Coulter BME Magazine Fall 2024 : simplebooklet.com

Warmly,Alyssa Panitch, Ph.D.Wallace H. Coulter Department ChairProfessorDear BME Community,A s we celebrate 25 years of excellence in biomedical engineering education and research this fall, let’s reect on how far we’ve come.We’re proud to hold the No. 2 spot in the nation for both undergraduate and graduate programs, and the top spot among public biomedical engineering departments. But beyond rankings, it’s our dynamic community that truly makes us proud, and what stands out most for me.Nearly 60% of our undergrads are women and 25 percent from underrepre-sented minorities. Half of our 400 graduate students are women, and a quarter are from underrepresented minorities. For our faculty, the numbers are 33% and 13%. These gures reect our commitment to creating a culture of belonging. But they also remind us that there is more work to be done. We’re in the business of doing good work, so that’s how it should be. And the ways in which we work are evolving.I’m thrilled to announce the launch of our new AI minor. This program will equip our students with biomedical engineering skills in artificial intelligence, preparing them to lead in this rapidly evolving eld. The enthusiasm and interest we’ve seen already are truly inspiring.I also want to highlight the achievements of our BME Capstone groups. Our students took rst place in the Georgia Tech Capstone Design Expo both semesters last year! This is a testament to their hard work, creativity, and dedication. Congratulations to everyone involved — you’ve made us immensely proud, and excited for the biomedical engi-neering innovations to come.We’re also welcoming many new faces to our department this year. The inux of new faculty and students brings a wave of fresh energy and ideas. It’s invigorating to see the collaborative spirit these new members bring to our community. And as our research expenditures have increased, so has our impact — our commitment to improving the human condition through research is stronger than ever.So, thank you all for your continued ded-ication and passion. Together, we’re making remarkable strides and shaping the next 25 years of Coulter BME.FROM THE CHAIR2 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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Degree Programs LeadershipThe Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (Coulter BME) is a true success story in risk-taking and innovation — a visionary partnership between a leading public engineering school and a highly respected private medical school.B.S. in Biomedical Engineering Georgia TechM.S. in Biomedical Engineering Georgia TechMaster of Biomedical Innovation and Development Georgia TechM.S. in Biomedical Innovation and Development — Advanced Therapeutics Emory UniversityPh.D. in Biomedical Engineering Emory University & Georgia TechPh.D. in Biomedical Engineering Emory University, Georgia Tech, & Peking UniversityM.D. / Ph.D. Emory University & Georgia TechInterdisciplinary Ph.D. programs Georgia Tech• Bioengineering• Bioinformatics• Computational Science and Engineering• Machine Learning• RoboticsALYSSA PANITCHWallace H. Coulter Department ChairESSY BEHRAVESHDirector of Student ServicesPAUL J. BENKESERSenior Associate ChairMICHAEL DAVISAssociate Chair for Graduate StudiesJAYDEV DESAIAssociate Chair for Undergraduate StudiesSCOTT HOLLISTERAssociate Chair for Translational ResearchHANJOONG JOAssociate Chair for EmoryMICHELLE LAPLACAAssociate Chair for Faculty DevelopmentJOE LE DOUXExecutive Director of Training and LearningCHENG ZHUExecutive Director for International ProgramsLUKE O’CONNELLDirector of Development, Georgia TechTONJA HOLDERDirector of Development, Discovery ProgramsCOULTER BME AT A GLANCEFall 2024 Magazine 5

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President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshoot, with aims to cut the cancer death rate in half in 25 years, last year committed $74 million for two projects led by Coulter Department bio-medical engineers.Gabe Kwong is leading development of a new generation of cancer tests capable of detecting multiple types of tumors earlier with up to $50 million in support from the initiative. And a team led by Philip Santangelo is using $24 million to develop new mRNA-based treatments for cancer and other diseases.“By combining mRNA-encoded antigens with gene modu-lation technology, we will be able to radically enhance specic immune responses,” said Santangelo. “This technology, which operates transiently without modifying DNA, can oer a potential breakthrough in treating cancers, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases.”The project, called Curing the Uncurable via RNA-En-coded Immunogene Tuning (CUREIT), will use mRNA to essentially turn genes on or o in individual immune cells. The idea is to reverse the suppression or dysregulation of the immune system that is common in chronic diseases like cancer. mRNA drugs gained notoriety as the technology behind Covid-19 vaccines. The molecule contains instruc-tions, telling the body what proteins to make. Santangelo’s team is using mRNA to target genes in immune cells and alter their function.“Many dierent therapies, including immunotherapies, have been very successful, but there have been deciencies in how they function,” Santangelo said. “What we're trying to do is take that next step, which means targeting multiple cell types of dierent parts of the immune system and manipulating how those individual cells function. And we can change that function by manipulating multiple genes within those cells.”The award, announced last summer, was the rst batch of funding from the newly created Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a federal agency charged with accelerating transformational ideas in health research.Next came the news that Kwong and his team would receive funding to develop tests for detecting multiple types of tumors earlier than ever before, oering a chance to save countless lives.“The ARPA-H program is really designed to accelerate true blue-sky visions of what the eld needs to solve in order to push medicine and health forward,” said Kwong. “This is what researchers like to do — we dream about a dierent future; about the technologies we need to develop to get there. I’ve been cultivating this vision for the last 10 years. Now there’s a mechanism to implement it and go at light speed. That’s pretty exciting.”The core of Kwong’s work will be development of the Cancer and Organ Degradome Atlas, or CODA platform. The project will catalog the enzymatic activity of cancer cells — collecting their unique biosignatures — and the typical cellular proles of healthy tissues. Together, that information will function like a traditional atlas, showing researchers both when cancer cells are present and where they’re located.With that data, the multi-institutional research team will develop a suite of bioengineered sensors that can be deployed in the body and send up an alert when they recognize the unique cancer-specic markers. The metabolic changes in cancer cells would trigger the release of a synthetic biomarker in high enough levels to be detected in blood, urine, or feces and signal the appearance of early cancer lesions.“We know that enzymes are very important and clearly dys-regulated. But we don't have the right tools. We have not had a comprehensive map to really say, these are all the things that are fully dysregulated in tumor cells versus healthy tissue,” Kwong said. “Our project will be the rst to systematically map out, with spatial resolution inside the body, what are the things that are really dierent between cancer cells and healthy cells.” ‣ JERRY GRILLO$74 Million Cancer Moonshot Launching Two Coulter-led TeamsGabe Kwong (left) and Phil Santangelo(PHOTOS: JERRY GRILLO)OUR RESEARCH6 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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OUR RESEARCHAbove: A T-cell on a nanowire array. The arrow indicates where a nanowire has penetrated the cell, delivering therapeutic miRNA. (PHOTO COURTESY: SINGH LAB)Left: Ankur Singh(PHOTO: JERRY GRILLO)Nanowires Create Elite Warriors to Enhance T-Cell TherapyAnkur Singh has developed a method to improve adoptive T-cell therapy, an immunotherapy that has revolutionized medicine. A patient’s T-cells are modied in a lab and then infused back into the body, to seek and destroy infection, or cancer cells. Singh’s solution involves using nanowires to deliver therapeutic miRNA to T-cells, a modication process that retains the cells’ naïve state, which means they’ll be better disease ghters when they’re infused back into a patient.“By delivering miRNA in naïve T cells, we have basically prepared an infantry, ready to deploy,” said Singh. “When these naïve cells are stimulated and activated in the presence of disease, it’s like they’ve been converted into samurais.”Currently in adoptive T-cell therapy, cells become stim-ulated and preactivated in the lab when they’re modied, losing their naïve state. Singh’s technique overcomes this limitation.“Naïve T-cells are more useful for immunotherapy because they have not yet been preactivated, which means they can be more easily manipulated to adopt desired therapeutic functions,” said Singh, professor in both the Coulter Depart-ment and the Woodru School of Mechanical Engineering.Naïve T-cells are white blood cells that haven’t been tested in battle yet. They are robust and adaptable — ready and eager for programming. Within the body, naïve T-cells become activated when they receive a danger signal from antigens, which are part of disease-causing pathogens, but they send a signal to T-cells that activate the immune system.Adoptive T-cell therapy is used against aggressive diseases that overwhelm the body’s defense system. Scientists give the patient’s T-cells a therapeutic boost in the lab, loading them up with additional medicine and chemically pre-activating them, a process that causes the cells to lose their naïve state. When infused back into the patient, the modied cells are eective disease ghters, but prone to becoming exhausted. They aren’t samurai. But naïve T-cells could be.The challenge for Singh and his team: How to give cells a therapeutic boost without pre-acti-vating them and losing that naïve state. Their solution: Nanowires. Singh wanted to enhance naïve T-cells with a dose of miRNA, a molecule that works like a volume knob for genes, turning their activity up or down to keep infection and cancer in check. “If we could nd a way to forcibly enter the cells without damaging them, we could achieve our goal to deliver the miRNA into naïve T cells without pre-activating them,” Singh explained.Traditional modification in the lab involves binding immune receptors to T-cells, enabling the uptake of miRNA or any genetic material (which results in loss of the naïve state). “But nanowires do not engage receptors and thus do not activate cells, so they retain their naïve state,” Singh said.The nanowire arrays are silicon wafers that form a ne needle bed. Cells are placed on the nanowires, which easily penetrate the cells and deliver their miRNA over several hours. Then the cells with miRNA are ushed out from the tops of the nanowires, activated, and infused back into the patient. The treatment was successful against infection in this phase of the study. In the next phase, the researchers will up the ante, moving from infectious disease to test their cellular super soldiers against cancer. ‣ JERRY GRILLOFall 2024 Magazine 7

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OUR RESEARCHGetting viable drugs into the commercial market is time consuming and expensive. There are many hurdles. One of the major challenges occurs as the drug reaches the clinical trial stage — specically, trials conducted on animals can produce mismatched and problematic results.But the continuing improvement and evolution of microuidic devices has changed how researchers assess the eectiveness of novel drugs. These devices, also known as organ-on-chip systems, essentially stand in for the human body. And one Georgia Tech researcher hopes this technology can improve outcomes for brain treatment.Rafael V. Davalos, the Margaret P. and John H. Weitnauer Jr. Chaired Professor in the Coulter Department, is leading a team of researchers to recreate a blood-brain-barrier model using a 3D printing technology. He aims to address the need for better models of the brain, which can be used to study diseases and develop treatments.“I believe this new method to fabricate microuidic devices will enable researchers to deepen their understand-ing as to how cells communicate within physiologically relevant environments that were previously unachievable,” said Davalos.Davalos and his team is partnering with Phase Inc., a leading pioneer in 3D printing technology for organ-on-chip models, to conduct the project using a two-year $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).“The partnership with Dr. Davalos and Georgia Tech — along with Virginia Tech and Massachusetts General Hospital — brings together an incredible team of scientists who can help usher in a new generation of microuidics using 3D printing,” said Je Schultz, co-founder of Phase. “We are very excited for the potential impact this project has on propelling biotechnology.”Organ-on-chip technology recreates the structures and functions of the human body, using living cells in a lab environment. If successful, the project will usher in new therapies that will reach patients faster.The research team includes Davalos, who will focus on testing the replication of the in vivo blood brain barrier using the 3D device; Seemantini Nadkarni, associate professor at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital; and Amrinder Nain, professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech. ‣ KELLY PETTYBuilding A Better Blood Brain Barrier for Testing DrugsLeft to right: Researchers Jeff Schultz and Rafael Davalos.8 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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OUR RESEARCHBiomedical engineer Annabelle Singer spent the past decade devel-oping a noninvasive therapy for Alzheimer’s disease that uses flick-ering lights and rhythmic tones to modulate brain waves. The technique, icker, may also benet patients with other neurological disorders. Until recently, Singer and her collaborators couldn’t fully observe how the treatment was working. But a clinical trial for people with epilepsy has quantied icker’s eects with unprecedented precision. They also made an unexpected discovery: The treatment reduced interictal epilep-tiform discharges (IEDs) in the brain.These large, intermittent electro-physiological events are observed between seizures in people with epilepsy. They appear as sharp spikes on an EEG readout.“What’s interesting about these IEDs is that they don’t just occur in epilepsy,” said Singer, McCamish Foundation Early Career Professor. “They occur in autism, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, and other neurological disorders, too.” And IEDs disrupt normal brain function, causing memory impairment.Singer collaborated with physician Jon Willie at the Emory Hospital Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. (Willie is now at Washington University in St. Louis.) His patients in the trial were awaiting surgery to remove an area of the brain where seizures occur. Before that could happen, they had to undergo intracranial seizure monitoring — recording electrodes are placed in the brain to pinpoint the seizure onset zone and determine exactly which tissue should be removed. Then, patients and their care team wait for a seizure to happen. It can take days.Working with the patients was a game changer, Singer said. In past studies, she’s used noninvasive methods like functional MRI or scalp EEG to record, but these patients had recording probes implanted for clinical reasons, which allowed the researchers to get recordings of exceptionally quality during icker treatment.At specific frequencies of light and sound, flicker induces gamma oscillations in mice, recruiting microglia — cells that degrade beta amyloid, believed to play a central role in Alzheimer’s pathology. As the researchers expected, icker modulated the visual and auditory brain regions that respond strongly to stimuli. But it also reached deeper, into the medial temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex, brain regions crucial for memory. And across the brain, in regions Singer hadn’t fully explored before, she found IEDs were decreasing. “All of this points to the potential use of icker in a lot of dierent contexts, beyond Alzheimer’s,” Singer said. “Going forward, we’ll look at other conditions and other potential implications.” ‣ JOSHUA STEWARTFlicker Stimulation Shines in Clinical Trial for EpilepsyAs the researchers expected, ﬂicker modulated the visual and auditory brain regions that respond strongly to stimuli. But it also reached deeper, and across the brain, in regions not fully explored before, IEDs were decreasing.Fall 2024 Magazine 9

