"Imagine spending your entire life snorkeling, and then suddenly you go scuba diving," Batista said. "You'll quickly realize you were only scratching the surface of a deeper reality."

For Batista, a neural engineer with decades of research exploring brain-computer interfaces at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering, that realization stemmed from his earliest visits to Dr. Jorge González-Martínez's operating room, which became the foundation for a novel postdoctoral training program: Neural Engineering in Neurosurgery: Bridging Engineering to Clinical Practice. 

“Engineers tend to think about the brain by thinking about computational circuitry that underlies behavior, while surgeons are thinking about how they can treat individuals who are suffering today,” Batista said. “And despite the fact that our engineering laboratories sit just an eight-minute walk from the neurosurgery operating rooms, it’s a distance that we’ve rarely covered, until now.”

Supported by a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) T32 award (1T32NS147937-01), the program will connect postdoctoral fellows from the Swanson School of Engineering's Department of Bioengineering, residents from the School of Medicine's Department of Neurological Surgery, and 32 affiliated faculty members and clinicians to work on research projects that improve neurosurgical practice. 

“This program is a perfect example of how Pitt's strengths across professional disciplines promotes the creation of interprofessional teams.” said Paul Wallach, vice chancellor for health sciences education and executive vice dean for academic affairs at the School of Medicine. “These teams then serve as drivers of innovation in clinical care."

Teaming Up to Improve Neurosurgical Practice

Co-directed by Batista, professor of bioengineering at the Swanson School, and Jorge González-Martínez, professor and vice-chair of neurological surgery at the School of Medicine, the program will bring together eight trainees, including four postdoctoral associates and four residents, who will work side by side on team-based research projects.

“Postdocs will shadow neurosurgeons in the operating room, and residents will pursue a deep dive into laboratory research under the direct supervision of their engineering mentor,” Batista said. “That way, our trainees will get to work on a project that actually matters for doctors.”

Designed to close the gap separating neurosurgery and bioengineering, each pair will be matched to one of eight collaboration clusters built around surgical areas where bioengineering and clinical strengths already overlap: epilepsy, stroke, speech and language mapping, sensory restoration, pain, trauma, movement disorders, and brain tumors.

“I’m excited about partnering with engineers to build a better understanding of the mechanisms related to epilepsy," González-Martínez said. “And, we can use this program to better understand how the signals we see in our micro-electrode recordings interact with behavior, not only for epilepsy, but also for language and movement disorders."

Several ongoing collaborations at the University provided the groundwork for the type of research that the program hopes to accelerate. Among them, work by González-Martínez and School of Medicine collaborator Elvira Pirondini uses stimulation in the thalamus, a central coordinator for the brain’s cerebral cortex, to help restore speech and motor function in patients recovering from stroke.

Other projects include helping surgeons better decide how much tissue is safe to remove during tumor resection, developing new spinal cord stimulation approaches for chronic pain, and building next-generation implantable sensors and closed-loop neuromodulation systems for movement and emotional disorders.

"As doctors, we typically stay in the OR, so we don't have many chances to interact with engineers," González-Martínez said. "We know the challenges and the gaps we need to work on, but we don't always know how to answer those challenges.”

Trainees will also complete a yearlong course, BIOENG 2805: Translational Neural Engineering, to explore the current landscape of neural engineering and identify paths for innovation. Both Batista and González-Martínez hope the program will end up doing far more than just train individual researchers — they see it as a first step toward building a lasting, formal bridge between engineering and medicine at the University.

"This is a very unique opportunity to finally create an educational environment that combines neural engineering and neurosurgery," González-Martínez said. "We’ve never had something like this, and it’s just the first step to creating a larger integration between bioengineering and neurosurgery.”

A multidisciplinary, multi-institutional group of researchers focused their expertise in genetics, mechanics, chemistry and biology on a chip the size of a postage stamp in order to model a particular class of heart conditions.

In a first for the field, a team led by Guang Li, associate professor in the School of Medicine’s Department of Cell Biology, has grown heart valves on organoids — miniature, simplified versions of a human heart chamber. This work, published August 11 in the journal Cell Stem Cell, is an important step toward better understanding and treating a number of serious heart disorders.

This kind of research often depends on animal models, which allow researchers to study the development of heart valves that grow much quicker than those of humans, which take nearly 10 weeks to fully develop.

Also, Li said, “human valves are very different from animal valves.” Imagine the physiological and genetic differences between a person and, for instance, a zebrafish. “To study human valve diseases, we need human valve models.”

Grown from pluripotent, adult human stem cells, organoids offer just such a model. The stem cells can be generated from skin, blood or other cells, then coaxed into developing into cells from a body part of interest. In this case, a human heart. Different types of organoids can be combined into “assembloids” to better model complex organs that natively originate from combinations of different tissues.

But a living, functioning heart is more than a cluster of certain types of cells. Its development and continued operation is dependent, among other things, on a complex interaction of different forces. To build analogs of those forces into the model, Li sought the engineering expertise of colleagues, including Lance Davidson, the William Kepler Whiteford Professor in the Swanson School of Engineering’s Department of Bioengineering, and Si-Yang Zhen, a professor of biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

“This kind of project is really a hallmark of the community of researchers in Pittsburgh,” Davidson said.

To create a model, Li grew a valve on the surface of a heart assembloid — two organoids made from different types of heart cells that were combined into one platform. Then the team went on, able to stimulate growth by designing ways to mimic the forces that would act on an embodied heart: a flowing medium to simulate blood, an endothelial culture to act as the cells that line heart valves and even a set of magnetized beads that moved according to the placement of a magnetic belt to mimic muscle contraction.

With the organoid working to replicate a heart with valves, the team now had a model they could use to study four types of valve disorders, including mitral valve prolapse (MVP), a genetic disorder affecting 7 million to 8 million individuals in the United States at any given time.

When Li introduced a mutation associated with the disease, the developing valves showed signs of MVP. In other cases, damage was simulated or introduced to mirror the damage that can occur to a person’s valves throughout life in conditions such as valve calcification, cryo-injury, and complications from hypoglycemia and diabetes.

Li was able to begin studying the organoids, identifying some pathways responsible for the development problems associated with MVP and ways they can be corrected. He was also able to develop models for the acquired deficiencies and will go on to look for ways to treat them.

Next, he plans to add complexity to his assembloids, growing two chambers with valves inside them, instead of on the surface, to better model a real human heart.

This research was supported in part by the University of Pittsburgh Center for Research Computing (RRID:SCR_022735); specifically, this work used the HTC cluster, supported by the National Institutes of Health (S10OD028483). Additional support was provided by the NIH (R00HL133472 and DP2HL163745) and by a Single Ventricle Research Fund grant from Additional Ventures.

Dopamine is a chemical messenger that regulates the brain’s circuits responsible for planning and executing controlled movement. Current treatments include deep-brain stimulation (DBS) via implanted electrodes to jam faulty signals caused by the neurodegeneration, often in conjunction with dopamine-promoting medication.

Helen Schwerdt, assistant professor of bioengineering, hypothesizes that using a separate brain probe to measure dopamine as a biomarker at a high resolution can help establish the optimum parameters for the use of DBS and medication, reduce side effects, and produce better clinical outcomes.

She and her second-year doctoral student, Ritesh Shrivastav, are the recipients of the 2026 Hunter Family Foundation Innovation in Neuroscience Program award, which supports translational research in neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh. Schwerdt and Shrivastav collaborate with Jorge González-Martínez, vice chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery, on the clinical applications of the technology.

“The field lacks knowledge of what abnormal dopamine signals look like in Parkinson’s that are potentially causing the motor issues in people suffering this disease,” Schwerdt said. “We’re trying to address this by creating a tool that can provide a readout of the dysregulated neurochemical environment to potentially personalize the treatment.”

Shrivastav, who has been working in Schwerdt’s lab since he was an undergraduate, said he learned of the Hunter program by attending the Community of Innovators meetings held weekly by the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship during both the fall and spring semesters.

“These high-risk/high-reward studies are difficult to get funded, but are exactly how device feasibility must be proven for clinical translation,” he said. “My interest is in translating these tools for research and commercial use. The Hunter funding is critical for validating clinical use cases for our probe.”

The award funds will be used to conduct animal and human studies in which their dopamine sensor can be incorporated into neurosurgical procedures performed by González-Martínez.

“Deep brain stimulation has been around for decades now, but nobody knows for sure how it works,” Shrivastav said. “These studies will help us determine dopamine’s value as a biomarker for the first time and how it can be measured to improve clinical outcomes. If we are successful, we can move onto regulatory testing and potentially pursue the approvals necessary to get this to market and improve patients’ lives.”

“Dr. Schwerdt and her team are tackling one of the most persistent unknowns in Parkinson’s care: what’s actually happening at the neurochemical level during deep brain stimulation. If their dopamine biomarker proves successful, it could transform DBS from a broadly effective but imprecise tool into a truly personalized therapy — one that’s calibrated to each patient’s unique neurochemistry,” said Evan Facher, vice chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship and associate dean for commercial translation at the Pitt School of Medicine. “That kind of impact, translating fundamental bioengineering research into real clinical benefit for people living with Parkinson’s, is precisely what the Hunter Family Foundation Innovation in Neuroscience Program was created to accelerate.”

The Hunter Program is made possible by the generous support of the Hunter Family Foundation. Learn more.

This article was originally published by the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (7/28/26). Reposted with permission.

Reem Alhalabe, a fourth-year PhD student in the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering Department of Bioengineering, has been named a winner of the inaugural Engineering Graduate Student Organization (EGSO) Leadership and Service Award.

Alhalabe was recognized for her two years of leadership within the Graduate Biomedical Engineering Society (Graduate BMES). First as treasurer and then as president, Alhalabe’s involvement in the organization grew out of watching how student-led initiatives can shape a supportive graduate experience.

As treasurer, Alhalabe worked closely with every officer to budget and fund Graduate BMES events. In her role as president, she collaborated with the BMES board to develop a monthly email series recognizing graduate student accomplishments and launched an end-of-year celebration for the group. In addition, she expanded professional development programming on industry careers and entrepreneurship.

"This achievement is not only mine, it’s the result of the entire incredible 2025–2026 board," Alhalabe said.

Alhalabe and co-winner Lauren Wewer, a 4th year material science and engineering PhD student, will be recognized for this honor at a closed ceremony in April of 2027.

Q: Can you briefly introduce yourself?

