University of Miami Department of Biomedical Engineering

Congratulations to Christine Lara for being recognized as Undergraduate Student of the Year by the Toppel Career Center! 🎉

Christine, a Biomedical Engineering student, has demonstrated outstanding professional achievement, leadership, and personal growth throughout her academic journey. We are incredibly proud to celebrate this milestone and look forward to all she will continue to accomplish!

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Congratulations to Dr. Charles Huang on receiving a five-year, $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to advance a new approach to chronic back pain!

He is leading a multidisciplinary team to validate a groundbreaking model designed to predict and personalize spine treatment. By looking beyond imaging to understand what’s happening inside spinal discs at the cellular level, his research explores how nutrient supply may drive degeneration, and how AI-powered tools could help physicians forecast how a patient’s spine will change over time.

To read more about Dr. Huang's research, please see the following article: https://news.miami.edu/coe/stories/2026/02/a-new-approach-to-chronic-back-pain.html

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Inside Dr. Alice Tomei’s Islet Immunoengineering Lab, engineering meets immunology to push the boundaries of what’s possible for type 1 diabetes. From designing biomaterials that protect therapeutic cells to mentoring the next generation of scientists, Dr. Tomei is leading a mission to advance diabetes research and improve patient outcomes.

"Our goal is to turn bold ideas in the lab into therapies that truly change patients’ lives," says Dr. Tomei.

To read more about Dr. Tomei's Lab, please see this article: https://news.med.miami.edu/diabetes-immunoengineering-an-inside-look-at-dr-alice-tomeis-lab/

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UM BME hits in full force. Come say hi!

📍Find us: Booth # 212

Andres F. Roca-Arroyo and Jhonatan A. Gutierrez-Rivera, BME PhD students from Dr. Castilla-Casadiegos’s lab, have co-authored two publications highlighting advances in biomaterials and nanofiber technologies. Their first work, “Hydrogel Network Architecture Design Space: Impact on Mechanical and Viscoelastic Properties”, explores how hydrogel crosslinker architecture influences mechanical and viscoelastic properties, key for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Their second paper, “Development of a low-cost electrospinning system with a bidirectional collector for uniform nanofibrous membranes”, presents a cost-effective system that improves fiber distribution and reproducibility, broadening access to nanofiber-based biomedical research.

Congratulations! Keep up the great work!

To read these publications you can visit: https://lnkd.in/dnu3yTMr and https://lnkd.in/eBiFwazb

Congratulations to Dr. Castilla-Casadiego for being selected as a Young Investigator Awardee by Cells Tissues Organs!

His work, titled “Regulating the Quality and Potency of Stem Cells with Biophysical Cues from Dynamic Nanofibrous Hydrogels for Therapeutic Purposes,” is driving innovation in stem cell research and regenerative medicine.

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Congratulations to Dr. Erin Williams, who recently earned her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering!

She now serves as co-director of the Acquired Neurosensory Disorder Research and Treatment Center (ANDRTC) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, where she’s helping lead groundbreaking research on complex neurosensory and vestibular disorders — from traumatic brain injury to balance and sensory processing challenges. Through interdisciplinary collaboration across engineering, neurology, audiology, and more, Dr. Williams helps bridge the gap between lab research and clinical care — developing real-world solutions to some of the most challenging problems in sensory health.

To read more, check out this article: https://news.med.miami.edu/spanning-the-gaps-miller-school-neurosensory-disorder-center-works-across-medical-specialties/

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This past summer, BME students had the incredible opportunity to study abroad in Florence, Italy, taking courses such as Biomaterials, Fundamentals of Biomechanics, and Independent Study! Outside the classroom, they explored Italian culture and innovation through visits to the Piaggio, Lamborghini, and Ducati factories, as well as nearby cities and museums.

Study abroad applications for Summer 2026 open in late September — don't miss your chance to be part of the next adventure!

Read more about UM's summer abroad programs here: https://multimedia.miami.edu/canes-summer-abroad-2025

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Congratulations to our recent BME graduates, Aiden, Elissa, and Ben!

After launching their startup SimuStride through the USTAAR program and winning the 2025 ACC InVenture Prize, they’ve now been awarded the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, NICHD Rehabilitative and Assistive Technologies Prize 🏆 — along with $15,000 to advance their groundbreaking work in rehabilitation technology.

Read more about their journey here:
👉 https://news.miami.edu/coe/stories/2025/05/hitting-their-stride.html

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Congrats to Dr. Ashutosh Agarwal and his team for a groundbreaking achievement! 🎉

To read more about this, visit news.miami.edu!