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Hollister Lab Develops 3D Printing for Soft Tissue EngineeringOUR RESEARCHThe lab of biomedical engineer Scott Hollister makes lifesaving, patient-specic, 3D-printed airway splints for babies with rare birth defects. These personalized Airway Support Devices are made of a biocompatible polyester called polycaprolactone (PCL), which has been approved in medical devices by the Food and Drug Administration and a has great safety record when implanted into patients.Unfortunately, PCL has is a relatively sti material with linear mechanical properties, so applying it to soft tissue engineering has been dicult. The question for researchers has been, how do you make this rm thermoplastic into something exible, and also capable of growing with a patient?The answer, according to Jeong Hun Park, a research scientist in Hollister’s lab: 3D auxetic design. Park was lead author of a study demonstrating the successful 3D printing of PCL for soft tissue engineering, using auxetic design. An auxetic material has a negative Poisson’s ratio. That means, if you stretch it longitudinally it will also expand in the lateral direction, whereas most materials will get thinner laterally (because they have a positive Poisson’s ratio). So, an auxetic structure expands in both directions, which is useful for biomedical applications in humans, whose bodies and parts can change in size and shape over time and comprise many dierent textures and densities.“Although the mechanical properties and behavior of the 3D structure depend on the inherent properties of the base material — in this case, PCL — it can also be signicantly tuned through internal architecture design,” Park explained.He developed 3D-printed structures made up of tiny struts, arranged at right angles — imagine the bones of very tiny sky-scrapers. The new structures are about 300 times more exible than the typical solid structure made in Hollister’s lab. The combination of exibility and strength in a device is important here, Park said, because the goal is to develop a breast reconstruction implant that has comparable biomechanical properties to native breast tissue. Park explained that these biodegradable breast reconstruction implants serve as a kind of scaold. The biocompatible material (PCL) eventually degrades and is absorbed into the body, while maintaining similar mechan-ical properties to native breast tissue.“We expect that native tissue will be rst inltrated into the pores of the biodegradable implant,” Park said. “Tissue volume will then increase within the implant as it degrades and eventu-ally the device itself is replaced with the tissue after complete degradation of the implant.”Essentially, the 3D-printed breast implant is designed to provide reconstructive support while also facilitating the growth of new tissue.Park is working with Emory surgeon Angela Cheng in sub-mitting a grant for further research and testing of the breast implant. And the team already is adapting the technology for other applications, like cardiac regeneration.“Because of the great exibility, they’re using it to reconstruct infarcted or necrotic myocardial tissue,” Hollister said.And Park has developed an auxetic version of the pediatric tracheal splint. “The advantage there is, with this design, it can expand in two directions,” he said. “So, as young patients grow, the new device grows with them.” ‣ JERRY GRILLOResearch scientist JeongHun Park with a sample of the 3D-printed PCL.(PHOTO: JERRY GRILLO)10 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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OUR RESEARCHDengue virus, a painful and sometimes fatal mosquito-borne infection well known in tropical countries, is surging rapidly across the planet. Now, 4 billion people live in places — like the southeastern United States — at risk for the disease, which doesn’t have an eective antiviral treatment. Yet.A team of researchers led by biomedical engineer Phil Santangelo has developed a breakthrough therapy to target and kill the virus using the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas13. The team’s systemic delivery of the treatment was successful in treating dengue virus in mice.Dengue is dicult to treat in part because there are four dierent serotypes of the virus, which means four dierent targets for a vaccine. People infected with one serotype who then contract a second version of the virus can end up with a serious disease. That second attack can end up amplifying the rst. Symptoms include fever, nausea, rash, aches and pains (including behind the eyes), and in some cases, internal bleeding, shock, and death.“There are several challenges with trying to treat dengue, so we wondered, is it possible for us to produce an mRNA-based, CRISPR-based antiviral where one shot can clear the virus,” said Santangelo, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. “And that’s basically what we’ve shown.” New Use for the TechWith the global proliferation of the Aedes mosquito that spreads dengue and other viruses, the timing of such a treatment would be fortuitous.“Unfortunately, climate change is enabling an increase of these virus-causing mosquitos,” Santangelo said. “So, it’s a good idea to be prepared.”This is the rst time an mRNA-based CRISPR treatment has worked against systemic viral infections in animal models. But Santangelo demonstrated its ecacy in earlier studies focused on lung diseases, including a treatment for coro-navirus. That was an inhalable treatment using polymeric nanoparticles — large, biodegradable molecules ideal for delivering medicine directly to the lungs. For the dengue virus study, the team used lipid nanopar-ticles (LNPs), which are like tiny fat bubbles that transport drugs through the bloodstream and into cells. The nanopar-ticles carried a custom-coded messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule.The mRNA was encoded with Cas13a (a CRISPR protein that can cut viral RNA) and guide RNAs (to direct the Cas13a to the viral RNA that needs to be cut). The process basically created a set of instructions. When the encoded mRNA is delivered to infected cells via the LNPs, the cell uses those instructions to build Cas13a and guide RNAs, which degrade the viral RNA within those targeted cells.Military PrecisionA single dose of the treatment was given to mice infected with lethal doses of two serotypes of dengue virus, DENV-2 and DENV-3. All the treated mice survived with no unintended damage to their RNA. Following treatment, the researchers also looked for evidence of the virus in the mice’s brains but couldn’t nd any. “It looks like our treatment precludes the virus from getting into the brain,” Santangelo said. “This may not be super critical for dengue, which doesn’t end up in the human brain. But this discovery could be really important for Zika virus, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile, and other viruses that do aect the human brain.”The study was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is interested in protecting soldiers from mosquito-borne illnesses. Santangelo’s team now is testing their approach on dengue’s other serotypes and will study the treatment in other viruses.“We’re very interested in trying these kinds of approaches to go after as many viruses as we can with one, potent treatment,” said Santangelo, whose team included researchers from Georgia State University as well as Emory’s Computational Core. “We’re trying to nd the most ecient way to kill these viruses. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re going to get there eventually.” ‣ JERRY GRILLOmRNA and CRISPR Offer New Defense Against Surging Dengue VirusPhil Santangelo(PHOTOS: JERRY GRILLO)Fall 2024 Magazine 11

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OUR RESEARCHAhmet Coskun has a saying on the homepage of his lab’s website: “Seeing is believing. Quantifying is proving.” So, with that in mind, Coskun and his team have developed multiplex imaging tools and combined them with machine learning techniques – for believing and quantifying. To support Coskun’s research, the National Institutes of Health granted him the prestigious Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award (MIRA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Coskun and his team are using the ve-year, $1.86 million award for a project entitled, “Dissecting subcellular and cellular organization by spatial molecular neighborhood networks.” They’re probing subcellular and cellular organization, counting molecular neighborhoods and building maps to help researchers better understand the spatial organiza-tion of cells and molecules, insights that can open the door to game-changing personalized treatments for multiple diseases. “The spatial organization of these neighborhoods, of RNA and protein molecules, is important for cellular function,” said Coskun, Bernie Marcus Early Career Professor. “So, we’re basically making maps of molecules within the cell.” The maps can ultimately help researchers identify cell types that would best treat various diseases, while also explaining why some patients will respond to a particular treatment, and others won’t. The NIH’s MIRA program provides researchers with greater stability and exibility in funding while enhancing their ability to creatively tackle ambitious scientific problems. And part of the aim, said Coskun, “is to address basic biology questions that have implications on multiple diseases in the future. This single cell work has that kind of potential.” For Coskun, the MIRA is the next phase of support in a urry of recent awards: it was the fth NIH grant his lab received within a year, with a total value of $3.6 million. ‣ JERRY GRILLOCoskun Using NIH Award to Map Spatial Molecular NeighborhoodsAhmet Coskun and his team are creating a chemical atlas of the human body’s defense system, a 3D micromap to help clinicians navigate the complex role of immune cells in the face of disease.It’s a project that could lead to improved precision therapies for patients. And the Coskun team is o to a fast start with a new integrative technique for proling human tissue, enabling researchers to capture the geography, structure, movement, and function of molecules in a 3D picture. It’s called the Single Cell Spatially resolved Metabolic (scSpaMet) framework, and the team described it in the journal Nature Communications. “Now we can get spatial details of proteins and metab-olites in single cells,” said Coskun, Bernie Marcus Early Career Professor. “No one else has yet reached this level of high subcellular resolution. We’re pioneering a new eld of research with this work: single cell spatial metabolomics.”A Bigger, Better Molecular PictureResearchers need tools that can clearly capture the mul-tilayered biological trac that comprises human tissue – everything, all at once, in high-denition 3D. With scSpaMet, Coskun’s team can oer single cell details, like naturally occurring lipids, proteins, and metabolites.“We showed the crucial role of immune cells in lung cancer. Then we created dynamic immune metabolic changes in tonsils. Finally, we demonstrated the role of immune cells in the endometrium, a membrane in the uterus that might lead to conditions impacting a woman’s health,” he said.The ability to generate single cell spatial metabolic profiling can reveal a world of possibil-ity and potential to clini-cians trying to come up with the best treatments for their patients. “It can show how dietary molecules combined with immunotherapy boost immune responses,” Coskun said. “It can also help adjust cell-based treatment doses based on a patient's body mass index.”He envisions a future in which a patient’s BMI, dietary habits, and exercise commitments, along with their single cell spatial metabolomic atlas of disease progression, will be analyzed all together, potentially increasing the survival of cancers, women’s diseases, and metabolic disorders.“When researchers achieved single cell sequencing, it was a revolutionary moment in medicine,” Coskun said. “Now, we believe single cell spatial metabolic proling will push the medical practice into new heights.” ‣ JERRY GRILLOPioneering a New Field: Single Cell Spatial Metabolomics