Rachel McLoughlin: I’m in my first year of my PhD in Bioengineering at Pitt, and I’m working under Dr. April Chambers in the Human Movement and Balance Laboratory (HMBL). Prior to starting my PhD, I completed both my undergraduate degree and my DPT here. My undergraduate education included a B.S. in Bioengineering along with a minor in Exercise Science. Both my undergraduate and graduate engineering studies focused on biomechanics.

Q: Why did you want to pursue both a PhD and a DPT, not one or the other?

Rachel McLoughlin: Sports have always been a cornerstone of my life, from the time I began playing recreational soccer at four years old to high school, where I was a three-sport athlete. Throughout my athletic career, I saw firsthand the debilitating effects that injuries have on athletes. Therefore, I decided that I wanted to center my future career around shortening the time athletes spend on the sidelines due to injury. 

When I visited Pitt as a high school senior and witnessed the deep-rooted collaboration between bioengineering research labs and medical facilities, I knew I had found the school for me. I chose to pursue both a DPT and a PhD because together they equip me to make the greatest impact on injured athletes. The DPT provides me with a deep understanding of the human body and allows me to interact directly with patients through clinical practice. Regularly helping patients rehab back to the activities they love gives me a more immediate sense of fulfillment while also revealing the unmet clinical needs that inspire my research. The PhD allows me to investigate those unmet needs and gives me the technical skills to develop solutions that can make a greater long-term difference in the field. The teaching responsibilities that accompany the PhD present additional opportunities for impact through sharing information with the next generation of clinicians and engineers. 

Q: Where do your specific research / clinical interests lie? What are you working on at the moment?

Rachel McLoughlin: My specific research and clinical interests lie in sports performance. Seeing an athlete get injured is devastating, but being in the trenches with them each day after to support them through rehab and then watching them take the field for the first time post-injury is a feeling unlike any other. I also think the interdisciplinary collaboration that occurs within high-level sports teams is fascinating and presents countless opportunities for learning. Because I’m still in my first year of my PhD, I’m working on a few different projects to explore potential thesis topics. I’m planning a research study in collaboration with the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition to determine the accuracy of markerless motion capture for analyzing common weightlifting movements. I’ve also helped collect biomechanical pitching data for the baseball team and hope to conduct a similar analysis for the softball team. In addition, I’ve been working on data collection and analysis for a project in collaboration with Dr. Benedict Alter, Director of Translational Pain Research in the School of Medicine's Division of Pain Medicine, to investigate the relationship between pain signals in the brain, joint biomechanics, and physical therapy outcome measure scores in individuals with knee osteoarthritis.

Q: How has your experience been so far? What have you learned that surprised you?

Rachel McLoughlin: My experience has been great so far! One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is how differently people from different disciplines approach the same problem. That may seem relatively obvious, but in interdisciplinary clinical and research settings, it can almost seem like people are speaking different languages. Even though everyone is working toward a common goal, their individual priorities are based on their specific backgrounds and experience. Now that I have both an engineering degree and a clinical degree, I’ve been surprised to see how my problem-solving thought process has evolved. I feel like I can see both sides more clearly, so it’s become much easier to collaborate across disciplines and find common ground.

Q: What would you say are some of your favorite aspects of the program?

Rachel McLoughlin: My favorite aspect of the program so far has been the community. My class in the DPT program was very close-knit. We spent nearly every day together for two and a half years! Everyone was constantly rooting for each other’s success, and we started fun traditions like ice cream Thursdays and run club Saturdays to maintain a good school-life balance. I’ve been excited to start carrying these traditions over to my lab now too! Both the DPT and Bioengineering faculty have also been extremely supportive throughout my time at Pitt. They lift me up when I doubt myself and are always willing to use their expansive networks to help me advance towards my dream career. I feel fortunate to have so many mentors pour into my development.

Q: Any challenges or details that prospective students should know about?

Rachel McLoughlin: At times, the amount of school I committed myself to can seem daunting. My time at Pitt has honestly flown by, though, and I can’t believe that I’m already past the halfway point here. The main thing I would advise prospective students to be aware of is the transition between each phase of the program. Physical therapy and engineering require different ways of thinking and learning, so it can take some time and patience to adjust back and forth and realize that they complement each other. It’s well worth it, though, and that’s where I found it especially beneficial to lean on my classmates and professors. If you’re considering the program, I’d be happy to answer questions or share more about my experience. Please don’t hesitate to reach out ◡̈

After finishing his undergraduate program, Rohan worked as a laser engineer for SightPath Medical. In this role, he operated, maintained, and repaired Alcon LenSx lasers, devices commonly used in cataract surgeries. His favorite part of the role was interacting with patients and knowing that his work made a positive difference in their care. After two years, Rohan decided it was time to advance his career and began searching for a master’s program to continue his educational journey.

In March 2025, Rohan attended a virtual open house for the Pitt MS-MPE program, where he spoke with Dr. Khanwilkar, Dr. Boukaabar, and Dr. Hirschman. After hearing about the program’s offerings, Rohan knew Pitt was the right fit. In the MS-MPE program, Rohan has been impressed with the variety of coursework made available that allows students to explore different areas of biomedical engineering. He also appreciates the program’s networking requirements, which encouraged him to step outside his comfort zone and build valuable industry connections in Pittsburgh.

In addition to being a student in the MS-MPE program, Rohan serves as the Master’s Liaison for the Graduate Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) at Pitt. He functions as the channel of communication between the master’s students and the Graduate Board where he organizes events and looks for opportunities to enhance the program. Being part of BMES has strengthened his leadership, organizational, and event-planning skills through coordinating student events. He recently organized a Graduate Networking Night in Spring 2026, featuring representatives from several Pittsburgh-based companies seeking biomedical engineers to join their teams, as well as an Industry Panel in April 2026 with professionals and PhD candidates discussing career paths and the local job landscape.

Rohan is currently conducting research under Dr. Zervantonakis at the University of Pittsburgh and looks forward to completing his Master’s in Medical Product Engineering next semester. As he explores future career options, Rohan remains excited about the opportunities ahead and the chance to continue making a positive impact through biomedical innovation.

A new publication from University of Pittsburgh researchers offers some answers. In "Advanced Tissue Clearing and Three-Dimensional Imaging Approaches to Visualize Neural Innervation in the Rat Knee Joints” (doi.org/10.1038/s44303-026-00167-6), Alejandro Almarza, professor of oral and craniofacial sciences in the School of Dental Medicine with a secondary appointment in the Swanson School of Engineering’s Department of Bioengineering, used specialized imaging techniques to map the architecture of nerves inside knee joint tissue. For Almarza, this research lays critical groundwork for visualizing how nerve patterns in densely innervated joints are related to pain, allowing him to better understand disorders of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

“Most of us go through life without much pain in the face that isn't related to a tooth, but the TMD umbrella is very broad, and the cause behind that pain is relatively unknown,” Almarza said. “For the vast majority of TMDs, we're dealing with muscle-based or joint-related problems, and this work could help us understand why these occur." 

A Joint Effort 

TMJs on both sides of the face connect the jawbone to the skull and act like a sliding hinge, allowing us to talk, chew and yawn. The relationship between nerve density and pain in joints like the TMJ is relatively unknown, and the traditional method for studying these joint nerves involves slicing tissue into thin slivers and staining them with dyes to make nerve cells visible under a microscope.

Cutting tissue apart, however, destroys its three-dimensional structure, making it impossible to see how the nerves branch throughout a joint. To get a clear picture of these nerve structures in 3D, Almarza partnered with two professors from Pitt's Center for Biologic Imaging (CBI) to use both light sheet fluorescence microscopy and an imaging technique known as tissue clearing. 

“Tissue clearing makes an entire piece of tissue transparent for 3D imaging so you can visualize the nerves inside, and the microscope we used works like a wall of light sweeping through the volume of tissue all at once, making it faster than a traditional microscope while still achieving near-confocal resolution with minimal tissue damage,” Almarza said. “Some of the best of these systems in the world are custom-built here at Pitt by Simon Watkins, and the clearing methods have been developed by Alan Watson."

Watkins, distinguished professor of cell biology and immunology, founded the CBI in 1991. Unlike a typical fee-based core facility, CBI faculty collaborate directly with researchers to design specialized microscopes and imaging techniques from the ground up. While Watkins is the expert in building the scopes themselves, his colleague Alan Watson, associate professor of cell biology, provides the other half of the equation: the computing infrastructure, tissue clearing protocols, and programming expertise to store and analyze the enormous volumes of data these systems produce. Because no current commercial solution exists for imaging nerves inside of large, dense tissue, the team built one.

“Clearing joint tissue isn't entirely new, but it presents some really interesting challenges. Alejandro came to us with a problem that was hard to deal with, one we'd also struggled with for years, and as a group we were able to work together and find a solution," Watson said. “And these high-speed imaging techniques generate enormous amounts of data, so we've developed high-performance computing systems to store, process and visualize it all.” 

Clearing the Way for Understanding Pain

The team ultimately compared two tissue clearing methods: PEGASOS, a previously established protocol for bone-containing tissue, and c-Clear, developed in-house at the CBI. PEGASOS left behind autofluorescence protein that both blocked the microscope’s laser from fully penetrating the tissue and caused high background, but c-Clear introduced a 24-hour photobleaching step that inactivated those molecules before staining, allowing fluorescent antibodies to bind to neurofilament and produce a complete three-dimensional map of the joint's nerves. 

“The c-Clear method takes about six to eight weeks to obtain an image, making it far more labor and time-intensive than normal histological methods, but the result is an extremely powerful and clear representation of how these nerves branch,” Almarza said. 

C-Clear does come with one significant caveat: the sheer size of the data it generates. A single three-dimensional nerve map of the knee contains about one terabyte of information, and the full collection from the project runs about 16 terabytes. Luckily, supporting that feat is the CBI's computing infrastructure: seven petabytes of storage and an H200 GPU cluster used to stitch, clean and analyze every dataset, making it possible to deposit the full collection publicly for anyone to access and download on the National Institute of Health’s SPARC Portal. 

"I believe we’re the first to publish this new type of imaging dataset on the portal,” Almarza said. “The photos and videos are amazing, and our next challenge is quantification and figuring out the computational pipelines to really analyze what we're seeing."

