Penn Bioengineering

10/14/2026

Imagine being able to text your medical device and get an answer about your health in real time.

Brian Litt, MD, Professor of Neurology in Neurosurgery and Bioengineering, is helping make that possibility a reality through research that could redefine personalized health care.

Working with a team of Bioengineering Ph.D. students led by Zack Goldblum, Haoer Shi and Zhongchuan Xu, Litt is advancing an AI-powered platform that allows patients to communicate directly with their medical devices, ask questions about brain activity and receive personalized feedback.

Tested with patients undergoing epilepsy monitoring, this technology opens new possibilities for devices that don't just monitor health, but learn alongside patients to support more responsive care.

Discover the research featured by Penn Medicine: https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/ai-platform-allows-patients-to-text-with-their-medical-device

Penn Engineering

With a new AI platform, patients communicate with medical devices in real time, receive alerts, ask questions, and better manage their condition.

10/13/2026

What a wonderful two days celebrating our Rising Stars!

The Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania was thrilled to welcome 20 exceptional emerging scholars to campus for the 2026 Rising Stars in Health in Engineering Symposium!

From inspiring research presentations and engaging workshops to one-on-one faculty mentorship and new connections, the symposium brought together an incredible community of scholars and mentors to share ideas, experiences, and encouragement.

We are so grateful to our Rising Stars, faculty, speakers, mentors, and supporters for making this event such a memorable experience!

Here's to the connections made, lessons learned, and bright futures ahead!

09/28/2026

There’s a lot to celebrate in Bioengineering!

Over the past year, our community has continued to grow and make an impact through new faculty appointments, prestigious honors, outstanding student achievements and major interdisciplinary research initiatives.

Ravi Radhakrishnan, Professor and Herman P. Schwan Chair of Bioengineering, reflects on the accomplishments of the past year and the continued growth and momentum of our community.

Read “Bioengineering Builds on a Year of Growth and Achievement”: https://be.engineering.upenn.edu/bioengineering-builds-on-a-year-of-growth-and-achievement/

Penn Engineering

Bioengineering Builds on a Year of Growth and Achievement Awards, Students / September 28, 2026 Share: Author: Coley Coleman With the fall semester well underway, the Department of Bioengineering is building on another year of growth, momentum and accomplishment. From new faculty appointments and na...

09/23/2026

We are proud to highlight the incredible work of our undergraduate researchers! Supported by departmental fellowships, Bioengineering students spend their summers on campus tackling complex medical challenges alongside our faculty.

This year, congratulations go to:

Hailey Van ('29) | Blair Undergraduate Research Fellow
Hailey evaluated cytotoxic pore-forming proteins, including S100A8, that contribute to cell death after a heart attack, aiming to pinpoint potential targets to prevent post-myocardial infarction arrhythmia.

Adarsh Ramamurthy ('29) | Abraham Noordergraaf Research Fellow
Adarsh built a personalized computational model integrating microRNA expression to predict patient-specific chemotherapy responses in pediatric Wilms Tumor, advancing tools for precision oncology.

Check out the full blog post to read their complete abstracts and learn more about summer research in the Department of Bioengineering: https://be.engineering.upenn.edu/summer-research-spotlight-2026/

Penn Engineering

Every summer, top-tier Bioengineering students receive departmental scholarship support to pursue cutting-edge bioengineering research on campus under the mentorship of a faculty member. This year’s students advanced their projects through the Abraham Noordergraaf Fellowship and Blair Undergraduat...

09/21/2026

There’s nothing like starting a new academic year together.

Last week, students, faculty and staff gathered for the Bioengineering Fall Picnic, bringing plenty of energy, conversation and community spirit to Levine Hall. From a hallway full of students waving hello to a spread from Mission BBQ, it was a great reminder that some of the best parts of Bioengineering happen when our community simply gets the chance to come together.

We’re excited for everything this year will bring and even more excited to experience it together.

A big thank you to Mission BBQ for helping make the celebration delicious!

Penn Engineering

09/21/2026

Bioengineering was pleased to welcome Michael I. Miller, Ph.D., Bessie Darling Massey Professor and Director of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, to campus last week as our Schwan Distinguished Lecturer.

In his talk, “On Petascale Varifold Models for Neuroimaging: From Tissue to Transcript to Tangle,” Miller explored new multiscale approaches that connect MRI, digital pathology and spatial transcriptomics. His work brings together measurements across dramatically different scales to better understand the structure of the human brain and the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Ravi Radhakrishnan, Herman P. Schwan Department Chair of Bioengineering, presented Miller with a certificate of recognition following the lecture.

Thank you to Dr. Miller for sharing his research and insights with the Bioengineering community!

Johns Hopkins Biomedical Engineering | Penn Engineering

09/18/2026

We are proud to introduce the 2026 Rising Stars in Engineering in Health Cohort: 20 exceptional emerging researchers and scholars who are helping shape the future of engineering and health.

This October 2–3, Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, together with the Boston University College of Engineering; Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University; Cornell Engineering; and Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering, will bring this remarkable group together for the Rising Stars in Engineering in Health Symposium.

The symposium is dedicated to amplifying the next generation of leaders working at the intersection of engineering, medicine and health, while creating opportunities for connection, exchange and collaboration across institutions.

Congratulations to each member of this year’s cohort. Your work, vision and dedication to advancing health through engineering are an inspiration. We cannot wait to see the ideas, conversations and collaborations this symposium sparks.

Learn more about the 2026 Rising Stars cohort:
https://be.engineering.upenn.edu/rising-stars/

Penn Engineering

09/17/2026

Help shape what comes next in bioengineering.

The Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania is recruiting tenure-track and tenured faculty at the Assistant, Associate and Full Professor levels as part of a multi-year hiring initiative.

Our areas for growth include Precision Engineering for Health, Intelligent and Autonomous Systems for Engineered Life, and Engineering and AI Models Driving Digital Health. We also welcome exceptional candidates whose work explores emerging directions in bioengineering.

Join a collaborative community where engineering, science and health come together to advance research from fundamental discovery to clinical translation.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and are due November 23, 2026.

Learn more and apply: https://be.engineering.upenn.edu/about/open-faculty-positions/

Penn Engineering

09/03/2026

New research from Su Chin Heo, Assistant Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery with a secondary appointment in Bioengineering, could help improve rotator cuff repair.

Heo and his team developed a scaffold that mimics the body’s natural transition from tendon to fibrocartilage to bone, with the goal of supporting stronger, more organized healing.

Read more from Penn Medicine: https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/mimicking-natural-tissue-may-improve-rotator-cuff-repair

Penn Engineering

08/27/2026

From Penn to Texas A&M, Raghav Garg is taking the next step in his academic career.

Garg recently joined Texas A&M University as an Assistant Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he is building a research program focused on implantable and wearable neural interfaces for monitoring and treating neurological diseases.

His 4.5 years in the Vitale Lab and Penn’s Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics helped shape both his patient-centered approach to research and his vision for the collaborative culture he hopes to create in his own lab.

“My time at Penn transformed my career,” says Garg. “The mentorship and support I received from Dr. Vitale have been instrumental in preparing me for a faculty role.”

Read Part 3 of Launching the Next Generation of Faculty to follow Garg’s path from Penn researcher to independent faculty member: https://beblog.seas.upenn.edu/launching-next-gen-faculty-garg/

Penn Engineering