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Two-Way Cell-based Treatment Repairs Muscle After Rotator Cuff InjuryBME researchers are pioneering a new therapeutic system to improve outcomes after rotator cu surgery. It’s the type of surgery often makes headlines when athletes like Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander have it and then make successful comebacks. For the rest of us, rotator cu tears can result from repetitive overhead motions or natural tissue degeneration with age. These injuries are common but can lead to muscle degeneration post-surgery.Principal investigators Johnna Temenoff and Ed Botchwey, along with their collaborators, have developed a novel cell-based dual treatment to address this issue. “The great thing about this system is, it isn’t specic to a particular population,” Temeno said. “These are cells we all have, and this treatment system might work even better in younger patients.”The rotator cu consists of muscles and tendons that protect the shoulder joint. It’s a complex area, making muscle regeneration challenging. “With a rotator cu injury, you’re actually tearing the tendon,” explained Temeno, director of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Cell Manufactur-ing Technologies (CMaT) at Georgia Tech. “And that causes the muscle to atrophy.”Despite successful surgeries, many patients expe-rience incomplete muscle regeneration. “There is a need for regenerative therapies to be used in conjunction with rotator cuff restoration surgery, as a long-term treatment option,” Temeno said.In previous studies with mouse models, her team used microparticles loaded with stromal cell-derived factor (SDF) to change the muscle’s cellular environ-ment and promote muscle rebuilding. The challenge is getting enough healing cells to the injury site. Temeno’s lab developed microparticles using heparin, a natural sugar-based molecule with a high negative charge, to control the release of SDF over time.SDF interacts with receptors on pro-regenerative cells in bone marrow or circulation, luring them to the injury site. However, older individuals may lack sucient circulating cells for eective healing. This is where Botchwey’s lab contributed signicantly. His team used a bone marrow mobilizing agent to push healing cells into circulation. These agents are used clinically to move stem cells from the marrow into the blood, where they can regenerate various tissues.The researchers combined these technologies into a single therapeutic option. In rat tests, the mobiliz-ing agent was injected systemically, while SDF was injected locally into the shoulder. The mobilizing agent “pushed” pro-healing cells into circulation, and SDF’s magnetic eect “pulled” them to the injury site, resulting in the desired regenerative eects.The researchers observed varying levels of regener-ation depending on the injection site. Future research will focus on ne-tuning the process to recruit healing cells to specic damaged muscle areas. Temeno and her team believe their approach could lead to better muscle regeneration, with potential applications beyond the rotator cu. ‣ JERRY GRILLOA combination of mobilizing agent, designed to “push” pro-healing cells into the blood, and SDF-1a, designed to “pull” the cells into the injury site, leads to an increase in muscle regeneration following a rotator cuff tear. Muscle regeneration was characterized based on the number of centrally located nuclei (marked with the white arrows).OUR RESEARCHFall 2024 Magazine 13

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OUR RESEARCHAtrial fibrillation, or AF, is the unpredictable musician throwing the heart’s steady symphony out of whack, causing the upper chambers to beat haphazardly, out of sync with the steady rhythm of the lower chambers. Like bad music, AF is all too common. It aects one in 100 people. It can be brief or persistent. It can wear you out, leaving you dizzy and out of breath, causing chest pains and palpitations. By itself, AF usually isn’t life-threatening, but it reduces the heart’s eciency and can lead to blood clots and strokes — which are life threatening. “There are some helpful treatments for AF, but they are suboptimal,” noted Yue Chen, associate professor of biomedical engineering in the Coulter Department. “For too many patients, the treatment is incomplete.”Treatments like radiofrequency ablation (RFA), for example, have been proven eective. A catheter delivers radiofrequency energy to create scar tissue inside the heart. Scar tissue can’t conduct electricity, so it blocks AF’s abnormal signals, restoring normal rhythm to the heart.But 30-50% of patients have a recurrence of symptoms. It’s partly because controlling the catheterization tools inside the heart’s complex environment isn’t easy. The idea is to create a continuous lesions without any gaps, to completely block the faulty electric signals. “Sometimes, there are gaps,” said Chen, who aims to close them. He and his collaborators believe they have a solution.They’re developing a continuum robotic system that can potentially perform minimally invasive procedures like RFA while the patient is inside a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Chen is using a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to help support the eort. “The CAREER Award means a lot. I’m honored that my past work as well as my future research visions are being recognized,” he added. “This is a great opportunity for us to explore some new directions — MRI-safe continuum robots. Our goal is to develop the fundamental modeling, control, and motion planning for improved treatment outcomes.”Smart Medical SnakeContinuum robots are long and slender and made of exible materials that allow them to bend and twist and move with a great deal of dexterity, like a snake. “It makes them perfect for minimally invasive surgeries, such as cardiac ablation, intracerebral hemorrhage removal, drug delivery, and many other procedures,” Chen said.But that’s not what makes the Chen team’s system unique. Unlike traditional robotic systems, this one is designed to work inside an MRI machine, oering doctors more feedback than ever. MRI provides high-resolution soft tissue imaging and real-time tracking, making it superior to other types of imaging. In addition to its diagnostic power, MRI is being used increasingly as part of clinical procedures. But most robotic surgical systems haven’t been compati-ble with MRI, said Chen, “mainly due to the strong magnetic eld generated by the MRI scanner, which precludes the use of ferromagnetic materials.”To overcome this problem, Chen’s team created a new type of exible robot made from polymers, including a plastic, 3D-printed transmission mechanism. The motors that give the robot mobility are made of 3D-printed resin and are powered by pressurized air. Since no electricity is used, there is no interference with the MRI’s magnetic elds.“We’ve also devised a controller that ensures the motors will move accurately and designed them in a way that allows easy customization with just a few key settings,” Chen said.Controlling the OutcomeA key challenge in RFA is manipulating the catheter in the heart, which is not unlike driving a car through a twisting, unfamiliar road. Chen’s robotic system is basically a smart GPS that ensures the car stays on the right path at the right speed.“Our system will use MR imaging and tracking to provide real-time feedback to the physician, which will help them guide the catheter more accurately,” Chen said. Additionally, the research team has developed sensors and mechanics models that will estimate the contact force between the catheter and the heart tissue — the right amount of pressure is crucial for delivering heat energy, creating eective and continuous lesions, and reducing the chances of AF recurrence.The team will enhance the robotic system to control both the catheter, developing algorithms to ensure precise placement inside the patient. Then they’ll test the system on a heart model in an MRI scanner before testing it on animal models.This is a multi-institutional eort. In addition to Chen’s students — Yifan Wang, Anthony L. Gunderman, Letian Ai, and Milad Azizkhani — his collaborators include Ehud Schmidt and Aravindan Kolandaivelu from Johns Hopkins University, and Junichi Tokuda from Harvard University. “We believe this platform will signicantly improve the outcomes of AF treatments by providing physicians with better tools to perform precise, eective ablations,” said Chen. “This technology could improve the quality of life for many patients.” • JERRY GRILLOImproving the Odds for Patients with Atrial FibrillationFall 2024 Magazine 15

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In a hospital in Rwanda, a mother held her newborn close, tears in her eyes as she shared her story. The NeoMates, a team of undergraduate biomedical engineering students — all women — from Georgia Tech, listened intently. Through a translator, they learned the baby had developed sepsis due to an infection in the amniotic uid, something the mother never suspected could happen, because her physician never explained that it was a possibility. For the NeoMates, it was a moment that emphasized the importance of their Global Capstone task. The team’s challenge: How to help mothers and babies through prolonged labors in low resource settings. But just a week and a half before their ight to Kigali, Rwanda in March, the NeoMates were still grappling with another big question: Was this trip really going to happen?They had been preparing for a capstone project trip to Ethiopia — until political unrest in the country forced a sudden change of plans. With their original destination o the table, the team quickly pivoted, redirecting their eorts toward Rwanda.“We got approval the Wednesday before spring break and we left a week and a half later, Fall 2024 Magazine 17

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on the Sunday before school started,” said Safa Ghaya, one of the NeoMates. “When we landed in Rwanda, I was in disbelief and shock because it hadn’t properly hit me until we were actually there.”This shift was more than just a change of location; it meant nding new collabo-rators, and reestablishing connections in a dierent healthcare landscape, all while continuing to push their device develop-ment forward.And from the start, it was an indepen-dent project as they charted their own course.“Everything was up to us,” said team member Eeman Uddin. “We led the research, we created our curriculum and projects.” They connected with the University of Rwanda and visited hospitals in Kigali, the nation’s capital, with a population of 1.75 million. They also ventured into rural areas. The trip was the climax of a journey that began in the fall 2023 semester. Unlike most capstone courses, which last a semester, the Global Health project lasts the entire academic year. Along the way, the NeoMates presented their work at the fall Capstone Expo. But it took a trip across the world to nd out if their assisted delivery device was eec-tively addressing the problem.EXPANDED TEAM, HIGHER STAKESThe NeoMates started with a core team of six — Anushka Chalmeti, Haydn Turner, Callie Dahlke-Baumann and Siya Kannan, along with Uddin and Ghaya. But as the calendar turned to December, Turner graduated, and the team added Millicent Warner and Natalie Van Slyke to its ranks for spring semester.With their expanded team, the NeoMates moved from a rigorous rst semester of ideation and design into an even higher-stakes spring. Their mission was clear: rene their prototype and travel to Africa to see their device in the hands of users.Months earlier, they had been deep in research on neonatal sepsis, caused by obstructed labor, leading to infections in newborns if the baby remains in the birth canal for too long. Prolonged labor increases the risk of for the mother, too, possibly leading to infections and sepsis, complicating post-pregnancy recovery.In their research, the NeoMates discovered how widespread this issue was, especially in remote areas where options like C-sections aren’t available. Early conversations with midwives and delivery nurses from Ethiopia illustrated how pervasive the issue is.Obstructed labor has been a complica-tion of childbirth since the eld of obstet-rics began. For centuries, obstetricians have tried to save the lives of mother and child by forcibly removing a fetus. Their solutions have been wide-ranging, from forceps, vacuum extraction, and cesarean section to something called the Blonsky device, patented 60 years ago. The mother was strapped to a baby-launching centri-fuge that spun her around, ostensibly inging the freed fetus into a safety net.“It sounds wild, but this was actually a U.S. patent,” Uddin said. “So, even in the United States, this issue is underserved and underdeveloped. In low-income settings, it’s particularly challenging.”Today, hospitals often use a vacuum-as-sisted device for dicult births. A suction cup is placed on the baby’s head. During contractions, the doctor or midwife use a handle on the cup to gently bring the baby into the world. But there are risks with this procedure. Warner explained that as the cup applies suction, “it creates a ring of damage to the baby’s scalp.”The NeoMates — confronted by modern labor methods and imperfect tools that still present risks to both baby and mother — set out to create something better, something safer. But they couldn’t rely solely on their engineering or bio-medical training. ORIGAMI AND THE CHICKENThe team’s breakthrough came from an unexpected source: origami. Inspired by the Japanese art of folding papers, they borrowed their design from the collapsible NeoMates team members (left to right) Natalie Van Slyke, Siya Kannan, Safa Ghaya, and Millicent Warner with their prototype, the ‘EggStractor,’ get ready to visit hospitals.18 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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structure of the origami ball, which uses interconnected folded paper segments that expand and contract in a coordinated manner. This allows the structure to open into a spherical shape and atten down when pressed.Their device, aptly named the Egg-Stractor, trades the usual suction cup with a folding gripper that carefully encircles the baby’s head. The gripper, made from a durable material called Tyvek which is enhanced with silicone spray, contracts and expands as needed, allowing for a snug t on the fetal scalp.This folding mechanism also isolates the vacuum pressure from the baby’s scalp, signicantly reducing the risk of injury like blisters, bruising, or hematomas. In current devices, vacuum pressure is applied directly to the scalp. Their design changes this approach. “It has a membrane over the entire origami fold and there’s a vacuum pressure inside that membrane that allows it to contract and open,” explained Dahlke-Baumann.Because the vacuum pressure is contained in that membrane, it never touches the baby’s head. It’s a clever rethinking of an old problem that oers significant safety improvements over existing vacuum-assisted delivery devices.The NeoMates went through rounds of prototyping, constantly returning to the drawing board to rene their designs, the emphasis always on usability.Eeman Uddin demonstrates to a clinical team at Nyamata Level II Teaching Hospital how the cup would ﬁt over a baby’s head (using a volunteer’s hand), showing its pressure and ﬂexibility. If your device works but your user can’t use it, then your device doesn’t work. That’s what we’ve been taught throughout our curriculum.”MILLICENT WARNER“If your device works but your user can’t use it, then your device doesn’t work,” said Warner. “That’s what we’ve been taught throughout our curriculum.”Warner had taken an origami engineer-ing class earlier in the year and saw the possibilities in applying what she learned there.“Our team had already discussed incor-porating an origami element into the core of our device,” she said. “And seeing the physics behind it was fascinating. For instance, one aspect of the device uses a fold that has a negative Poisson's ratio."Most known materials have a positive Poisson’s ratio, which means when it is stretched in one direction, it gets thinner in the other direction. Think of a rubber Fall 2024 Magazine 19