Ultimately, looking at a rat's knee may seem far removed from the joint that helps humans chew and talk, but the connection is deliberate. Through the NIH HEAL Initiative, Almarza is part of the ReJoin Consortium, a $50 million project aimed at mapping nerve architecture across joints, species and disease states to expand understanding of pain signaling in collaboration with the University of Florida's Kyle Allen, Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, and Robert Caudle.   With c-Clear now validated on some of the most challenging tissue the consortium has yet encountered, Almarza can turn his attention to the structure he set out to study all along. 

"There are a lot of people whose radiographs look like they should have pain in their TMJ, but they're actually talking just fine," Almarza said. "Is it because of the type of nerves in there? And why is it different from people with pain? That's the type of question this research is hoping to answer."

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The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) - PhD in Bioengineering program, a collaboration between the Swanson School of Engineering and the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS), has been awarded a NIH T32 training grant. Co-directed by Rakié Cham, professor of bioengineering, and Patrick Sparto, professor of physical therapy, the five-year grant offers annual funding for students to integrate a physical therapy education with bioengineering research training, training clinician-scientists to be leaders in rehabilitation research. 

"Whether our trainees ultimately go into physical therapy or bioengineering in their career, this program allows them to become better clinical researchers." Cham said. "A physical therapist with strong technical skills can tackle the right research questions, and an engineer with clinical training will better understand what's relevant to patients."

Students begin the dual-degree program by pursuing their DPT at SHRS in the Department of Physical Therapy, then transitioning to a research lab of their choice to obtain a PhD in Bioengineering. Throughout both the DPT and PhD curriculum, trainees funded by this grant will complete integrated clinical and bioengineering research training, including mentored research, lab rotations, seminars, clinical practice, and teaching experience. 

“This is a great opportunity for both faculty and students.” Sparto said. “The potential pool of PhD advisors expands, because advisors know upfront that a student already has two years of support, allowing more freedom for our students to pursue their research interests and helping our faculty plan ahead when taking on a new student.”

The grant will support each student with one year of tuition during their DPT education, two years of support toward their PhD studies, and an additional stipend to help cover cost of living expenses. 

“We have a wonderful group of participating faculty with a variety of diverse research programs and experience that students can go into, and our alumni have gone on to be really successful in their careers and with postdoctoral fellowships.” Sparto said. “I think these outcomes have really helped to demonstrate the power of funding a program like this to benefit our students.”

The stories below attest to that fact. While professors who remained in Pittsburgh may have felt the pull of their labs, graduate students, and service obligations, they still had the much-needed time and space that took them in new directions. Their experiences highlight that intention, planning, flexibility, and curiosity – not travel – are the essential ingredients to a productive, inspiring, even life-changing sabbatical.

“I needed the chance to take a deep dive.”

Ready to redirect his research, Daniel Cole, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Director of Pitt’s Cyber Energy Center, finally took a sabbatical 17 years after he started a Pitt.

“It was simply time,” Cole said. “Not enough people take sabbaticals.”

Cole partnered with the Idaho National Lab (INL), working closely with chief cybersecurity scientist Greg Shannon. With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, he spent a year exploring how formal methods, a mathematical approach used to test complex systems, could be applied to controls, safety, and security of critical infrastructure.

The partnership, which INL profiled, provided Cole an opportunity that he missed. “Too often as professors, we’re managing research. Now I could explore new ideas, try things, ask ‘what if,’ and write. I read a lot, learned new coding languages, and struggled in ways I never would have under normal day-to-day responsibilities.”

While Cole wishes he could have spent his sabbatical in Idaho, he was glad he took a full year. “The separation is valuable. Ideally, you go somewhere, have an experience, and bring it back to Pitt to make it better.”

He may have stayed home, but he still brought something important to Pitt, the Swanson School, and the Cyber Energy Center.

In addition to building connections with a national lab and its researchers, Cole said, “I brought back technologies and approaches related to rigorous digital engineering, which help ensure safety and security for critical infrastructure.”

“It’s easy to lose those connections.”

Julie Vandenbossche, professor of civil and environmental engineering and the department’s Associate Chair of Research, also stayed in Pittsburgh for her recent sabbatical. But this didn’t hinder her ability to connect with collaborators across the country and pursue new research. 

“Balancing teaching, service, and research makes it challenging to expand into new areas, search for new funding opportunities, and build the background and connections needed to move work forward,” said Vandenbossche, who researches concrete pavements and cementitious materials.

During her sabbatical, she explored cement chemistry, particularly in relation to low-carbon concrete. “I explored different materials being used, met with manufacturers that produce alternative materials, and became more familiar with the manufacturing process.”

Vandenbossche is building collaborations as well, connecting with researchers at the University of California Davis and with the National Road Research Alliance. She reconnected with collaborators here in Pittsburgh and visited peers around the country, with a side trip to Alaska.

Remaining in Pittsburgh was not without its drawbacks. She was pulled toward the University and obligations there in a way that distance might have helped limit. Yet the time for reflection proved invaluable. “From a research perspective, I thought about where I want to go over the next five years and how to move forward in that direction.”

“It extended well beyond four months.”

Aaron Batista, professor of bioengineering, waited 17 years before taking his first sabbatical, and when he did, he knew he would stay close to home.

“I have young children and a long-established lab, and leaving town was unrealistic,” said Batista, who researches neuroscience and neural engineering.

As for why he was ready for a sabbatical, Batista added, “I was starting to feel a little too narrowly focused on what I was doing in my own lab, and I wanted to get a sense for what else was happening around me.”

That changed last year after he observed a neurosurgical procedure conducted by his colleague Jorge Gonzalez-Martinez, in the School of Medicine Neurological Surgery.

“The first time I walked into an operating room, I was struck by how complex and coordinated everything was,” Batista said. “Neurosurgery is deeply collaborative.

“That first day clarified my sabbatical plan, and I began spending two days a week observing neurosurgeries. These experiences reshaped how I think about bioengineering and the role it can play in patient care.”

Batista began collaborating closely with Gonzalez-Martinez, exploring how engineering approaches could improve surgical procedures and expand treatments. “Our conversations went far beyond the operating room. We talked about better electrodes, faster procedures, and expanding the diseases a surgeon could treat.”

From the collaboration has come a National Institute of Health T32 grant that, if funded, will train engineers to work alongside clinicians during neurosurgical procedures and identify opportunities to expand treatment options and improve outcomes. The grant will expand the Department of Bioengineering’s scope with the new focus on neuroengineering and neuroscience.

“Sabbaticals don’t have to involve international travel or leaving campus entirely,” Batista said. “Mine was local, structured, and manageable, with minimal disruption to my lab and teaching responsibilities. The return on that investment was enormous: renewed energy, new collaborations, and a clearer sense of purpose.”

Like so many Pitt engineers who have taken sabbaticals, his experience reflects that it doesn’t matter how far one travels, but how significantly one is changed. Echoing many of his colleagues, Batista said, “Looking back now, this was one of the most meaningful periods of my career.”

Jana first heard about the co-op opportunity during a career fair at Pitt in the fall of 2025, where she met the Director of Biocompatibility at Philips. After speaking with him, she realized her background in biomedical engineering and medical device development aligned well with the opportunity. The MS-MPE program further strengthened her preparation for the co-op because of the program’s focus on medical device development, collaboration with clinicians, and real-world projects. She feels that the skills she has learned as part of the program helped build her confidence in speaking about various projects and experiences during interviews and networking events. 

After applying and completing the interview process, Jana was able to begin her co-op. As a Biological Safety Engineer co-op, she prepares technical reports that align with ISO 10993 and ISO 18562 standards for medical devices. She also assists in writing Biological Evaluation Plans (BEPs) and Biological Evaluation Reports (BERs) to support regulatory submissions and product safety evaluations. The primary focus of her job is to ensure respiratory devices meet biocompatibility and biological safety requirements for patient use. Beyond her primary responsibilities, Jana was also given the opportunity to collaborate on engineering projects in other departments and gain more exposure to different aspects of medical device development. 

Working at Philips, Jana has been able to expand her technical skills through collaboration with other departments. She has learned to design models and drawings for various projects using Creo, a CAD software that she had not used previously. These models and drawings were related to cleaning and disinfectant procedures, as well as respiratory blower verification testing. 

Jana says that the experience has only reinforced her passion for medical device development, specifically devices that improve patient care and safety. It also gave her valuable industry experience in regulatory documentation, engineering collaboration, and validation testing. She spoke very highly of the company culture at Philips, noting that everyone has been very welcoming and supportive, including her managers and supervisors. There are plenty of opportunities to connect with coworkers through team events, and Jana has been able to build relationships that have made the entire experience more meaningful. 

Uber brings a background in electrical engineering and applied science with decades of experience driving healthcare and biotechnology innovation. Prior to joining Pitt, he served as a Distinguished Science Fellow at Bayer Pharmaceuticals where he contributed to device research and early development of medical technologies. He earned his B.S., M.S., and PhD in Electrical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. The work Uber has accomplished throughout his career demonstrates a commitment to engineering and medical technology advancements. 

At Pitt, Uber will contribute his expertise to mentor students pursuing careers in medical product development and engineering. We are excited to have him as part of the Pitt community! 

This honor is the highest distinction conferred by WACBE, established to recognize extraordinary lifetime contributions that have fundamentally transformed biomedical engineering and society. Woo, a founding president of the organization, has authored more than 311 peer-reviewed publications and worked with over 640 students and fellows throughout his five-decade career at Pitt’s Musculoskeletal Research Center and UC San Diego’s Orthopaedic Bioengineering Laboratory. His pioneering work on ligament and tendon biomechanics, knee joint mechanics, and tissue engineering has set the scientific foundation for generations of research.

Woo has also been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering and Academia Sinica, only one of five people who have gained all three of these honors.  He is also the recipient of the 1998 Olympic Prize for Sports Medicine from the International Olympic Committee and the first Olympic Gold Medal at the Nagano Games in Japan.

“This is the first and only time that I have received an award bearing Professor Fung’s name. His mentorship throughout my 20 years at USCD and our close friendship shaped both my scientific thinking and my approach to teaching.” Woo said. “His vision, humility, philosophy, integrity and dedication to advancing biomedical engineering continue to guide me every day. I thank the WACBE for giving me this coveted prize and trust that all of you could appreciate how much I am loving it.”

Named in honor of Yuan-Cheng Fung, regarded as the “father of biomechanics,” the award recognizes groundbreaking, long-term contributions to biomedical engineering, global impact through research, education, leadership, or translation, and a career that serves as a lasting legacy for future generations. The award will be presented at the 12th WACBE World Congress of Bioengineering in Changzhou, China, July 28–31, 2026.

