In melanoma models, this slowed tumor growth and eliminated tumors in ~30% of cases. Read more at: bit.ly/4rOuBBf

Congratulations to Binbin Ying, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, on receiving an American Cancer Society (ACS) Institutional Research Grant! The award will fund research on a mucosa-interfacing wireless pH-impedance monitoring system for reflux monitoring.

New research from the @GDE_UTSW Lab reveals a breakthrough in mRNA stability. By chemically armoring the mRNA backbone, the team has created transcripts that resist degradation and stay stable longer. Read more about this new research at: bit.ly/4rydBPq

RaST uses Cerenkov-emitting radiopharmaceuticals to activate photosensitizers and generate ROS, triggering necroptosis and immunogenic cell death to overcome apoptosis resistance and drive antitumor immunity. Read more at: go.nature.com/4kznbiN

Research from the @GDE_UTSW lab demonstrates that incorporating a simple sugar, mannose, into LNP enables selective targeting of immune and endothelial cells in the liver, facilitating precise mRNA delivery to liver tissues. Learn more at bit.ly/3LImqa5

🎉 Congratulations to our faculty and collaborators! @UTSWMedCenter has been awarded up to $25 million from @ARPAHealth to develop bioprinted, patient-specific artificial livers. #UTSWBME is proud to lead bold, biomedical innovation. Read details at: bit.ly/3Lw1gvu