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origami delivery device. It involved a roasted chicken.Using the chicken as a stand-in for human tissue, the team conducted proof-of-concept tests to ensure the device was safe. Uddin explained, “We placed the device's cup on the chicken's leg, gently lifted it, and checked for any signs of skin irritation or abrasion. It was more of a qualitative assessment.” DESIGNING FOR THE DETAILSThe NeoMates’ project could have gone in an entirely dierent direction. "We had to decide between a diagnostic or preventive device," said Kannan.There is a need for both. The team reasoned that developing a diagnostic tool would require use of a wet lab. They wanted to create something simple and practical. So, they focused on prevention, simplicity, aordability, and utility. They We went there to get feedback on our device. In the end, we were doing it to educate ourselves, to become better citizens, engineers, and doctors.”SIYA KANNAN Clockwise from right: The NeoMates accept their second place trophy at the Rice 360 Global Health Technologies Design Competition in April; pose for the camera before pitching at the InVenture Prize semi-ﬁnals in February; and present their device at the fall Capstone Expo, where they got the golden ticket to advance to InVenture Prize semi-ﬁnals. band. Or, when it’s compressed, it expands outward. Think of a ball of bread dough. Things that have a negative Poisson’s ratio are called auxetic materials, meaning they can expand in both directions when stretched. Think of cork, which doesn’t expand sideways when it’s compressed. Origami can also have a negative Poisson’s ratio, depending on the folding pattern, enabling it to expand in two directions when stretched.Using origami principles of design, the NeoMates created a dynamic device that gently cradles a baby’s head.“While the origami design might initially attract interest because it looks cool, it also provides functional properties that other materials simply can't achieve,” Warner said.Early in their prototyping journey, the NeoMates embraced an unorthodox method of testing the vacuum-assisted

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made sure the device was mechanical, and didn’t require electricity.“Taking global health engineering helped us see that the best solutions are cost-eective, mechanical, and easy to use,” said Kannan. Uddin recalled a midwife who expressed concern over, “how feasible it would be to deploy the device in high-stress situations. Some worried about the ridges on the cup — would they cause abrasions? There were those who loved the exibility of the cup but said, ‘We’re more comfortable connecting it to an aspirator than using a handheld vacuum pump.’”They gathered feedback from various hospitals.“They asked about the durability of the membrane,” Uddin added. “Would it tear? Could it be sterilized regularly?”And there were cultural factors, which the NeoMates hadn’t considered until they were right there in the middle of it. Like, the stigma surrounding vacuum-as-sisted delivery. “Some people see it as a failure if the mother doesn’t deliver naturally,” Warner said. ”That was something we had to be very respectful of.”TICKET TO RWANDAThe NeoMates knew they were onto something good even before Rwanda. At the fall Capstone Expo in December 2023, they pitched the device to hundreds of people — faculty, clinicians, fellow students, industry experts, researchers — and found a level of interest they hadn’t anticipated. Kannan described the scene as “surreal.”A Georgia Tech camera crew converged on their booth. Someone handed them an envelope. Inside was a prized “golden ticket” — an invitation to automatically advance to the seminals of InVenture Prize competition. The NeoMates competed in the April event, didn’t place there, but scored a second-place prize in the Rice 360 Global Health Technologies Design competition that same month. Competing against teams of undergrad-uates from Duke, Johns Hopkins, and institutions from around the world, they earned $3,000. One judge told the team, “Not only is your idea novel, but we chose you because of your passion. It shows in how you talk about the device.”For the NeoMates, the competitions on U.S. soil were an indication that they’d built something with potential impact. But the real evidence, the experience that will stay with them, was back in Rwanda. Uddin remembers the small clinick, packed with medical students and clinicians.“We walked in and gave them the whole spiel about what this device does and how it works,” Uddin said. “They were like, ‘Can we use it now? Can you give it to us now, and we’ll test it and let you know how it works?’’ Every hospital they visited echoed the same things. The refrain was always, “So when you nish it, you’ll send it back, right? So that we can test it and use it?” The answer: Eventually. A new team of capstone students will take on the project with the hopes of carrying it across the development nish line.Meanwhile, the Rwandan experience stays fresh and real for the NeoMates. “It was not only an emotional experi-ence, but also rewarding to see that people actually want to use our device and nd value in it,” Uddin said.They’d shown that a small team of student engineers from Georgia Tech could change the way we think about some of childbirth’s oldest challenges, any place in the world.Reecting on their capstone journey to Rwanda, Kannan said, “We went there to get feedback on our device. In the end, we were doing it to educate ourselves, to become better citizens, engineers, and doctors.” •Fall 2024 Magazine 21

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COULTER BME DIVES INTO AIFrom creating algorithms to better detect diseases to building data-based platforms addressing racial and ethnic disparities in biomanufacturing, researchers at Georgia Tech and Emory University are making critical discoveries using articial intelligence (AI).Now, the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engi-neering is harnessing the power of its expertise and growing body of research to become a transformative model for AI innovation. This spring, the Department announced a new minor for undergraduate students interested in AI and machine learning (ML). Last year, Jaydev Desai, professor and associate chair of undergraduate studies, collaborated with other schools in the College of Engineering along with the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts to initiate conversations around creating a minor that would combine foundational coursework in AI and ML with the humanities and social sciences to provide students with a well-rounded education.The minor launched this past summer with its rst cohort of students.Students are required to complete three core course areas — statistics, fundamentals of AI/ML, and policy and ethics — along with two electives.Students who complete the minor will gain practical knowl-edge in how to apply AI and ML to nd engineering solutions while being equipped to recognize and understand the social and ethical implications of the technology.“The way the minor is currently structured, we have an engineering track and a liberal arts track enabling students from their individual colleges to complete the minor,” Desai explained. “Or, ideally, you could have a student from engi-neering taking a course in machine learning for economics and an Ivan Allen student choose the engineering track and take a course in introduction to bioinformatics, enabling cross-polli-nation of knowledge across disciplines.”Desai says the minor is benecial for students who are inter-ested in adding specialized knowledge to their resumes to be more competitive in the workforce.Currently, students can access a mix of courses from biomed-ical engineering, chemical and biomolecular engineering, electrical and computer engineering, industrial and systems engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science 22 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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and engineering, economics, history and sociology, modern languages, international aairs, literature and medica commu-nications, and public policy.“The collective wisdom of my colleagues is that if our students are interested in diversifying beyond engineering to gain knowledge in other areas, then here is an opportunity for them to do so,” Desai said.Desai says the minor will eventually open the door for advanc-ing AI and ML education to the graduate level, for example, in the area of medical imaging. It also can help students become more eective researchers in faculty labs.“This program is designed to give students a structure for exploration,” he said. “We want to encourage that.”For now, the program is open to engineering and liberal arts majors. But the minor program can expand to include other academic units in the future, Desai said.COULTER BME CREATES BIOMEDICAL AI ECOSYSTEMBeyond the minor program, Coulter BME also looks to take a greater role in addressing the challenges that AI presents in the healthcare system. Be it analyzing health records to develop personalized treatment or improving surgical pro-cedures through 3D mapping, AI is proving to be an essential tool in the future of patient care.The collective wisdom of my colleagues is that if our students are interested in diversifying beyond engineering to gain knowledge in other areas, then here is an opportunity for them to do so.”JAYDEV DESAIFall 2024 Magazine 23

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May Wang, professor and Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Faculty Fellow, is driving the initiative and hopes to harness existing expertise, partnerships, and resources within the Department to promote safe and responsible applications of AI in the biomedical engineering eld.Wang’s work is built o the 2023 executive order from President Joe Biden, advocating for secure and trustworthy AI governance and guidelines for the appropriate use of AI while mitigating its risks.She said it’s crucial that engineers and scientists act swiftly to respond to AI’s presence in biomedical research innovation and development.“Everything from the White House order is very clear. Now the challenge becomes acute for the biomedical eld because AI can either be very complex or a black box, where the physicians and nurses cannot use it, and the patient doesn’t get help,” Wang said.In April, Wang kicked o her ground game for the Depart-ment’s initiative with the BIO-STAR AI Symposium. The two-day event connected biomedical engineering researchers and students with physicians to discuss the gaps in the application of AI in the clinical setting, and to prepare students for AI’s use in device technology, therapeutics, and medical data.Much of the conversation during the symposium focused on building a connected community of experts among Georgia Tech’s partners to elevate the research innovation happening on campus that make AI-driven biomedical solutions possible.“Georgia Tech is already a hub for biomedical AI research,” Wang said. “What is missing is the branding part.”Wang is taking feedback from that symposium to build a framework for how Coulter BME integrates AI into course curriculum, graduate study, and translational research. Collaboration between industry and academia will be key to address real-world healthcare issues while ensuring students have tools to be competitive in the workforce. “AI is so commonly found in the workplace, everyone uses it. But students need to know that there are thousands of AI soft-ware tools available, and they need to know how to select the right tools for their research work,” Wang explained. “Students cannot just be blind users. They must be intelligent users.”May Wang, professor and Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Faculty Fellow, is developing an initiative that would bring together research, academics, scholarship, and industry connected to Coulter BME to advance safe, trustworthy, actionable, and responsible artiﬁcial intelligence.24 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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Jaydev Desai, professor and associate chair of undergraduate studies, partnered with faculty in the College of Engineering and the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Georgia Tech to create a minor to equip undergraduate students with a more ethical approach to using AI in engineering and science. Find More AI Research Stories at bme.gatech.eduAI Research at Coulter BMEAI.Humanity with a Social Justice Lens is a collaborative project from an interdisciplinary group of researchers from Georgia Tech and Emory that addresses the lack of racial and ethnic backgrounds being represented in tissue manufacturing by creating patient-specic cardiac tissue using 3D bioprinting, measuring tissue functions, and feeding the data into an AI platform to build an equitable donor pool.Using AI to Accelerate Access to COVID-19 Treatment: Coulter BME Professor May Wang, Ph.D. is working with a group of Georiga Tech and Emory researchers to use natural language processing (NLP), a specic type of AI, to speed up the time between a patient-initiated message, a physician response, and access to COVID-19 antiviral treatment. Wang says her team's research has shown that AI can rapidly process and alert clinical teams on which patients are at higher risk for COVID-19 and require further screening.iCLOTS is a freely available, open-source program that allows any researcher with imaging data to leverage powerful articial intelligence algorithms and uncover new insights from their exper-iments — without knowing how to write complex computer code. The AI tool was developed by a team of Georgia Tech and Emory researchers.Fall 2024 Magazine 25

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OUR COMMUNITYOur CommunitySarah Ali’s Innovative Research Earns Young Investigators AwardThe World Health Organization (WHO) reports that tuberculosis (TB), an airborne illness caused by bacteria, affects more than 10 million people annually and kills 1.5 million people each year, marking it as a top deadly infectious disease.Ph.D. candidate Sarah Ali is one of six recipients of the Young Investigators Award given by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), a non-prot organization dedicated to improving global health. The award recognizes the work of emerging scientists pursuing careers in various aspects of tropical disease research.“I have always wanted to be a part of research that can directly impact the lives of those in need,” Ali said. “Working with infectious diseases was a new pathway that would allow me to make such an impact.”Ali works as a graduate assistant in the lab of Asst. Prof. Aniruddh Sarkar, whose research focuses on developing technolo-gies to reduce healthcare disparities with a specic focus of infectious disease diag-nostics. In just her rst year in the Ph.D. program, after graduating in 2022 with a bachelor’s in biomedical engineering from Florida Institute of Technology, Ali’s research centers around developing point-of-care (POC) diagnostics for infectious diseases, specically TB.First discovered in 1720, diagnosis can take several weeks, during which patients risk spreading the disease to others or become grievously ill in the interim. To this day, an ecient and rapid diagnostic test still doesn’t exist.While eective treatment exists for TB, diagnosis remains a challenge. Due to the incredibly hardy nature of the bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), TB can persist in the body for years. Current TB diagnostics can take up to 6 weeks to produce results. Without certainty, recom-mending a patient to initiate TB treatment can be challenging as the regimen can take up to 9 months.Ali’s hope is to improve screenings in populations from low- to middle-income countries as well as optimize TB diagnostics for HIV coinfected pediatric TB patients who have a high risk of TB mortality.“The fact that we still have not been able to eradicate this disease is very telling of its complexity and the extensive scientic knowledge and expertise needed in the ght against TB,” she said. ‣ YANET CHERNET26 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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OUR COMMUNITYWilbur A. Lam, M.D., Ph.D., professor and W. Paul Bowers Research Chair, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Bio-medical Engineering, has been named one of 100 new members elected to of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in the elds of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service, according to the NAM.Lam’s extensive research work was recognized by the Academy’s election committee:For outstanding contributions in point-of-care, home-based, and/or smartphone-enabled diagnostics that are changing the management of pediatric and hematologic diseases as well as development of microsystems technolo-gies as research-enabling platforms to investigate blood biophysics. He also leads national/NIH eorts to assess diagnostic tests (including those for COVID-19) for the entire country. Lam Elected to National Academy of MedicineBrain Insights: Cara Motz’s Research Brings SGP ScholarshipIn the realm of bioengineer-ing, venturing into the field of neurome-chanobiology is the road less traveled. For Georgia Tech PhD student Cara Motz, pursuing research that remains largely uncharted is part of the excitement, and her passion in mechanistic research is what led her to receiving a scholarship from the pres-tigious Society of General Physiologists (SGP), making her one of four recipients. “Receiving this scholarship is huge for giving me the motivation and resources to continue paving the way in a largely underdeveloped eld and area of research,” said Motz in an interview with SGP.Established at the Marine Biologi-cal Laboratory (MBL) at Woods Hole, the Society of General Physiologists is committed to advancing research in the eld of physiology. It also seeks to recognize and cultivate excellence within the next generation of aspiring general physiologists, selecting MBL scholars from the students accepted to any one of four MBL Advanced Research Training Courses: Embryology, Neural Systems and Behavior, Neurobiology, and Physiology. Motz is currently enrolled in the MBL neurobiology course.Motz’s research interest is focused on evaluating the mechanobiological eects of the elusive Glutamate Delta 1 Receptor, specically its role in neurodevelopment through synaptogenesis, which is the process of forming connections between brain cells. This type of research is essential in providing insights into neu-rodevelopmental disorders or conditions and could possibly lead to the develop-ment of new treatments or interventions to improve brain health. “It reassures and encourages me that mechanistic research is still important and there are people out there that value it and support it, even when it sometimes seems unorthodox or full of risks,” said Motz. As an SGP scholar, Motz will be entering a Society dedicated to innova-tion, education and training. Scholars for each year are not only featured in the SGP social media account and newsletter, but they also receive a $500 award and a one-year complimentary membership to SGP, including online access to the Journal of General Physiology.“It excited me to continue pursuing this work knowing that I have a community willing to support developing scientists,” said Motz. ‣ YANET CHERNETEmily Yan Wins 2024-2025 Fulbright U.S. Student AwardBiomedical engineering student Emily Yan is one of ve Georgia Tech students who have received a Fulbright U.S. Student Award for the upcoming 2024-2025 academic year. She will serve as an English teaching assistant in Taiwan during her tenure.Fall 2024 Magazine 27