A student at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering was awarded a prestigious fellowship to support his research on tissue-engineered vascular grafts.

Leon Min, a second-year PhD student in the Department of Bioengineering and the School of Medicine’s Medical Scientist Training Program, has been awarded a Predoctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association (AHA). This award provides stipend support and research funding to outstanding doctoral students conducting cardiovascular and stroke research, and this two-year fellowship will support both his doctoral research and his development as a physician-scientist in the field.

Min's research addresses an unmet need in vascular surgery: many patients who require bypass procedures lack suitable autologous vessels. While tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) are a promising alternative, their development has been hampered by complications including thrombosis, intimal hyperplasia, and unfavorable host responses. Under the mentorship of Professor of Bioengineering Jonathan Vande Geest, Min is investigating a TEVG platform that incorporates urinary bladder matrix (UBM), a natural extracellular matrix material derived from porcine urinary bladder, together with advanced fabrication techniques. 

“UBM has been shown to promote anti-inflammatory macrophage polarization and constructive tissue remodeling in a variety of applications, including clinical use in hernia repair and preclinical studies of cardiac patches,” Min said. “Our work is among the first to investigate whether this immune-modulating effect extends to the vascular graft context, and how it may influence graft remodeling over time.”

Beyond his research, Min is obtaining exposure to treatment of patients with peripheral vascular disease through shadowing Natalie Sridharan, associate professor in the Department of Vascular Surgery. Min is also a trainee in the NIH T32 Cardiovascular Bioengineering Training Program (CBTP), serves as Vice President of the Engineering Graduate Student Organization (EGSO) and Professional Development Chair of the Graduate Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and is a member of the Eastern Vascular Society.

“This fellowship is about building a research profile recognized in the cardiovascular community, not just within my PhD program,” Min said. “It will allow me to continue conducting rigorous research that can translate into meaningful patient impact.”

The winning paper, “Validation of a Multiscale Hysteresis Mechanics Model in Predicting Oily Shoe-Floor Friction Across Surfaces With Varying Finishes,” tackles a common hazard: floors made slippery by oil. The team, including Henry Ing (BS BioE ‘22, MS ‘24), Professor of Bioengineering Kurt Beschorner, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Tevis Jacobs, validated a model that predicts how much friction exists between a shoe sole and a floor surface when a contaminant is present. The paper was part of Ing's master's thesis, conducted under the direction of Beschorner in the Human Movement & Balance Laboratory (HMBL).

"Our research team has been focused on advancing insights on how shoe-floor friction develops,” Beschorner said. “These insights enable us to develop tools like Henry's model that can aid footwear companies in designing safer products. Henry had an incredible contribution to the overall effort to make shoes safer, and I am very proud that his work was recognized by the journal."

By testing three shoe types across ten different tile surfaces, they confirmed the model works reliably across a range of surface textures and sole materials. Footwear and flooring manufacturers can use this model to more efficiently develop products that improve traction, and workplaces can better understand and reduce slip-and-fall risks, one of the most common causes of workplace injury. 

“The primary benefits of this paper are the increased efficiency of selecting outsole materials or surfaces to maximize friction and an improved understanding of how contaminants affect friction,” Ing said. “This can be helpful for workplaces trying to decrease slip risks, or for footwear or floor companies trying to develop materials or surfaces, respectively, that contribute to increased friction.”

Ing has since completed an additional MS in Sports Product Management at the University of Oregon and will soon begin work as a perception researcher at Brooks Running.

"I did not expect to win best paper and was shocked to hear the news," said Ing. "I am incredibly honored, and more than anything I think this is a reflection of the quality of work that the Human Movement & Balance Laboratory and the Tevis Jacobs Lab do, as well as how amazing Dr. Beschorner is as a mentor and researcher."

Renerva, Inc., led by Chief Technology Officer Bryan Brown (BioE PhD '10), professor of bioengineering at Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering, and CEO Lorenzo Soletti (BioE PhD '08), successfully implanted the first patient with its Renerva PNM-CAP™ device at The Ohio State University (OSU) Wexner Medical Center. The procedure was led by Principal Investigator Amy M. Moore, MD, Interim Dean of the OSU College of Medicine.

"From a bioengineering perspective, we know that simply putting a mechanical block over a severed nerve isn't enough to stop neuroma formation," Brown said. “PNM-CAP is engineered to intervene at the site of the nerve injury, guiding tissue repair in a way that stops uncontrolled nerve growth and entanglement before the onset of pain." 

The Renerva PNM-CAP™ is designed to prevent neuroma formation, a painful, disorganized nerve growth that commonly develops after amputation and other nerve injuries. Neuroma formation is a primary driver of chronic pain and opioid dependence among the more than two million Americans living with limb loss.

"This is a monumental milestone," said Soletti. “We moved from FDA Investigational Device Exemption approval to first-in-human implantation in just a few months."

.

“None,” his colleague said. “That's just a piece of tissue I put under the microscope.”

"My jaw dropped," said Vande Geest, professor of bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering. “The ability to image collagen in 3D without fixing it first means I can look at it under mechanical load, and I can also watch it grow and change. As a soft tissue biomechanist, there is really no better thing."

Two-photon microscopy is just one of the many impactful imaging modalities that are put to work across Pitt’s campus. Bioengineering researchers like Vande Geest have built the tools and expertise to ask and answer questions that couldn't have been posed before, from the tiniest cellular movements to the complex architecture of the aging human brain.

Two-Photon Microscopy

Two-photon microscopy fires pulses of infrared light into tissue. Unlike conventional light, infrared travels deep without scattering, but it only produces fluorescence at the precise focal point where the beam converges. At Pitt’s Center for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, you willl find a few of these microscopes, each customized for a different scientific purpose. One of these devices is helping Takashi (TK) Kozai, Ernest E. Roth professor of bioengineering, peer into the brain to analyze a largely unexplored corner of neuroscience. 

"Brain tissue is like a very foggy, hazy environment, and neurons aren't on the surface level, so we have to image a little deeper to actually see them," said Kozai. “That’s where two-photon comes into play and can help us see very specific areas of the brain.”

Kozai’s team studies what happens when devices like electrodes are implanted, not just to neurons, but to the surrounding community of glial cells. Because glial cells don't generate electrical signals that electrodes can detect, they are effectively invisible to conventional methods. 

"But with 2P, you can label different subtypes of neurons or other cell-types so that you can see which ones are activated under which type of stimulus," Kozai said. "You can decode beyond what an electrode can decode."

Kozai’s microscope is available for researchers of all disciplines to use, which helps him better understand how to improve the long-term performance of implanted devices toward the ultimate goal of restoring motor function in people with spinal cord injuries or treating vision loss in patients who are blind. Vande Geest, on the other hand, uses his scope for different terrain entirely: studying the extracellular matrix of soft tissues found in the eye, blood vessels, peripheral nerves, and more. Collagen, the structural protein that gives these tissues their mechanical character, produces a signal under two-photon illumination that makes it visible without any dye or label. More importantly, it stays visible while the tissue is alive, under load, and changing over time.

"I study how tissues are built and how they change, and this is the system that lets me do it. I can image it, deform it, and image it again," he said. “I can literally watch collagen remodel.”

Vande Geest has also reconfigured his microscope to function as a 3D printer that can fabricate structures at the scale of individual cells. The same instrument that shows the architecture of a tissue sample can now print scaffolds that replicate it, opening a path toward implantable tissues that could treat vascular and ocular disease.

“A majority of the intellectual property (IP) I've developed involves benchtop platforms for mimicking human disease in 3D tissue culture," Vande Geest said. "We can take human stem cells, differentiate them, and assemble them into something that might actually tell a clinician whether a patient should be treated more aggressively for something like glaucoma, and that specialized platform gives you information that clinical measurement alone just can't."

A Picture’s Worth 

For Lance Davidson, William Kepler Whiteford Professor of bioengineering, collecting an image is only the beginning. Using traditional confocal microscopy, which uses focused laser light to build three-dimensional images one optical slice at a time, his lab studies how cells rearrange inside tissues under mechanical stress, using frog embryos as a model system. These embryos are optically transparent and mechanically tractable in ways that make them ideal for stretching, compressing, and perturbing living tissue while imaging what happens inside it.

"We use a lot of microscopy to collect images, and it's all light microscopy, not anything too complex." Davidson said. "But we combine these tools with molecular genetic approaches, so we can install a fluorescent protein within a cell or tissue that indicates where forces are generated, or how material properties adapt to the environment.”

After collecting time-lapse sequences of cells moving through a tissue, Davidson’s team builds custom image processing pipelines that segment individual cells, track which cells are neighbors at each time point, and quantify how frequently and in what direction those relationships change. In a recent study, that analysis revealed something novel in the raw footage: a pair of counter-rotating flows inside a developing tissue, moving in opposite directions.

 "Once we processed it, we could see these really incredible flows.” Davidson said. “They looked like tropical cyclones or vortices on the surface of the sun, and so we turned to quantify the strength of those rotations using tools borrowed from astrophysics."

For Davidson, however, the most important work happens after the microscope turns off. A striking image is still just a picture until it's been broken down, processed, and reduced to something a statistician can work with.

"The adage ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ is actually quite terrible for science," Davidson said. “Numbers are like currency, and we use images to get that currency, so you really want each picture to be worth a single number."

Sound as Sight

Of all the imaging modalities in use, ultrasound may be the easiest to underestimate. It's one of the oldest, the most affordable, the most common, and it doesn't carry the glamour of a two-photon beam. But across the university, researchers are finding new uses for it that go far beyond the routine. 

Kozai's lab, for instance, recently found that low-intensity ultrasound can reduce the glial scarring that builds up around implanted brain electrodes, keeping signals clearer over time and opening new possibilities for modulating non-neuronal brain cells. In addition, Kang Kim, professor of bioengineering and medicine at UPMC’s Heart and Vascular Institute, is also pushing ultrasound far beyond its typical uses.

"Ultrasound has been out there for decades," Kim said. "It's safe, non-invasive, and real-time. But because of how well we understand physics, we can now start to combine it with other modalities and push it in directions people didn't think were possible."

One of Kim’s current projects involves a catheter-based imaging system designed to peer inside blood vessels at the microscopic level. The project addresses plaque vulnerability, assessing which arterial plaques are likely to rupture and send a clot toward the heart or brain. One signature of a dangerous plaque is the presence of tiny microvessels growing within it, and to detect them, Kim's team developed an intravascular probe and signal processing approach that can image those structures at scales previously considered beyond the physical limits of the modality.

"We claim this is one of the first kinds of intravascular super-resolution imaging of microvessels," Kim said. "There are emerging fields even beyond imaging where ultrasound can be used. It is not just a tool for looking; it is becoming a tool for doing."

MRI and the Whole-Brain Picture

While microscopes allow for cellular or tissue analysis and ultrasound can peer inside vessels and soft tissue in real time, there's a hard physical limit to how deep light can travel. When researchers need to see the structure, connectivity, and metabolic activity of the entire brain, they turn to MRI. 

Bistra Iordanova uses a combination of optical imaging techniques in her work, but uses structural and functional MRI (fMRI) in tandem with optical approaches to get a window into brain-wide activity that no light-based  system can match.

"With optics, we can get the cell resolution, but MRI covers the entire brain at once, which makes it indispensable for questions about large-scale connectivity and system-wide disease," said Iordanova, assistant professor of bioengineering. “Structural MRI shows the size and shape of brain regions and how they change with age, while fMRI tracks blood flow oxygenation as a proxy for neural activity in real time.”

Using these techniques, she's currently working on a methodologically unusual project: directly comparing data between mice and humans to help design multiscale models of how brain metabolism can change the risk for dementia. This approach spans three scales: two-photon microscopy to quantify blood cell velocity, neural activity, and metabolite levels at the cellular level; wide-field imaging to capture how mitochondrial activity moves across cortical networks; and whole-brain MRI to explore how energy metabolism shapes functional connectivity across both animal models and human cohorts.

"To make these comparisons work, we transform the imaging data to the same parameters," Iordanova said. "In the human brain, a vessel might be two centimeters long, but in a mouse brain, it’s two millimeters. And a mouse only lives two years while a human lives 80. This kind of cross-species translation can actually be quite difficult, but it's where the real clinical relevance lies.” 

Building the Brain Scan

While many researchers like Iordanova are using the existing MRI scanners in their work, Tamer Ibrahim, professor of bioengineering, has spent more than 20 years engineering the technology itself. 

For MRI, the stronger the magnetic field, the greater the signal-to-noise ratio, and the finer the structural detail that becomes visible. But scanners at a high magnetic field like 7 Tesla come with a serious engineering problem: the interactions between high-frequency electromagnetic waves and human tissue can create dead zones in the image, or regions of the brain that simply produce no signal. 

Ibrahim's lab, the 7 Tesla Bioengineering Research Program (7TBRP), has solved this problem with a custom radiofrequency coil system called Tic-Tac-Toe, and its second-generation successor, the Tac G2, introduced in 2022. The Tac G2 is, by Ibrahim's account, the only system in the world that has comprehensively eliminated the signal void problem, allowing researchers to run any type of MRI study at 7T without imaging barriers.

"There are significant challenges when scanning at 7T," Ibrahim said. "But our anti-claustrophobia Tac G2 coil system is, to my knowledge, the only one in the world that has successfully and comprehensively solved this problem.” 

The practical consequences are substantial. A study published in Human Brain Mapping from Ibrahim's team, comparing 3T and 7T performance across 350 healthy adults, found that 7T produces stronger correlations with age-related brain changes across every measure examined such as cortical volume, subcortical volume, white matter, cortical thickness. More importantly, it found a study that would require 350 participants at 3T could achieve the same statistical significance with approximately 100 participants at 7T.

That efficiency gain means that studies that were previously too expensive, too slow, or too logistically demanding to conduct become feasible. Since the Tac G2's introduction, it has been used in more than 2,500 human scans, already surpassing its predecessor's total in less than half the time. More than 40 NIH-funded studies across aging, psychiatry, neurology, and neuroscience are currently running on the system.

"When our coils are used in human studies, it's incredibly rewarding, far more rewarding than just publishing a paper," he said. "We're developing devices that clinicians and scientists use, and the result isn't just pretty pictures. We're not making something that just could be used some time in the future, we’re impacting human life now."

The Full Picture

These researchers work with different tools, different tissues, and different diseases, yet the opportunity for collaboration between modalities seems to increase by the day. A shared conviction ties all of their work together: there is no perfect imaging modality. Every technique involves tradeoffs between resolution and depth, speed and sensitivity, invasiveness and detail. For Iordanova, those limitations are precisely what makes the field so interesting and allows for such innovation. 

"If you don't have solid image analysis, it doesn't matter if you have a fancy machine," she said. "That's the beauty of bioengineering - you get to reach into any pocket you want. Optics, electrical engineering, image processing, artificial intelligence. The biology department says stick to cells, the electrical engineering department says just do the signal processing, but bioengineering lets you have it all."

Interested in using a 2P microscope for your research project? Contact TK Kozai for more information at tdk18@pitt.edu. 

Kim's research focuses on the development and application of ultrasound-based hybrid imaging systems capable of characterizing the structural, mechanical, and compositional properties of tissues and organs. Drawing on the physical principles governing the interaction of sound and light waves with soft tissues, Kim develops novel multi-physics imaging technologies to advance functional imaging capabilities in biomedical applications.

Kim has been a member of the ASA since 2015, where he has organized special sessions, served as a Technical Program Organizing Committee Member for the Biomedical Acoustics Technical Section, and was recently elected Chair of the Biomedical Acoustics Technical Committee (BATC) for a three-year term beginning in 2026.

"The ASA has shaped my career in meaningful ways from contributing to science and engineering, to building my professional network, to taking on leadership roles within the society," Kim said. "As BATC Chair, I look forward to deeper collaboration with other technical  committees to create more integrated, interdisciplinary workshops and sessions, opening new opportunities across areas like physical acoustics, computational acoustics, and signal processing in acoustics."

Fellowship in the ASA recognizes members who have made significant contributions to the science and applications of acoustics, and the honor reflects both scientific achievement and meaningful service to the acoustics community.

"I am deeply honored and grateful for the recognition and strong support of my colleagues in the society," Kim said. "I aim to continue contributing to the ASA community and to the broader advancement of biomedical acoustics."

Yet for every professor who has boarded a plane and crossed many time zones, there are others who stayed in the United States or who found a way to do both, to travel abroad and conduct research closer to home.

While most of the sabbaticals described in this story didn’t require a passport or a visa, they were no less productive, illuminating, or surprising. Indeed, as all these professors would attest, with careful planning, flexibility, and focus, one’s own research can become as new and exciting as a far-off destination. And the outcomes can be just as inspiring. 

“There are so many directions.”

Richard Debski, professor of bioengineering and co-director of the Orthopaedic Robotics Laboratory, can trace his sabbatical back to his senior design project in mechanical engineering, when he was an undergraduate at Pitt.

Debski worked with the late Pitt orthopaedic surgeon Freddie Fu on a shoulder project that fascinated him.

“After that,” he said, “I never left.”

Flash forward to 2024: Debski had formed many connections with research fellows and collaborators, mainly in Japan and California, and he wanted to strengthen those bonds.

He had never taken a sabbatical and through careful planning realized he could visit both places and see firsthand where his colleagues conducted their research.

That fall, he traveled to Japan for three weeks at three universities. “I gave lectures, worked with students, and conducted experiments,” Debski said. “Most importantly, I deepened relationships with research fellows there.” 

His trip resulted in two grants with two of the institutions as well as a monthly video conference. “This never would’ve happened without getting to meet people, share meals, and discuss ideas that lead in new directions.”

From Japan, Debski traveled to Pasadena, California, where a colleague works at a private orthopaedic research foundation. “I wanted to experience a different environment and see the private research funding model in action.”

The sabbatical illuminated research in Japan and at American foundations. It strengthened connections, which is leading to new study. Today, Debski and his colleague in Pasadena are working together on a book chapter.

“You meet a lot of smart, interesting people.”

Like Debski, Christopher Wilmer wanted “a change of perspective, to see how things work in others’ lives.” So when an opportunity to spend a semester conducting research at the Underwriters Laboratories Materials Discovery Research Institute (ULMDRI) as its inaugural sabbatical researcher, he took his overdue leave.

 Wilmer, associate professor and Wellington C. Carl Faculty Fellow in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, traveled to the private lab in Chicago, the city where he’d earned his PhD. He launched research into the thermal stability of porous materials.

Along with starting the research and immersing himself in an unfamiliar setting, he met new scientists. “The networking was one of the most valuable aspects, getting to meet potential collaborators,” he said.

Returning to Chicago was bittersweet, though. Wilmer loved the city, but his wife and son stayed in Pittsburgh. “I found it hard to be away from my family.”

He’s still grateful for the sabbatical. “It gave me the time to reflect, which has altered the direction of my research.” For Wilmer, who directs the Wilmer Lab, that direction is smell. “My research group today is almost exclusively focused on developing electric noses.

“Dogs are state of the art technology when it comes to smell. They can detect kinds of cancer and other diseases as well as landmines or even people buried deep under snow. We’re working to develop sensing materials that can replicate this ability.”

Of sabbaticals, he said, “It's disruptive to one's normal routine, but it’s a unique opportunity that can take you in unexpected directions.”

“There’s a whole community you’re still part of.”

In 2023, Anne Robertson returned to the University of California Berkeley, where she earned her MS and PhD and received her postdoctoral training. She was there to deliver the 15th Elsevier Distinguished Lecture in Mechanics, and a visit with her postdoctoral advisor set in motion an opportunity to connect with scholars across disciplines and even attend class… as a student.

“My postdoctoral advisor, Dr. Susan Muller, encouraged me to apply for a Harvard Radcliffe Fellowship,” said Robertson, Distinguished Service Professor of mechanical engineering and materials science.

Robertson did, and she was accepted to the prestigious program. She set out to Cambridge, MA, for a year-long sabbatical.

At Harvard, Robertson, who investigates soft tissue biomechanics, was immersed with diverse scholars. There were historians, physicists, doctors, writers, even a poet laureate.

They regularly ate together, and each week two fellows delivered public lectures. “We shared ideas and experiences,” Robertson said. “It was inspiring and intellectually enriching to be exposed to such a broad range of research by top scholars.”

It was also a unique, illuminating and, ultimately, gratifying challenge to prepare her lecture, about her team’s research into the brain and the bladder, for such a varied audience.

Robertson sat in on a course too, Science and Cooking, which explores physical phenomena through the lens of food and its preparation. It included lectures by Brazilian Chef Alex Atala and James Beard Award winning baker Joanne Chang.