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OUR COMMUNITYInaugural Conference Explores New Therapies for Parkinson’sThe McCamish Parkinson’s Disease Innovation Program at Georgia Tech marked an important milestone, hosting its inaugural McCamish Parkinson’s Disease Innovation Conference on Dec. 5. The event brought together a range of local, national, and international speakers, setting the stage for an exploration of cutting-edge Parkinson’s Disease (PD) research.Organized by the joint Georgia Tech-Emory neuroscience and neuro-engineering committee, the conference invited speakers from University of Cali-fornia, San Francisco, Oxford University, England, EPFL, Switzerland as well as experts from Georgia Tech and Emory University.In keeping with this vision, the McCamish Parkinson’s Disease Innova-tion Conference was formed to expand upon the program’s vision to be the technology-driven hub of far-reaching innovation for the understanding and treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other complex neurological disorders through the intersection of fundamental neuroscience, engineering, computing, and clinical neuroscience.“The program has really started to blossom, and we wanted to highlight the local community, and also pick the brains of experts from the around the world as to where the gaps in knowledge are, and identify opportunities for the growth of our program,” said Garrett Stanley, director of the McCamish Parkinson’s Disease Innovation Program and one of the organizers of the conference.Much as this conference served as a platform for sharing knowledge and exchanging insights with other research-ers, it also provided ground to consider how past concepts can be bridged with new technology. Echoing the conference theme of past, present and future, the conference emphasized the reliance on the wisdom of those who came before in understanding and treating Parkinson’s Disease.“We pick up where a prior generation had left o and we forgot about it,” said Denison. “But now with new technolo-gies we can start to implement some of the ideas that were just ideas at that stage, but now we have the technology to support it.” ‣ YANET CHERNETTodd Fernandez, lecturer in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engi-neering, has won the 2024 Regents’ Schol-arship of Teaching and Learning Award (SoTL) in recognition of his dedication and contribution to student learning and faculty development. The award, given annually by the Uni-versity System of Georgia (USG) Founda-tion, comes with a $5,000 grant for faculty development, and is considered one of the highest honors in teaching and advising within the university system.“It feels very, very humbling,” said Fernandez, who believes the USG honor reects not only how he works, but where. “This is a place where interesting and novel things happen…We have students learning at Grady Hospital, we have students that literally just launched a rocket.” He teaches courses such as BMED 1000, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering; BMED 2400, Introduction to Bioengineer-ing Statistics; and BMED 2250, Problems in Biomedical Engineering. And he merges his passion for teaching with a scientically grounded methodology based around three fundamentals: designing authentic and relevant coursework, being reective, and creating mutual trust with students. ‣ YANET CHERNETFernandez Wins 2024 Regents’ Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award28 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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OUR COMMUNITYDouglas-Green Encourages Women Scientists to "Take Up Space"At a February 2024 panel discussion celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Dr. Simone Douglas-Green, assistant professor at the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedi-cal Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, along with fellow panelists Dr. Julia Champion and Dr. Sybrina Atwaters talked about what it means to be a woman in STEM.The event, aimed at recognizing the achievements of women in science, also brought together members of the STEM community at Georgia Tech to ask questions and swap stories about nding the right mentors, building a supportive network, and having condence in one’s work.During the event, Douglas-Green detailed her academic journey and the challenges she faced as an African American woman scientist.As early as her undergraduate years at the University of Miami, she was involved in the Society of Women Engineers doing outreach, teaching, research, and mentoring. One of her favorite activities was Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED). Held in February, the event gave local high schools a rst look into the eld engineering.“It was girls only, women only. And we would bring in students from the local high schools to spend the day with us at the Uni-versity of Miami doing fun experiments, taking them to our classes and everything.”While at Miami, Douglas-Green aspired to become a doctor and taught a chemistry workshop. It was in this role that she realized her passion for educating others, setting her on a 10-year path toward becoming an assistant professor.“The product is being able to pour into other students and seeing them continue to grow and thrive,” she said.As a Black woman in STEM and new faculty member in the biomedical engineer-ing department, stepping into the role of both educator and researcher holds great signicance for Douglas-Green.And as she continues to embark on her postdoc research exploring drug delivery via the interaction of nanoparticles on biological materials, the peers and friends she’s cultivated have become an important part of growing her academic community.“There's a group—we call ourselves sisters in sciences for Black women. So, we all keep each other accountable,” she said. “When you just feel like your research isn't good enough, or your idea isn't good enough, sometimes you just need a person.”In a eld where pursuing knowledge and research can be often isolating, cultivating meaningful relationships with peers going through similar experiences has been trans-formative for her.“We’re not just talking about science all the time and you need friends like that. Friends in science that don’t talk about science all the time.”Looking back at her younger self, Douglas-Green wishes she had been more condent and unafraid to take up space. “Why do we, especially as women, feel like we have to shrink ourselves to t in?” she asked the audience.To that end, her experiences in academia have shown her something crucial: the importance of not playing it safe.“I’d rather fail fast than be successful all the time, cause also where’s the fun in that?” ‣ YANET CHERNETJaydev Desai, professor and associate chair for undergraduate studies in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 IEEE RAS George Saridis Leadership Award in Robotics and Automation. Sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS), the honor rec-ognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the mission of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society.Desai was selected for conducting significant for foundational research in Medical Robotics and Swarm Robotics and providing service in Society Management.Desai’s research focuses on medical robotixs from the micro to meso to macro scale, specically in the areas of image-guided surgical robotics, haptic interfaces for robot-assisted surgery, reality-based soft-tissue modeling for surgical sim-ulation, model-based teleoperation in robot-assisted surgery, and cell manipu-lation.Desai earns 2024 IEEE RAS Leadership Award in Robotics and AutomationFall 2024 Magazine 29

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The College of Engineering has partnered with the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts (IAC) to create Georgia Tech’s rst minor degree program in the applications of arti-cial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The degree is available to all Georgia Tech engineering and IAC students. It features two tracks: one in engineering, the other in liberal arts. The minor will equip undergraduate students with skills and knowledge to use AI and ML to solve problems in engi-neering, humanities, and social sciences. It’s designed to provide students with the insight to describe and discuss current ethics and policy frameworks related to AI and machine learning. The program began this summer. Students are encouraged to reach out to their academic advisors in the participating units to enroll in the minor. The program complements the College of Engineering’s recent re-imagining and creation of 14 core AI courses for undergrads.The minor initially was suggested by leaders and external advisory board members in Georgia Tech’s biomedical engineering department to provide more AI and ML curriculum for their students. “AI is so rampant in so many disciplines, and biomedical engineering students need to have that background before and after graduation,” said Jaydev Desai, associate chair for undergraduate studies in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Bio-medical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.Students on both tracks are required to take three core courses — including a phi-losophy course in AI ethics and policy — and two electives. Engineering courses are oered by six of the College’s eight schools: biomedical, chemical, electrical and computer, indus-trial systems, materials, and mechanical engineering. Subjects range from robotics to biomedical AI to signal processing and more. IAC courses cover topics that include machine learning for economics, language and computers, race and gender and digital media, and public policy. Organizers developed several new courses to create the minor. Desai has already heard from other Georgia Tech colleges and schools about adding more classes, and he’s excited to see many more undergraduate students at Georgia Tech benefit as the initiative expands. ‣ JASON MADERERStudents Can Minor in Applications of Artiﬁcial Intelligence and Machine LearningOUR COMMUNITYInaugural AI Symposium Explores Impact in Biotech IndustryArticial intelligence (AI) is rapidly trans-forming the healthcare industry and the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedi-cal Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University looks to lead the conversation on preparing the next generation of biomedi-cal engineers for its potential use in devices, therapeutics, and data.In April, the Department held its rst-ever symposium on the subject. The BIO-STAR AI Symposium brought together leading experts in healthcare and articial intelligence to discuss AI’s current role in improving patient outcomes and its potential in the clinical setting.Led by Prof. May Wang, Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Kavli Fellow, and GCC Distinguished Cancer Scholar, the symposium builds the framework for the Department to establish academic programming and research in biomedical data engineering and develop critical industry partnerships to discover solutions that transform the healthcare system for all stakeholders, including patients, physicians, and administrators.Wang says an emphasis on the ethics of using AI to conduct clinical research and engineer treatments is key to developing a sustainable research and education program in the Coulter Department. The name of the symposium, BIO-STAR, further emphasizes that vision of Safe, Trustworthy, Actionable, Responsible (STAR) articial intelligence. ‣ KELLY PETTY30 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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Inaugural AI Symposium Explores Impact in Biotech IndustryThree Georgia Tech students who created a pediatric medical device won $15,000 in March during the 2024 ACC InVenture Prize, an annual undergraduate entrepre-neurship competition.Biomedical engineering student Caitlin van Zyl, her sister and mechanical engineer-ing major Jacqui van Zyl — both Stamps President's Scholars — and Meg Weaver, a biomedical engineering major, took rst place with their invention, NeuroChamp. The wearable, concealed headband is used to continuously monitor pediatric seizures. Half a million children nationwide suer from epilepsy, and many children experience daily, frequent seizures that cannot be detected by their parents, their teachers, or even themselves. NeuroChamp sets itself apart from existing monitoring devices because of its concealed design. Watch their pitch for the competition.The team was inspired to create the device partly from personal experience. A child in Jacqui van Zyl’s hometown experienced the “silent seizures” that NeuroChamp can help monitor. The team is already working with physicians at Emory University and Children’s Health-care of Atlanta to launch a pilot study of the medical device. Their ACC InVenture Prize winnings will help fund continued testing. Teams from 14 universities competed in this year’s event, which was held at Florida State University. ‣ KRISTEN BAILEYNeuroChamp Wins 2024 ACC InVenture PrizeFatiesa Sulejmani, a professor at the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomed-ical Engineering has been recognized as the recipient of the 2024 Women in Engineer-ing (WIE) Faculty Award.“This is a wonderful honor,” said Sulejmani. “This is the greatest feedback that I could hope to receive to know that my students, and especially the female students within STEM disciplines feel that the classroom environment that I foster is a positive one.”Each year, WIE presents two awards to engineering faculty who have had a special impact in encouraging and supporting their students’ success.What sets these awards apart is their tie to the student body: nominations come directly from the students themselves. Every year, female undergraduate engi-neering students are invited to nominate a faculty member who has had a positive impact on their academic journey.With her bachelor’s in biomedical engineering and her graduate studies in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech, Sulejmani has walked the path of her students.“Not only do they see a female engineer out in the world,” she said. “But they see a female engineer who was in their shoes once and who is seeking to develop these personal relationships and to help them achieve their goals as well.”Even during her time as a student, whether she was tutoring or working as a teaching assistant, Sulejmani loved teaching. She greatly appreciated the instructors and professors that shaped her education. Now as an educator herself, her goal is to “continue that for the next gener-ation” as best she can. Sulejmani teaches Mechanical and Engi-neering Design, as well as Biostatistics this semester. Her teaching philosophy is one that prioritizes a hands-on approach. For her, it’s important to create an inclusive and safe space where students can feel unafraid to fail and learn.“So my goal is really to foster engage-ment within the lecture environment,” she said. “I try to use humor as well as bringing into context some of my work experience outside of Georgia Tech so they can see the direct application of some of what we are learning within their careers.” ‣ YANET CHERNETSulejmani Receives 2024 Women in Engineering Faculty AwardFall 2024 Magazine 31