It fascinated her so much that she plans to develop a similar course at the Swanson School. “The professor shared her course materials, and we brainstormed about how to develop a program here. This transfer of knowledge, which happened all year, was amazing.”

Although she had to navigate being away from her son and two daughters and continue to coordinate research and faculty programs at Pitt, the experience was hugely rewarding.

“I had the opportunity to see my research through so many lenses, and I’m still in touch with the fellows. We continue to share ideas and perspectives,” Robertson said. “Just getting away on a sabbatical leave was tremendously stimulating and re-energizing.”

“I really wanted to know.”

When Mark Redfern, professor of bioengineering, was serving as Pitt’s vice provost for research, companies would reach out to ask if the Swanson School had students graduating with experience in human factors engineering for medical devices. They needed help meeting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) medical device submission requirements.

Human factors engineering involves designing devices such as glucose or blood pressure monitors that people can use easily and effectively.

“We had worked with other industries applying human factors principles in design, but I didn’t know how the FDA evaluated devices from a human factors perspective,” Redfern said.

That changed in 2017, after he stepped down from his role as vice provost for research and took a year-long sabbatical. He spent four months working with collaborators at the University of Michigan and then traveled to Maryland, where he spent four months at the FDA.

“I helped them set up a laboratory but also spent time with the human factors people,” he said.

When Redfern returned from sabbatical, he developed a new course, Bioengineering 2175: Human Factors Engineering of Medical Devices. It was different from any other he’d created. It takes a cross-disciplinary approach to the design and evaluation of medical devices. Thanks to connections Redfern made on sabbatical, FDA officials and people from industry have guest-lectured over Zoom.

Without having spent time at the FDA, Redfern believes he would never have created this course. “I wouldn’t have designed it because I wouldn't have known.”

Of sabbaticals, he said, “The key is to do something new, something you've never done before.”

He added: “There are always factors like family and research, but a sabbatical is worth it. That's the bottom line: just do it.”

Mohammadzadeh competed among 12 finalists representing graduate programs from across the university. His presentation, "From Pollution to Clean Water," showcased his thesis research on the development of nanoscale lipid-based carriers for nitrogen fertilizers, a novel technology designed to reduce nutrient runoff and water pollution caused by conventional agricultural practices.

"Modern agriculture depends heavily on nitrogen fertilizers to sustain food production, yet much of that nitrogen is lost to the environment," Mohammadzadeh said. “Through my research, I want to move us toward a future where feeding the world does not have to come at the expense of clean water and environmental health.”

The 3MT® competition challenges graduate students of all disciplines to communicate their research to a general audience in just three minutes, using a single static slide. For Mohammadzadeh, the experience underscored the importance of science communication in his career. 

“The ability to clearly articulate the significance of my work is just as important as the research itself," Mohammadzadeh said. “In many ways, it is an exercise in both scientific storytelling and effective public speaking, and this skill is critical for my career, especially as I near the end of my doctoral studies and pursue a career focused on developing novel engineering technologies with real-world impact.”

The Department of Bioengineering celebrated our Spring graduates at a reception in Bellefield Hall on Saturday, May 2 and recognized 19 seniors for their service, academic achievements, and leadership. 

“I’m extremely proud of our graduating students,” said Steve Abramowich, John A. Swanson Professor of Bioengineering and associate chair for undergraduate education. "Our award recipients truly embody our spirit of excellence, and it has been a privilege to witness each one of our graduates grow both as bioengineers and as people during their time here.”

2026 Undergraduate Student Awards

Outstanding Senior in Engineering Tracks

Bioimaging and Signals Track Award

• Connor Rees

Biomechanics Track Award

• Adam Almoukamal
• Jillian Brockhoff

Cellular Engineering Track Awards

• Alexis DiNapoli
• Colin Henchy

 Medical Product Engineering Track Award

• Shirin Kaye

Jane and Jerome Schultz Outstanding Senior Design Award 

Team 6: E-Z CVC: Improving Ultrasound-Guided Central Line Placement

Alexis DiNapoli, Colin Henchy, Tyler Johnston, Abrahim Kashkoush, Phillip Lavrenyuk, Trin Murphy, Tristyn Auth

Excellence in Undergraduate Instruction Award 

Isabella Hsia 

Undergraduate Research Assistant Award

Colin Henchy

Excellence in Bioengineering Service Award

Colby Shores

Alexis DiNapoli 

Excellence in Leadership Award

Ashlyn Odenwald – Undergraduate BMES President

William Miller – Undergraduate BMES Vice President

Outstanding Bioengineering Senior Award

Satyaj Bhargava 

Bhargava is also the recipient of the University of Pittsburgh's Emma W. Locke Award & the Frederick Honors College Dean’s Excellence in Research Award.

This year’s honoree is Satyaj Bhargava, a student in Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering and Frederick Honors College. A 2025 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar and author of multiple peer-reviewed papers, his research spans brain vasculature imaging, wet lab work in the MechanoBiology Lab and the development of DavaLo, a medication management system designed for underserved hospitals in India.

During a gap year, Bhargava will work as a clinical research assistant in the Pediatric Spine Department at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. He is also a lead percussionist in the Pitt Symphony Orchestra, a National Collegiate Honors Council Student of the Year nominee and a Swanson School of Engineering University Scholar.

“The Design Expo represents the kind of sustained partnership that defines engineering at Pitt,” said Mary Besterfield-Sacre, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Nickolas A. DeCecco Professor in Industrial Engineering. “Our industry partners bring real challenges into the classroom and work alongside our students and faculty throughout the semester, and the projects on display this year are the result of that ongoing collaboration. Bridging the work of our students with the priorities of our partners creates a collective impact that extends well beyond a single course, and we are grateful to the companies, agencies, and alumni who continue to invest in our students this way.”

An integral aspect of the Design Expo is mentoring and collaboration across faculty and disciplines. Pitt alumni, faculty, and industry volunteers judged the event, engaging with the teams and sharing ideas and experience. Faculty and other Pitt schools, as well as government agencies, nonprofits, and industry partners, sponsored teams and provided valuable insight while students developed their projects.

Visit Flickr for the Expo Photo Album.

Best Overall Project 
E-Z CVC: Improving Ultrasound-Guided Central Line Placement 
Tristyn Auth, Alexis DiNapoli, Colin Henchy, Tyler Johnston, Abrahim Kashkoush, Phillip Lavrenyuk, and Trin Murphy

Above from left: Abrahim Kashkoush, Tyler Johnston, Alexis DiNapoli, Phillip Lavrenyuk

People’s Choice Award
Landslide
Drew Cembrinski, Miles Fancher, Ella Lowry, Matthew Macey, and Caroline Vidic
 

DEPARTMENT AWARDS
Bioengineering (Advisor: Mark Gartner)
1st Place E-Z CVC: Improving Ultrasound-Guided Central Line Placement
Tristyn Auth, Alexis DiNapoli, Colin Henchy, Tyler Johnston, Abrahim Kashkoush, Phillip Lavrenyuk, and Trin Murphy

2nd Place Streamlining Transabdominal Ultrasound-Guided Oocyte Extraction Process
Sydney Barber, Ashlyn Odenwald, Ishan Patel, Arshia Shams, Colby Shores, and Lyric Zimmermann

3rd Place (tie) Attachable Motorized Walker Tray Adapted for Independent Kitchen Use
Harrison Burd, Meredith Geno, Gavin Paulhamus, Norah Stivala, Rebecca Swartz, and Danielle Zambetti

3rd Place (tie) Retractable Electrocardiogram Lead Organizer for Streamlining Patient Care
Akshay Balaji, Mya Fulton, Grace Hercik, John Lorence, Soham Mandal, Audrey Transue, and Ella Wolok

Civil and Environmental Engineering (Advisor: Ogul Doygun)
1st Place Culvert Flood Resilience
Liam Byrne, Hannah Charlton, Alexandra Romanchik, and Benamin Ruggles

2nd Place AV Shuttle
Zachary Bobro, Adam Holden, Noah Im, Andrew Jeannot, and Clark Mccord

3rd Place Raw Water Intake
Vaughn Cilea, Campbell Jefferson, Amelia Kuzneski, Cassidy Laffey, Trinity Munsisoumang, and Sean Snyder

Electrical and Computer Engineering (Advisors: Mohamed Bayoumy, Gavin Zhou, and YuAnn Li)
1st Place Haptic Hazard Belt
Ravyn Brown, Rory Cooke, and Aiden Shaffer

2nd Place Pill Buddy
Camila Iglesias, Rachel Krauss, Alexi Mascara, and Connor Paladino

3rd Place Neuromuscular Motion Control Assessment and Rehabilitation (NEMO)
Aidan Beecher, Josh Brositz, Mal Mostafa, and Sebastian Shaffer

Industrial Engineering (Advisor: Scott Streiner)
1st Place (tie) FedEx Intelligent Trailer Path Generation
Anisha Aggarwal, Henry Hoeg, Jason Peters, Pat Simmons, and Siyi Zeng

1st Place (tie) Capacity and Lean Manufacturing Assessment for New Aerospace Program Demand
Logan Biu, Camille Kakoyan, Grant Paladino, Alyssa Stauffer, and Samuel Walsh-Cooke

2nd Place UPMC Oncology Patient Capacity Analysis
Andrea Adamski, Camren Corbett, Ava Hartman, Alexis Hong, and Yuankai Zhang

3rd Place (tie) Assembly Consolidation and Flexible Labor Plan
Braelyn Brozik, Lauren Coffman, Alex Czerkawski, Bryan Landsberg, and Eliza Marcy

3rd Place (tie) Production Area Footprint Optimization
Liam Coughlin, Bradley Gavigan, Blu Trush, Junshan Xie, and Tiffany Zheng

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science (Advisor: David Schmidt)
1st Place Replicate Air Flow through Air-Cooled Machines using Wind Tunnels
Luke Braverman, Joshua Hamilton, Jeffery Kogan, Kyleigh Motley, and Jonathan Zhang

2nd Place Remote Hydraulic Tension Assembly - B
Alex Fritch, Joshua Marco, Rachel Sollie, and Evan Turner

3rd Place Laundry Folding Robot - B
Liam Gray, Greg Kenning, Thomas Kisiel, Andrew Leech, Michael Lukasik, Bri Schroll Wood, Ben Slaw, and Aidan Sullivan

Product Realization (Advisor: Eric Winter)
1st Place (tie) Automated Tool Management
Purita Ameyaw, Leilani Cruz, Samiya Henry, and R.J. Zik

1st Place (tie) Canales Cleaning Device
Charlie Greco, Ethan Hancock, Keshav Mukherjee, and Sean Savidge

1st Place (tie) Stand-Alone Pet Health Monitor
Emme Blanchard, Emma Geis, and Isaiah Jefferson

1st Place (tie) Technology-Enabled Cane
Ore Adeleye, Kylie Gardner, Yalin Liu, and Daniel McPeek

Shannon Lamb, bioengineering PhD student at the Swanson School of Engineering, has been named a recipient of the Graduate and Professional Student Government (GPSG) Leadership and Service Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to leadership and service across the University of Pittsburgh and the broader Pittsburgh community.

Since joining Graduate BMES in 2022, Lamb has served as first-year representative, vice president, and president, supporting departmental initiatives and leading efforts such as graduate student surveys, recruitment programming, and student engagement activities. They also stepped into the presidency of the Engineering Graduate Student Organization (EGSO) in 2025, rebuilding its leadership structure, organizing major events, and mentoring a new cohort of student leaders. Also a volunteer with Pittsburgh Action Against Rape as a helpline sexual assault counselor, Lamb emphasized the importance of creating supportive environments for student leaders. 

“There is no event, meeting, email, or outcome that is more important than my officer team’s mental health and well being.” Lamb said. “It is important to me that every officer feels safe to be human and safe to have limits. I want them to be comfortable coming to me if they need help, guidance, or grace without fear of judgement.”

The GPSG Leadership and Service Award honors graduate and professional students who demonstrate exceptional commitment to serving the University of Pittsburgh, the surrounding community, and beyond. Award recipients receive a grant to support academic expenses and were recognized at a university-wide event on April 16, 2026.

“I’m incredibly honored to be receiving this award, but mostly beyond grateful for the letters of recommendation that got me here.” Lamb said. “It is not lost on me that the beautiful words of Sharada Narayanan, our incredible graduate BMES outreach chair, and the eloquent writings of Kurt Beschorner, Bob Parker, Bistra Iordanova, and Aaron Gibson are what got me this award. I am genuinely grateful for everyone who believed in me and pushed me to become the leader I am today.” 

“The GRFP is a highly competitive award, and we are extremely proud of our winners and honorable mentions this year,” said Michele V. Manuel, U. S. Steel Dean of Engineering at Pitt. “This funding will provide critical financial support for these students to expand their research that benefits all of us.”

The NSF also recognized two members of the Swanson School community with honorable mentions: Jack Hall, a graduate student in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Sead Nikšić (BS ECE ’23). Four alumni, Dalia Fantini (BS BIOE '23), Kelly Larson (BS IE ‘18), Frederick Laudati (BS ECE '25), and Paul Walter (BE MEMS ’20) also received fellowships this year. 

This year’s Swanson School awardees are:

Casey Cargill

Cargill is a first-year PhD student in the Department of Bioengineering, where she specializes in the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (TERM) track. Advised by Jonathan Vande Geest in the Soft Tissue Biomechanics Laboratory, Cargill’s research focuses on addressing vision loss caused by conditions such as age-related macular degeneration.

Cargill collaborates with vision scientists and clinicians to develop patient-specific, 3D bioengineered models of the eye’s vascular system. By replicating the complex blood vessel networks and fluid dynamics within the eye, her work seeks to better understand how vascular disruptions contribute to blindness and to support the development of more personalized therapeutic strategies. Cargill is also a member of the Graduate Women in Engineering Network, the Black Graduate Student Alliance, and the Graduate Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) chapter. 

“My Jamaican heritage instilled in me, ‘Labor for learning before you grow old; for learning is better than silver or gold. Silver and gold will vanish away, but a good education will never decay.’ Cargill said. This fellowship supports my research as well as my personal values, allowing me to keep investing in academic growth and using it to benefit others.”

Sophia Freemyer

Freemyer is a senior undergraduate student in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering pursuing a minor in geology and a certificate in public communication of science and technology through the Frederick Honors College. Freemyer began research in Sarah Haig’s INHALE Lab, followed by a summer internship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory through the Department of Energy’s Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship program, where she worked on a materials science crystallization project. Freemyer later served as an ORISE Fellow at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). 

“My research interests are centered around critical mineral extraction from unconventional sources, specifically waste streams such as acid mine drainage, coal refuse, and produced water from oil production.” Freemyer said. “This area of research not only strengthens our domestic supply of these important materials but also utilizes streams that would end up as pollution in our environment.”

Freemyer is also an active member of the Pitt Band, where she served as a squad leader during her sophomore and junior years and as piccolo section leader her senior year. She also held leadership roles within the Varsity Marching Band Council and Kappa Kappa Psi, the national honorary band fraternity, and is a member of the Society of Women Engineers and Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society. After graduation, Freemyer’s NSF fellowship will fund her PhD studies at Columbia University's Earth and Environmental Engineering Department in the lab of Ngai Yin Yip. 

“I am beyond excited to win this award.” Freemyer said. “Having my application accepted is extremely validating for my future goals of becoming a researcher, with expert reviewers agreeing that I have enough promise as a future scientist to fund my graduate studies.”

Aragya Goyal

Goyal is a senior undergraduate student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, focusing on autonomous systems. His research centers on field robotics, with a particular interest in underwater and space exploration technologies. Since his freshman year, Goyal has collaborated with researchers at Carnegie Mellon University under the guidance of Howie Choset and David Wettergreen, contributing to projects such as the underwater snake robot “HUMRS” and the “Zoë 2” rover, which investigates passive steering mechanisms for planetary exploration. Looking ahead, he is interested in advancing multi-robot collaboration in complex field environments, including coordinated swarms of autonomous underwater vehicles.

Goyal has also been actively involved in the Robotics and Automation Society, where he has developed both technical and professional skills while contributing to a strong engineering community. Goyal applied for the NSF GRFP with the goal of strengthening his research proposal on multi-robot coordination, initially viewing the process as a learning opportunity. With guidance from mentor Geordan Gutow and strong recommendations from his research advisors, however, he successfully refined his application and was awarded the fellowship. This award removes a significant financial barrier to pursuing graduate studies, enabling him to focus fully on advancing robotics research.

“I feel extremely excited and grateful to have been granted this opportunity. My parents and I moved to the United States in 2013 and became citizens in 2021. It was likely one of the best opportunities for my family and had allowed me to apply for this fellowship and receive it.” Goyal said. “Not only that, but my decision to come to Pitt has been equally valuable, and I am glad I made that decision as it provided me with a hub and network of highly technical people who are always ready to help and teach you. The Pitt ECE faculty is excellent, and my peers are brilliant, and it is because of the community surrounding me that I was able to win this award.”

Ritesh Shrivastav

Shrivastav is a first-year PhD student in the Department of Bioengineering, on the neural engineering track under the mentorship of Helen Schwerdt. In the Schwerdt lab, his work centers on developing minimally invasive tools to measure dopamine in the human brain with high spatial and temporal resolution.

Shrivastav's research aims to elucidate how pathological dopamine fluctuations in the brain manifest as motor dysfunction in Parkinson’s patients. According to Shrivastav, this is essential foundational science for the future development of adaptive treatment technologies that could be personalized to each patient’s unique brain state. 

“Post-graduation, I would love to continue to build upon my research by developing treatments for Parkinson’s disease such as using dopamine as a biomarker for adaptive deep brain stimulation." Shrivastav said. "In the long term, I hope to translate this work into a startup focused on bringing these technologies from the lab to the clinic. This fellowship would provide critical support for the validation research that I will conduct during my PhD, laying a foundation for future commercialization and real-world impact.”

Vanshika Singh

Vanshika Singh is a first-year PhD student in the Department of Bioengineering pursuing the neural engineering track. They conduct their research in the B.I.O.N.I.C. Lab under the mentorship of Takashi (TK) Kozai. 

Singh’s research explores how non-neuronal cells in the brain, specifically microglia, contribute to inflammation and metabolic stress across neurological disease states. Their recent work has focused on how microglial calcium dynamics change in response to electrode-induced injury, and I’m interested in extending this work to explore how these signaling changes manifest in the context of Alzheimer’s disease. Singh is also interested in investigating ultrasound as a neuromodulatory tool, particularly its mechanistic targets and how it may influence microglial activity and calcium signaling.

Beyond the lab, Singh is actively engaged in mentorship and scholarly service, spending the past two summers mentoring high school students through the Hillman Academy and recently as a reviewer for Ingenium, an undergraduate research journal at the Swanson School of Engineering. Singh also presented their research on microglial responses to electrode insertion injury at the Society for Neuroscience Conference 2025.

“It is an incredible honor to be an NSF GRFP Fellow.” Singh said. “The three years of support will give me the freedom to pursue curiosity-driven research and take intellectual risks that might otherwise be difficult. Beyond funding, this fellowship marks a meaningful milestone in my path toward a career in academic research."

Beschorner’s research in the Human Movement and Balance Lab (HMBL) applies an understanding of tribology, biomechanics, and ergonomics to prevent injury, especially in the workplace. With an important emphasis on translation, Beschorner’s research has helped develop tools used in the food service industry for footwear inspection and methods used by footwear companies to design safer outsoles. Beschorner has been consistently involved with ASB since 2005, most recently serving as Meeting Chair for the ASB Annual Meeting hosted in downtown Pittsburgh in 2025. 

“I’ve become deeply connected to the ASB community, and my involvement has continued to grow each year.” Beschorner said. “I’ve had the opportunity to serve in a variety of roles, including on the awards committee, as a session chair, and as a reviewer, and bringing this incredible community to Pittsburgh last summer had been a career-long aspiration that I was thrilled to make possible.”

In 2011, ASB created the status of Fellow to recognize professional achievement and service of the top members of the society and to encourage continued service in a leadership role. Fellows play an essential role in advancing the society’s dual mission of fostering the exchange of ideas among biomechanists and facilitating the development of biomechanics as a basic and applied science, especially for students. The 2026 Class of Fellows will be recognized at the ASB Annual Business Meeting in conjunction with the World Congress of Biomechanics in Vancouver, Canada, July 11-15, 2026. 

“ASB is the community where I first became confident as a researcher and is now the conference where I feel most at home. As an advisor, I’ve watched this same process repeat itself with my own students.” Beschorner said. “Being recognized as a Fellow, especially knowing the company I am joining, is surreal and a bit hard to put into words. I aim to live up to what this recognition represents and to continue finding ways to serve the ASB community.”