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OUR COMMUNITYEl Sayed earns 2024 W.S. Moore Young Investigator AwardThree BME Fac-ulty Named 2023 Georgia Tech CIOS Award WinnersRetta El Sayed, a Ph.D graduate from Georgia Tech and Emory University’s Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineer-ing, was awarded the 2024 W.S. Moore Young Investigator’s Award by the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM). Sayed received this recognition for her research titled, “Assessment of Complex Flow Patterns in Patients with Carotid Webs, Patients with Carotid Atherosclerosis & Health Subjects using 4D Flow MRI.”“Being awarded the W.S. Moore Young Investigator Award is a tremendous honor that validates the eort and commitment I've dedicated to my research,” El Sayed said. “It's humbling to be recognized among such talented peers in the eld and the ISMRM community.” ISMRM’s W.S. Moore Award, the second major award given at the Young Investi-gator Award competition, celebrates the best clinical science paper published in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imagining (JMRI). El Sayed focused her research on cardiovascular disease as a part of her Ph.D. dissertation.Her research investigates how magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can oer precise patient-specic diagnoses. Specically, El Sayed investigates the complex blood ow patterns in patients with Carotid Webs (CaW), a form of fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD), known to increase the risk of strokes, especially in young African American women.What sets her research apart is that it's the first study to utilize 4D flow MRI to examine complex hemodynamics linked to CaW, comparing them to patients with ath-erosclerosis and normal subjects.“My research is important as it represents one of the early studies investigating hemo-dynamics in subjects with CaW,” said El Sayed. “This award motivates me to continue pushing boundaries and making meaningful contributions aiming to advance cardiovas-cular imaging and its clinical applications.” ‣ YANET CHERNETThree faculty from the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering were recognized for excellence in teaching. Profs. Charles Kemp, David Myers, and Ahmet Coskun were named 2023 Georgia Tech CIOS Award winners. The award honors full-time Georgia Tech emloyees who teach credit courses and received high response rates and scores on the Course Instructor Opinion Survey submitted by students.Kemp's BMED 8813: Robotic Caregiv-ers and Myers' BMED 4813: Translational Microsystems courses placed in the small classes category, while Coskun's BMED 4783: Intro to Medical Image Process-ing placed in the large classes category. ‣ YANET CHERNETTop left to right: Ahmet Coskun, David Myers. Bottom: Charles Kemp.32 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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From Nassau Streets to the Olympics: Avard Moncur’s Journey to Global GloryCassie Mitchell’s Paralympic PursuitAvard Moncur’s, master’s program manager in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, road to Olympics glory began in 30-meter intervals, the distance between light poles where he grew up on the island of Nassau in the Bahamas.Moncur eventually earned his way onto the Bahamian 4x400 meter team that won a belated Bronze Medal in Sydney (the winning U.S. team was later disqual-ified, moving the Bahamian team from fourth up to third place). Then he took an individual gold medal in the 400 at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, Canada, beating several other Olympians in the finals (including Greg Haughton, the Jamaican who won a Bronze medal in Sydney). That would be his last gold medal in the 400 until the 2007 Pan American Games.But he was part of the Bahamas’ gold medal winning 4x400 meter relay team at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton and helped his country win silver medals in the same event at the 2005 Championships in Helsinki, Finland, and the 2007 Championships in Osaka, Japan. In 2008, Moncur had his last great Olympics moment, helping the Bahamian 4x400 team take the silver medal in Beijing.He competed on the professional inter-national circuit for several more years, but didn’t make the Olympics for 2012, when the Bahamas won gold in the 4x400 relay. Now retired from the sport, he stays involved with track and field as a fan, watching notable stars of today compete in the Summer Olympics. ‣ JERRY GRILLOAssociate Professor Cassie Mitchell qualied for her fourth straight Paralympic Games and competed in the discus throw in Paris at the end of August.“My goal has been to be on the top of the podium, to see the ag come up, to hear the national anthem at a Paralympic Games. I have been blessed to get that at World Championships and some other events, but not at a Paralympic Games,” said Mitchell. “That just keeps me coming back. It’s like this sign I keep on my shelf: ‘Never, never, never give up.’ As long as I am able to go out, be competitive, and have a chance, then I want to keep going.”Discus has been one of Mitchell’s signature events for multiple Paralympic cycles. She won silver in 2016 and just missed the medal stand at the Covid-de-layed 2021 Games. Two of her nine American Paralympic track and field records are in discus, and she currently holds the world record for athletes with her level of physical disability.Her engineering mindset is part of her athletic endeavors, too, helping her train smarter rather than just harder, she said: “I’ve always done a biomechanical breakdown in my throw. I also am coming in with a dierent throwing chair setup to try to get better balance. Discus is heavier, so I’m trying to get a little bit more balanced and see if that helps me go farther.”Still, stubbornness sometimes wins out, which is when it’s nice to have her coach also happen to be her mom — the rst time that’s ocially been the case prior to a Paralympic Games. “The nice thing about having my mom as coach is she can control that knob a little better than some people,” Mitchell said. “She probably lets me throw more than what most coaches would. She’s also still mom. She will still put her foot down and say, ‘Enough.’”At 43, Mitchell doesn’t think she’s hit her ceiling yet. She’s really drawn to the idea of competing on home turf at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. She’s picked up another sport called boccia to increase her chances of making those Games.It’s somewhat similar to bocce, where players have to throw balls as close to a target ball as possible. She has teamed with former wheelchair tennis player Nick Taylor, and they’ve already medaled in an international competition.“I’m a very patriotic person,” she said. “It doesn’t say Mitchell on my uniform, it says USA. And I think to compete on home soil would be really special.” ‣ JOSHUA STEWARTFall 2024 Magazine 33

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FacultyMUATH BISHAWI Assistant ProfessorMuath Bishawi, M.D. and Ph.D., cardiac surgeon with a clinical focus on adult cardiac surgery and heart and lung transplant. His lab uses translational and biomedical engineering approaches to studying cardiovascular function, mechanical circulatory support and end stage heart and lung failure. Bishawi’s clinical research is focused on clinical outcomes after adult cardiac surgery with a focus on end stage surgical heart failure.Bishawi earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, a master’s in public health, and a doctorate in medicine from Stony Brook University. He then moved to Duke University, where he was selected as a InnovateMD Fellow focused on innovation and biodesign. He also served as a resident in cardiothoracic surgery and graduated with a doctoral degree in bioengineering and biomedical engineering.FACULTYCoulter BME Welcomes New Faculty to its RanksThe fall 2024 cohort of new faculty brings a wealth of experience and expertise in an array of cutting-edge research areas, fortifying the department's commitment to advancing the frontiers of biomedical engineering.versity of Rochester. Prior to graduate school, she ventured into the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry as a quality associate for three years.Ackun-Fammer most recently served as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, to engineer peptide and oligonucleotide-based biomaterials to treat autoimmune diseases. At UMD, her work was funded by an NIH Research Supplement and an NIH F32 award from the NIAID. Marian is the postdoc representative for the Drug Delivery Special Interest Group for the Society of Biomaterials and a co-chair for the 2023 AfroBioTech conference and a current George Washington University Clark Scholars Mentor. Her group will design tailored self-assembled systems to mod-ulate the immune system to treat cancer and autoimmunity.EDIKAN ARCHIBONG OGUNNAIKE Assistant ProfessorEdikan Ogunnaike, Ph.D., earned her undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University (FAMU), and graduate degree at the Uni-versity of South Florida College of Engineering. As an assistant professor, Ogunnaike is excited about developing systems to integrate nanobiotechnology, immunology, and neu-roscience to translate into clinical use. Her specic goal is to apply a convergence of tools, techniques, and therapeutic strategies in materials science, nanotechnology, engineering, and immunology to develop an increased understanding of the molecular mechanisms of diseases, while also dening the complex material-cell-host tissue interaction that occurs in healthy and diseased patients.Specically, in the area of cancer research, Ogunnaike will focus on responsive biomaterials, as modulators of pathways to advance delivery approach, facilitate long-term persistence of therapy, and improve resistance to biological challenges to reduce tumor cell proliferation while penetrating solid tumors.MARIAN ACKUNFARMMER Assistant ProfessorMarian Ackun-Farmmer, Ph.D., is an early career biomedical engineer with academic and industry expertise in developing drug delivery systems for cancer and autoimmune disease applica-tions. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from George Washington University and completed her PhD. at the Uni-34 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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ZACHARY DANZINGER ProfessorZachary Danziger, Ph.D., received his doctorate from Northwestern University in the area of human motor learning and compu-tational neuroscience, and his postdoctoral studies at Duke Uni-versity were in electrophysiology and neurology. Danziger’s primary research interests lie at the intersection of the areas of neuroscience theory and application. His approach is to focus rst on under-standing the underlying behavior of the neural system; and second, to exploit that understanding to optimize the design of neural interfaces. His lab is currently developing tools to 1) understanding brain activity in motor cortex, with the goal of improving performance of brain-computer interfaces and 2) understanding nerve activity in the urinary tract, with the goal of improving eciency of stimulation technology designed to restore bladder function.TARA DEANS Associate ProfessorTara Deans, Ph.D., earned a bachelor’s from Washington State University and Ph.D. in bio-medical engineering from Boston University. Prior to Georgia Tech, Deans taught at the University of Utah where she focused on Synthetic Biology, Stem Cells, Delivery Systems, Regeneration.Her lab centers on building novel genetic tools to study stem cell dierentiation mechanisms and inuence cell fate decisions. Her research interests investigate various aspects of synthetic biology, including harnessing cells’ natural ability to sense diverse signals, integrate environmental inputs, and execute complex behaviors based on the organism’s health or tissue conditions.Additionally, Deans explores biomanufacturing, engineer-ing cell delivery vehicles and producing biological molecules for applications in industry and human health.Recognized with prestigious awards including the NSF CAREER Award, ONR Young Investigator Award, NIH Trail-blazer Award, and an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, Deans is a leader in her eld. Her contributions extend beyond research as she was named a STEM Ambassador in the STEM Ambassador Program (STEMAP) at the University of Utah, engaging underrepresented groups in STEM elds.SIMONE DOUGLASGREEN Assistant ProfessorSimone Douglas-Green, Ph.D., earned her B.S. in biomedical engineering from the University of Maryland, and her Ph.D. from the Wallace H. Coulter Depart-ment of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. She most recently served as a postdoc-toral associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology focused on designing charged cartilage-targeting nanocarriers to treat osteoarthritis. At MIT, she was selected as a NASEM Ford Postdocral Fellow and Burroughs Welcome Fund Post-doctoral Enrichment Program Fellow. In the Coulter BME Department, Douglas-Green’s dissertation research with Professor Manu Platt focused on cysteine cathepsins’ role in making or breaking brin, an essential blood-clotting protein and a biomaterial commonly used in tissue engineering. Her work examined both the abnormal blood clotting in sickle cell disease and remodeling engineered microvascular networks.RAFAEL DAVALOS Weitnauer Faculty Chair in Biomedical EngineeringRafael Davalos, Ph.D., is the Margaret P. and John H. Weit-nauer Jr. Chair Professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. Before this appointment, Davalos was the L. Preston Wade Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Tech, Leader of the Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Signaling and Biotechnology Program, and Director of the Center for Engineered Health. Prior to his academic appointment, Davalos was a Principal Member of Technical Sta at Sandia National Laboratories. His research interests are in microuidics for personalized medicine and developing technologies for cancer therapy. He is most recognized for co-inventing Irreversible Electroporation (IRE), a minimally invasive non-thermal surgical technique to treat unresectable tumors near critical structures such as major blood vessels and nerves. The technology has been used to help thousands of patients worldwide with a second-generation version in clinical trials for the treatment of cardiac disease. Davalos has authored 150 peer-reviewed articles and has 47 issued patents (71 h-index, >17,400 citations) and has secured over $37M in research funding with $10M his share. His patents have been licensed to 7 companies. He has been a plenary speaker for several prestigious venues including the International Symposium of the Bioelectrochemistry Society, the World Congress on Electroporation, and the Society of Cryobiology Annual Meeting. Davalos serves on the editorial boards for IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Cancers, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, and the ASME Journal of Biomechanics. Davalos is an ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), NAI (National Academy of Inven-FACULTYtors), BMES (Biomedical Engineering Society), and AIMBE (American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering) Fellow and recipient of the 2021 ASME Van C. Mow Medal. Davalos received his bachelor’s from Cornell University and doctorate from University of California, Berkeley.Fall 2024 Magazine 35

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MICHAËL J.A. GIRARDAssociate ProfessorMichaël J.A. Girard, Ph.D. holds a joint appointment with the Department of Ophthalmology at Emory University School of Medicine and the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering as an associate professor.He most recently served as an associate professor at the Duke-NUS School and is a Principal Inves-tigator at the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) where he heads the Ophthalmic Engineering & Innovation Laboratory.Girard is a leader in the eld of ophthalmology research, having earned 38 grants — 24 as a PI — and more than $6 million in research funding. He is the author of over 140 journal papers and has made his mark in translational research through ling 10 patent applications/invention disclosures, of which ve were licensed to local or international companies.His research interests include Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Engineering, Articial Intelligence and Phys-ics-informed Machine Learning, Translational Ocular Biomechanics, Ophthalmic Devices, Glaucoma and other Optic Neuropathies, Myopia, Neurological Disorders, and Corneal Disorders.Girard is also the primary founder of Abyss Processing Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based start up that provides 3D AI solutions to simplify and improve glaucoma diagnosis & prognosis.Girard earned a master’s in mechanical engineering from École Polytechnique Universitaire de Lyon and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Tulane University.PETER KASSONAssociate ProfessorPeter Kasson, M.D. and Ph.D., is an international leader in the study of biological membrane structure, dynamics, and fusion, with partic-ular application to how viruses gain entry to cells. He earned his doctoral degrees at Stanford University and rst established his lab at the University of Vir- ginia. Peter’s research focuses on emerging viruses using both compu-tational and experimental approaches. The lab has developed large-scale molecular simulation and analysis methods (in conjunction with a Visiting Faculty appointment at Google) and also experimental platforms to study viral infection at the single-virus level. His publications describe inventive approaches to the measurement of viral fusion rates and characterization of fusion mechanisms, and to the modeling of large-scale bio-molecular and lipid assemblies. He has applied these insights to the prediction of pandemic outbreaks and drug resistance, with particular attention to Zika, SARS-CoV-2, and inuenza pathogens in recent years.Ongoing work seeks to understand the mechanistic barriers that control which locations, cells, and species a virus can infect and the implications for pandemic surveillance and control. Dr. Kasson has been named a Pinn Scholar and serves as a Wallenberg Academy Fellow at Uppsala University.KARTHIK MENONAssistant ProfessorKarthik Menon hold a joint appointment in the Woodru School of Mechanical Engineer-ing and the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering as an assistant professor. Menon grad-uated with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Johns Hopkins Uni-versity in 2021, where his doctoral work focused on the ow physics of uid-structure interactions and vortex-dominated ows. Before joining Georgia Tech, he was a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Pediatrics and the Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering at Stan-ford University. At Stanford, he worked on computational methods for accurate patient-specic cardio vascular blood ow simulations and uncertainty quantication.Menon’s broad research interests include uid mechan-ics, computational modeling, and data-driven methods. His research aims to advance interdisciplinary technology in a wide range of healthcare, engineering and energy applications. Fluid dynamics is central to some of the biggest challenges and opportunities in these domains — such as personalized treatments for cardiovascular disease, extracting renewable energy from owing water and wind, and developing bio-mi-metic ying and swimming robots. Menon’s work tackles these challenges by uncovering new physics and combining high-performance computing with data-enabled techniques.FACULTY36 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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C.W. PEAKSenior LecturerC.W. Peak, Ph.D. graduated from Purdue University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering. He later attended Texas A&M Uni-versity, where he earned his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. At Texas A&M, he focused on nanoengineered biomaterials for cell and therapeutic delivery. During that time, he served as a lab safety manager, graduate teaching consultant, and instructional professorPeak has expertise in polymeric biomaterial mechanical and biological characterization for use in medical devices, as well as device fabrication, including 3-D and 4-D bioprinting. His additional research interests are in biomedical engineer-ing education, undergraduate skill development, and hydrogel rheology.FATIESA SULEJMANILecturerFatiesa Sulejmani, Ph.D. is a forensic consultant with expertise in Cardiovascular and Injury Biomechanics and 10 years of teaching experience. She currently serves as a Biome-chanics senior consultant at Rimkus, Sulejmani earned a Bachelor of Science in bioengineering and biomedical engineering, a master’s in mechanical engineering, and a Ph.D. in bioengineering and biomedical engineering, all from Georgia Tech.At Georgia Tech she was both an undergraduate and grad-uate research assistant in the Tissue Mechanics Lab. As a lecturer, her focus is on biomechanics, biomedical engineering design, and bioengineering. Sulejmani recently was awarded the 2024 Women in Engineering Faculty Award for impact on female engineering students throughout their academic journey.YUE CHEN Associate Professor with TenureBROOKS D. LINDSEY Associate Professor with TenureTODD FERNANDEZSenior LecturerDirector of Learning InnovationMAYSAM NEZAFATISenior LecturerFour Faculty Receive Promotion and TenureA hallmark of scholarship and research excellence for a faculty member is to earn tenure and promotion. This milestone is a signicant step in a faculty member’s career as it recognizes their signicant contribution to academia, as well as their commitment to their institution’s mission. For the 2023-2024 academic year, the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomed-ical Engineering announced four faculty to receive promotion and tenure. Each of these members have made an extraordinary impact on the biomedical engineering student learning experience at Georgia Tech.FACULTYLearn More About Our Faculty at bme.gatech.eduFall 2024 Magazine 37

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CommercializationGeorgia Tech alumni Mathew Quon, BME ’19 and MBA ’24, and Michael Pullen, BME ’21, were watching Monday Night Football one evening when they both jumped from their seats. A Cincinnati Bengals receiver scored a touchdown and did a celebratory dance on camera. Quon and Pullen couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The Bengals player was wearing the LZRD Tech compression arm sleeve they created as undergraduates at Georgia Tech. Their class project had found its way to the NFL.“We paused, sat up, and took pictures of it,” said Quon. “It was in that moment, watching our product on Monday Night Football, that we knew we were on to something. Seeing our product at the highest level was amazing.”Quon said it’s also rewarding watching his college football team wear their sleeves. The Georgia Tech Athletic Association (GTAA) is now an angel investor after investing in LZRD Tech, the rst start-up from CREATE-X to receive venture funding from the association.“It’s awesome to have the support of our brand and product from our alma mater,” he said.Quon and Pullen created the arm sleeve as a project in their Materials Science & Engineering of Sports class with Dr. Jud Ready. Inspired by his time as a high school football player, Pullen wanted to create an arm sleeve that protects a player’s arm from turf burn and sunburn while providing maximum grip. A typical compression sleeve is slick when it meets the ball, adding to the risk of fumbling. The duo worked on engineering a compression sleeve to help players get a better grip on the football.After completing the project, Dr. Ready encouraged Quon and Pullen to pursue their invention further. They were selected to participate in Georgia Tech’s CREATE-X Startup Launch accelerator in 2020. The 12-week summer program provides students with a grant, pro bono legal services, mentorship, and more to support them as they develop their projects into viable startups.Participating in the CREATE-X program helped the co-founders expand their network, create a product prototype, and launch their company. Pullen is the CEO, and Quon is the COO. Quon is immensely grateful for his CREATE-X experience.“We wouldn’t be where we are without CREATE-X because of the network we built with mentors, advisors, and connections, from law rms to manufacturing,” he said. “One of our mentors, Georgia Tech Professor Greg Mihalik, is now a board stakeholder in the company.”They further developed their compres-sion sleeve with NexTex Innovations, an Atlanta-based textile technology developer, to manufacture their product using Inte-grated TurboDry™ moisture-removing technology that transports moisture to keep the arm dry. The sleeve also has elite-grip fabric to create maximum security. With the football season about to kick o, Quon says they’re ready for it. They’ve secured 60 teams in the country, from the NFL to high school football teams.Another start Quon is ready for is the beginning of the school year. He returned to his alma mater in 2022 to earn his MBA at the Scheller College of Business. As a Full-time MBA student, he credits the program for sharpening his business acumen and leadership style while he builds LZRD Tech.“The core curriculum in the program has helped me signicantly in gaining account-ing and marketing skills I didn’t get much exposure to as an engineering undergrad,” he said. “I can now put a name to a process BME Alums Team Up to Get a Grip on FootballCOMMERCIALIZATIONLeft to right: Mathew Quon (BME '19) and Michael Pullen (BME '21), creators of LZRD Tech. Photo courtesy of Scheller College of Business.38 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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COMMERCIALIZATIONPh.D. Student Nettie Brown Recieves Georgia Tech Award For Biomaterials ResearchNettie Brown, a 6th year graduate student in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering jointly mentored by Dr. Scott Hollister and Dr. Johnna Temeno, is one of six recipients of the GT NEXT award from the Georgia Tech Oce of Technology Licensing. The award, which was established in Spring 2023, was created as a means to foster the development of innovative research ideas proposed by graduate students and postdocs and highlight their commitments to research and development on technologies that contribute to the betterment of society. Each award provides $5K directly to the recipient, which is intended to support the costs of research and development, such as materials, supplies, and instrument-use fees, as well as customer discovery.Nettie’s dissertation research centers around the utilization of biocompatible materials and the delivery of cartilage materials to promote facial cartilage regeneration, especially for ear and nose reconstruction applications. In children, ear reconstruction is often performed to rebuild damaged ears caused by congenital defects, whereas in adults, reconstruction is most often performed because of damages to the ear caused by trauma or skin cancers.In the operating room, ear reconstruction typically entails har-vesting cartilage from the ribs and delicately molding the cartilage into the shape of an ear. These are laborious procedures whose outcomes are dependent on the skills of the plastic surgeons or the otolaryngologists specializing in otoplasty who perform the ear reconstructions. Instead, Nettie utilizes selective laser sintering (SLS) to 3D-print scaolds that are based on biocompatible materials, such as polycaprolactone (PCL), to generate implantable scaolds of the ear. This is a technique that the Hollister lab has extensively utilized for developing patient-specic medical devices and implants.PCL been approved by the FDA for use in medical devices and implants because it is highly biocompatible and has an excellent safety prole, and its ability to slowly resorb makes it advantageous for promoting cartilage regeneration.After mixing minced cartilage pieces and/or cartilage cells (chondrocytes) with novel poly (ethylene glycol) (PEGDA)-based heparin hydrogels developed by the Temeno lab, the mixture can be added to the molds to create prosthetic ears that can then be surgically attached to the patient. Nettie plans to use the $5K award for materials and supplies to analyze and compare the ecacies of various cartilage subsets in combination with the PEGDA-based heparin hydrogels to promote cartilage regeneration.Following her Ph.D. defense, Nettie plans to pursue a postdoc in the Hollister lab to conduct research on the utilization of composite Fall 2024 Magazine 39

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COMMERCIALIZATIONBiolocity Announces 2024-2025 CohortBright QCEST Imaging Principal Investigator: Phillips Sun (Emory) Bright QCEST Imaging is at the forefront of molecular imaging, featuring MRI technology developed to standardize and quantify molecular imaging. This project aims to revolutionize MR spectroscopy, oering unparal-leled precision and reliability in diagnostic imaging. This innovation can potentially transform the landscape of medical diagnostics, enabling more accurate detection and monitoring of various diseases. Cytodit Principal Investigator: A. Fatih Sariouglu (Georgia Tech) Cytodit introduces an autonomous, cell analytical quality-control platform for biomanufacturing workows. This technology promises to enhance the eciency and accuracy of cell analysis in biomanufacturing processes. By automating quality control, Cytodit is designed to ensure higher con-sistency and reliability in bio-manufactured products, paving the way for advancements in regenerative medicine and cell therapy. MCATS for HIT Principal Investigators: Khalid Salaita, Roman Sniecinski (Emory) MCATS for HIT represents a novel diagnostic test for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), utilizing cellular traction forces. This project seeks to simplify and improve the accuracy of HIT diagnostics with develop-ment of a test that can be performed in any clinical lab, making it a valuable tool for widespread clinical use and ensuring timely and accurate diagnosis of HIT, a potentially life-threatening condition. RNAES Principal Investigators: Jesse Waggoner, David R. Myers (Emory) RNAES is developing a unique solution for RNA and DNA extraction and ambient temperature storage. The goal is to simplify genetic material handling and preservation, crucial for research and clinical diagnostics. By enabling ambient temperature storage, RNAES could reduce costs and logistical challenges associated with cold storage, making genetic testing and research more accessible worldwide. Urearetics for HFpEF Principal Investigators: John Calvert, Eric Ortlund, Yanhua Wang (Emory) The Urearetics for HFpEF project focuses on developing a new treatment option for Heart Failure with preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF). A multi-disciplinary team is pioneering the use of Urearetics to address this challenging and often treatment-resistant condition. The work holds promise for improving the quality of life and outcomes for HFpEF patients.Biolocity, a medical technology accelerator housed in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, announced the awardees for the 2024-2025 cycle, recognizing innovations in biotechnology and medical research. The latest cohort’s projects represent some of the most promising advancements in biomedical engineering, including a range of technologies, designed to improve treatment for heart failure, streamline the handling and storage of genetic material, and enhance the biomanufacturing process.40 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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COMMERCIALIZATIONBiolocity Welcomes 2024-2025 Intern ClassBiolocity’s internship program provides relevant experience and develops aspiring health technology professionals’ ability to assess market potential for early-stage technologies. Each funding cycle, Biolicity selects interns who are trained to perform market research and customer discovery to support Biolocity funding decisions. Oluwagbemisola AderibigbePh.D. Candidate, Georgia Tech and Emory BMEAderibigbe’s research project is focused on understanding and identifying molecular mecha-nisms that occur in the brain following pediatric brain injury. Through her expertise in research and her training in technology management, Aderibigbe’s goal is to assist in the commercialization and product management of biotechnology and biopharmaceutical products, helping to get them to the patients who need them. Shibley Ali MBID Candidate, Georgia TechAli, now in Coulter BME’s intensive one-year one year professional master’s program, completed his undergraduate degree in biomed-ical engineering at the Hashemite Uni-versity of Jordan. He is interested in the commercialization aspect of medical devices and the translation of research to market — he strives to bridge the gap between innovation and practical health-care solutions. Outside of class, he enjoys baking and trying out new dessert recipes. Mallika HalderPh.D. Candidate, Emory NeuroscienceMallika Halder, who is an Innovation Consulting Fellow at The Hatchery in addition to being a Ph.D. student at Emory, exemplifies a blend of academic excellence, innova-tion, and leadership. She has enhanced biotech opportunities for Ph.D. graduates at Emory, leading the "STEM-Sync" event at the Hatchery to link Emory Ph.D. and MBA candidates with Atlanta biotech startups. Mallika has contributed to her field with development of a novel lab technique resulting in several NIH grants, 4 publications, and opportunities to present her research on autonomic neuroscience internationally. Alishah LakhaniPh.D. Candidate, Emory Neuroscience A fifth-year Ph.D. student, Lakhani’s is a skilled researcher with a deep interest in creating a culture of belonging, all of which has fueled her passion for the life sciences and bio-medical industry. She is excited to apply her knowledge, further develop her skills, and connect with like-minded individ-uals during this Biolocity internship — a dynamic opportunity at the intersection of academia and biotechnology. Luis Javier Bermudez LopezMBID Candidate, Georgia Tech Luis is a biomedical engineer with a diverse skill set and a keen interest in leveraging business acumen to drive innovation in the healthcare industry. He is multilingual (he can speak four languages), which helps make him an eective cross-cultural com-municator. Luis is adaptable and has strong leadership and problem-solving abilities. Pramod MisraM.S. Candidate, Georgia Tech Computer ScienceWhile pursuing his master’s degree, Pramod has also built a start-up company, Unifi.ai (contract analytics products). He has more than 20 years of professional experience in data science/machine learning/analytics with Vodafone, Novartis, Takeda Pharmaceuti-cals, and other leading companies. Jacob RayyanPh.D. Candidate, Georgia Tech and Emory BMEJacob, who has performed due diligence tasks for multiple angel/venture capital (VC) organizations in the past, plans to pursue a career in VC, primarily performing due diligence on early-stage Biotech start-ups in the Seed-Series B stage. Benjamin SicilianoPh.D. Candidate, Emory Molecular and Systems PharmacologySiciliano’s research focuses on identifying neuropsychiatric drug targets and mechanisms in hiP-SC-derived neural cells, with emphasis on depressive and neurodegenerative disorders. Motivated by a keen interest in biomedical technology transfer and phar-maceutical business development, he has actively contributed to impactful projects with the Emory Patent Group and the Emory Biotech Consulting Club. Sophie YountPh.D. Candidate, Emory Molecular and Systems PharmacologyYount’s current research aims to dissect molecularly dened neuron populations that contribute to decision-making. Her findings could shed light on innate learning systems that are “hijacked” by drug abuse. During her time as graduate student, Sophie has also gained experience as a contract medical writer and licensing associate intern. She is eager to leverage her scientic background Fall 2024 Magazine 41

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Philanthropy in BME: Chris HermannChris Hermann’s resume is impressive — physician, engineer, and inventor. He’s also founder and CEO of Clean Hands-Safe Hands, a technology he created to improve hand hygiene among healthcare workers in medical settings.But behind the accolades and accom-plishments is someone passionate about improving the patient experience through engineering and medicine. Hermann shares how a high school injury led him into a career in biomedical engineering, what it’s like to teach, and why his gift to the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engi-neering will foster well-rounded biomedical engineers who understand the challenges physicians and healthcare professionals face on the job. Why did you choose to pursue your under-graduate degree at the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering?CH: It was the department’s focus on problem-based learning. At that time, the medical schools were just beginning to see the impact of a curriculum that incorpo-rates problem-based learning. The depart-ment leaders believed that this approach could have the same impact on engineering education. It turns out they were right. As a result, Coulter BME has been the leader in engineering education. It has been an incredible experience to see how far the department has come from that rst course to being the leader in BME education. You received your undergrad, master’s and Ph.D. All from Georgia Tech. What unique factors make Georgia Tech, and specifically Coulter BME, a premier institution for studying biomedical engi-neering?CH: The most impactful part of the depart-ment is that it is jointly situated between a world class engineering institution as well as a medical school. You truly can get the best of both worlds in a way that no other department can replicate. While I was here as a graduate student, I was part of the joint MD/PhD program between Tech and Emory. As a student in both universities, I had the ability to bridge the gap and work directly with engineers and physicians. My main dissertation research focused on trying to address a problem in pediatric craniofacial development. Being a student in Coulter BME allowed me incredible opportunities and unique insights that were critical to the success of my project. Many days, I would spend the mornings assisting with the surgeries of children with the craniofacial disorders that I was researching. Then I’d spend the afternoons in the lab working on the solution to those clinical problems. Can you describe what the gift from you and your wife created for Coulter BME?CH: I have witnessed countless times where there has been a disconnect between engineering and medicine. While I was in graduate school, I had a unique opportunity to directly interact with clinicians because I was also enrolled in medical school. These interactions with the clinicians and their patients had a profound impact on the direction of our research. When I started graduate school, my project was focused on researching a problem that had no real clinical impact. By working with the physi-cians in the operating room, we were able to shift the direction of the project towards something that had impact. So, our gift is focused on creating a program to allow Ph.D. students an oppor-tunity to work directly with clinicians at Emory Healthcare who take care of the patients that their research is focused on. The goal is to allow students to have access to the Emory clinical environments and physicians without having to go to medical school. Being a student is one thing. Being a donor is another. What led you to make the leap to investing in the institution that invested so much into you?CH: We wanted to give back to the institu-tion that allowed my wife and I to create opportunities for success later in life. My wife (who is a CE alumna) and I have collected four degrees from Georgia Tech without having to spend a penny in tuition.Not only did we get a tremendous education, but being part of Coulter BME directly led to the creation of a technology that allowed us to be able to give back. While I was in medical and graduate school, I developed a technology that reduced the spread of healthcare-associated infections. For the rst seven years, we worked in the department to develop and test the solution with grant funding. Without this critical ability to incubate the early-stage technol-TRANSFORMING TOMORROW42 Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

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Advisory BoardCALEB M. APPLETONInvestorBison VenturesBME 2015MARIO BALLU.S. Director of Sales Strategy and Commercial ExecutionBoston Scientiﬁc – Cardiology GroupBME 2007SYLVIA BARTLEY, Ph.D.Chief of StaffMorehouse School of MedicineAMBIKA BUMB, Ph.D.Deputy Executive DirectorBipartisan Commission on BiodefenceBMED 2005ELIZABETH COSGRIFF-HERNANDEZ, Ph.D.Professor, Cullen Trust for Higher Education Endowed ProfessorshipDepartment of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of Texas at AustinRYAN DAVISDirector of Commercial OperationsNeocis, Inc.BME 2005GAUTAM GOEL, Ph.D. Chief Data Science OfﬁcerhC Bioscience, Inc.MS BioE 2006, Ph.D. BioE 2009ELIZABETH HARRISON, Ph.D.Advisory Board ChairCEOMetaSystems Group, Inc.HEATHER HAYES, Ph.D.Product LeaderRevvityPh.D. BioE (BME) 2010ANGELA HOLMES CEOOmniScienceME 1996SHAWNA KHOURI Director, Virtual HealthTulsa Innovation Labs BME 2012, M.S. BME 2014ROBERT F. KIRSCH, Ph.D.Chair, Department of Biomedical EngineeringExecutive Director, Cleveland FES CenterCase Western Reserve UniversityXAVIER LEFEBVRE, Ph.D. PartnerBoston Life Sciences Advisors Ph.D. ChBE 1992JASON LITTEN, M.D.Chief Medical OfﬁcerChimeric TherapeuticsM.D. 2002 (Emory)DEV MANDAVIAVP Strategy and Corporate DevelopmentOXOS MedicalBME 2018ANN SATERBAK, Ph.D.Professor of the PracticeDepartment of Biomedical EngineeringDuke University SUE VANEmeritus MemberPresident & CEOWallace H. Coulter Foundation JOSH VOSECEOTulavi TherapeuticsCHE 2001ADVISORY BOARDogy we would never have been able to build a successful business.Your time in Coulter BME has come full circle since the department's faculty. What led to that decision and how does it feel to educate the next generation of biomedical engineers?CH: For most of my training I was focused on becoming a surgeon in an academic practice. I ended up becoming an entre-preneur by accident. But I missed working with and teaching students. When an opportunity opened to join the faculty working with the capstone students, it was the perfect t that allowed me to combine my background in engineering, medicine, and entrepreneurship.Working with the next generation of engineers is absolutely incredible. Most days I am amazed that I actually get paid to do this. The students that are graduating are incredible, and I can’t believe how much better they are now than when I graduated. Not only do they have amazing engineering skills, but their ability to work in a team to solve complex problems is unparalleled. How important is biomedical engineering to helping improve health outcomes?CH: The unfortunate reality is that the nation’s healthcare system is broken and without significant change it won’t fix itself. One of the fundamental problems that makes improving health outcomes so challenging is that physicians are trained to repeat well established therapies, interven-tions, care models, etc. When you combine this with the reality that all clinicians are stretched too thin, it results in problems that perpetuate themselves. Engineers, on the other hand, are trained to identify and address problems and come up with solutions. One of the most rewarding opportunities in my current role is seeing engineer trainees completely abbergasted by how medical interventions are delivered, then go and develop elegant solutions that clinicians have never considered.Why should people give to Coulter BME and how does giving enrich the student experience?CH: The students who are in the depart-ment now have, without a doubt, the best training to solve real-world problems. As good as they are, there is always room for improvement and donors can make this happen in unique ways that otherwise would not have been possible. Now that I am a faculty member within the depart-ment, I have had the unique opportunity to witness rst-hand the impact that the Fall 2024 Magazine 43

Coulter BME Magazine Fall 2024

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