Steven Abramowitch, John A. Swanson professor of bioengineering and associate chair for undergraduate education, Aaron Batista, George M. and Eva M. Bevier professor of bioengineering, and Julie Phillippi, Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Bioengineering, were selected as members of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering  (AIMBE) 2026 College of Fellows.

Steven Abramowich

Abramowitch was elected for pioneering research integrating biomechanics and clinical translation to transform women's pelvic health, and for advancing diversity in bioengineering. Abramowitch studies pelvic floor biomechanics, focusing on how events like pregnancy, aging, and menopause affect soft tissue structure and function. His lab examines how these changes contribute to pelvic floor disorders and whether current treatments effectively address the underlying issues.

“I don’t think I ever set out to become an AIMBE fellow, but when your peers begin to recognize your work in this way, it’s incredibly validating.” Abramowitch said. “It’s a reminder that you’re part of a much larger community that values and supports this work.”

Aaron Batista

Batista was elected for his contributions to uncovering neural population principles that govern motor learning. His research focuses on brain-computer interfaces that restore autonomy and control for individuals with motor and speech impairments, while also advancing fundamental understanding to inform next-generation improvements. He’s also involved in the Simian Collective, a new group that promotes and advocates for nonhuman primate research in neuroscience.

“I’m tremendously proud of this honor.” Batista said.”I understand that AIMBE members are particularly involved in political advocacy on behalf of bioengineering and medical research, so it will be an honor for me to leverage my AIMBE membership to advocate for the importance of neuroscience and neural engineering research to improve brain health.”

Julie Phillippi

Phillippi is the UPMC Pellegrini Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery and Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery.  She also serves as Vice Chair for Research, Director of Postdoctoral Research and Co-Program Director of the T32 research training program in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Phillipi leads a research team dedicated to understanding the vasa vasorum in cardiovascular pathologies. The goal of her work is to translate fundamental discoveries in microvascular cell and matrix pathophysiology into novel, minimally-invasive strategies for treating conditions addressed by cardiothoracic surgery. 

“Being inducted as an AIMBE Fellow is an honor that upholds accountability in science advocacy.” Phillippi said. “The opportunities to serve alongside this esteemed group of peers is a privilege that I am deeply grateful for and a responsibility that I embrace.”

About AIMBE 

Election to the College of Fellows is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to medical and biological engineers, comprised of the top two percent of engineers in these fields. College membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering and medicine research, practice, or education and to the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education.

AIMBE is the authoritative voice and advocate for the value of medical and biological engineering to society. AIMBE’s mission is to recognize excellence, advance public understanding, and accelerate medical and biological innovation. No other organization brings together academic, industry, government, and scientific societies to form a highly influential community advancing medical and biological engineering. AIMBE’s mission drives advocacy initiatives into action on Capitol Hill and beyond.

George M. and Eva M. Bevier Professors

Aaron Batista

New appointment | Sept 1, 2025 – Aug 31, 2030

Batista’s research focuses on how the brain learns and controls movement. His laboratory discoveries help to improve brain-computer interfaces, systems that establish a direct communication pathway between the brain's electrical activity and external devices, allowing users to translate neural signals into commands to operate computers, robotic limbs, or  software. He’s also part of the Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience (SCENE) from the Simons Foundation, which unites leading scientists across neuroscience and machine learning to discover how the brain performs sensorimotor interactions. 

Xinyan Tracy Cui

Reappointment | Sept 1, 2025 – Aug 31, 2030

Cui's lab develops smart biomaterials and neural interface technologies designed for implantation in neural tissue to enable diagnosis and treatments. Her research spans flexible multimodal neural probes for interrogation of the nervous system; neural modulation therapies; biomimetic implant designs and coatings that promote seamless tissue integration; as well as on-demand drug delivery systems and biosensors. Cui holds nine patents, is widely cited  with more than 16,000 citations, and is a co-founder of a Pitt-based startup, Vanish Therapeutics, translating research from the lab to real world impact. 

Ernest E. Roth Professor

Takashi (T.K.) Kozai

New appointment | Sept 1, 2025 – Aug 31, 2030

Kozai's B.I.O.N.I.C. Lab examines the neurocomputational roles of glial and mural cells in healthy and diseased brain, and the biophysics of electrical and ultrasonic neural recording and stimulation at the tissue-electrode interface. His laboratory employs chronic in vivo two-photon microscopy, functionally evoked electrophysiology, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, post-mortem immunohistochemistry, and transgenic and AAV-based biological intervention strategies. 

“I feel honored and energized by the responsibility that comes with a named professorship. The title acknowledges the collective work of my trainees and collaborators, who consistently push the boundaries of what we can measure, model, and engineer in the nervous system.” Kozai said. “It also reflects the Swanson School's commitment to research where clinical challenges drive new scientific questions and laboratory discoveries reshape therapeutic strategies.”

Leighton E. Orr and Mary N. Orr Faculty Fellow

Gelsy Torres-Oviedo

New appointment | Sept 1, 2025 – Aug 31, 2029

At the Sensorimotor Learning Lab, Torres-Oviedo’s group studies neuromechanical mechanisms for locomotor learning in humans with and without neurological disorders by investigating the human ability to adapt walking patterns and learn new movements through interactions with the world. The team combines psychophysical experiments and computational tools to investigate locomotor learning in unimpaired subjects and patients with cortical lesions. 

In the overall rankings, the Swanson School moved up one spot to #42 among all engineering programs and held steady at #24 among public universities and #21 among members of the American Association of Universities. The most notable gain was in electrical engineering, which jumped nine places to #52 overall and rose from #36 to #28 among publics. Computer engineering also improved significantly, climbing four spots to #46 (#24 among publics). Industrial engineering held its position at #24 overall while improving to #16 among publics and #13 among AAU institutions.

“Our continued upward movement reflects the sustained commitment of our faculty, students, and staff,” said Michele V. Manuel, U. S. Steel Dean of Engineering. “As we approach our 180th year of engineering at Pitt, ranking among the top 25 public engineering schools speaks to our deep history and an exciting future.”

The rankings reflect a period of sustained growth for the Swanson School. Research expenditures reached a record $63.5 million, and researchers earned 41 patents - 38% of all patents issued to the University of Pittsburgh that year. The school also welcomed its largest first-year class, enrolling approximately 780 students.

Additional highlights include biomedical engineering at #29 overall (#13 publics), mechanical engineering at #54 (#30 publics), and materials engineering at #50 (#31 publics).

Learn more about graduate and professional studies at the Swanson School.

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Photo: Third-year ECE PhD graduate student researcher Sabrina Helbig in the Swanson School Makerspace. (Tom Altany)

The research opens new opportunities for flexible microelectrodes and neurochemical biosensors.

 “Miniaturizing Laser-Induced Graphene for Biosensors by Spatial Control of Initiation and Side-Selective Microfabrication on Commercial Polymers” (DOI: 10.1002/admt.202502433) was selected as a cover feature in Issue 7 of the Advanced Materials Technologies, published in April 2026.

“Graphene is an ultrathin form of carbon that conducts electricity extremely well, which makes it a powerful material for building flexible sensors and bioelectronic devices,” said Mostafa Bedewy, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at the Swanson School and senior author.

Although there are many ways to produce graphene, researchers are increasingly turning to laser technology to carbonize polyimides, a flexible form of polymer, producing the conductive, porous material. Controlling this process at the microscale, however, has been a challenge.

By applying a layer of iron-oxide-based ink to the surface of the polymer prior to near-infrared pulsed laser processing, the Pitt researchers established a tunable tradeoff between electrode thickness and electrical performance. Using computer modeling, they discovered how localized thermal gradients drive graphene growth and thinning, providing predictive insights into the relationships that define LIG functionality.

The researchers revealed how controlling the initial point of carbonization governs graphene electrode line thickness, conductivity, and location. They also fabricated graphene on the top, bottom, or both surfaces of a polymer film, dramatically expanding how it could be used for sensing technology.

“Rather than only focusing on making graphene microelectrodes as thin as possible, this work set out to understand and control how graphene forms during laser processing from a laser-matter interaction perspective,” said Bedewy. “After we understand that process science, we can optimize variables like thickness, conductivity, and device function.”

The resulting graphene microelectrodes combine mechanical flexibility with robust electrical and electrochemical performance, enabling sensitive electrochemical detection of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. Importantly, the approach avoids lithography and cleanroom processing, which are more complex and expensive, making it compatible with scalable and low-cost manufacturing.

“Side-selective graphene formation is particularly exciting for bioelectronics,” said Tracy Cui, professor of bioengineering at the Swanson School and a collaborator on the project. “Being able to choose which surface of a soft polymer becomes electrically or electrochemically active expands the design space for neural probes, chemical sensors, and implantable devices.”

The work was led by Soumalya Ghosh, a PhD student in mechanical engineering who developed the experimental workflows and linked processing conditions to material structure, properties, and electrochemical performance.

“What stood out was how graphene properties sensitively respond to the way carbonization is initiated,” said Ghosh. “By tuning that initiation step, we can balance electrode thickness and conductivity to meet the needs of different sensing applications.”

These findings dovetail with another recent study led by Bedewy and Cui, which showed that laser scanning strategy itself is a powerful control parameter for tuning electrochemical performance in laser-induced graphene biosensors. In that work, published in the January 2026 issue of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, the researchers demonstrated that speed-dependent sequential laser irradiation can significantly lower electrode impedance and boost sensing sensitivity by modifying graphene morphology and electrochemical interfaces.

Together, these studies highlight how laser processing can be deliberately engineered to optimize the fabrication of graphene-based electrodes with tailored properties for next-generation flexible and implantable bioelectronic devices.

“This research reflects the type of collaborative environment that thrives here in the Swanson School,” said William (Buddy) Clark, professor and interim chair of mechanical engineering and materials science. “Flexible electronics have always been a challenge, so I’m excited to see how this important project evolves.”

Beyond neurotransmitter detection, the researchers envision the process being extended to other flexible electronics, wearable sensors, and multifunctional biointerfaces where spatial control of material properties is critical.

The work was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award #2239244 and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke under award number 1R21NS123937.

“I’ve collected lots of data about blood flow and the brain’s neuronal activity,” Iordanova said. “I eventually included data on glucose, lactate, creatine, and other brain metabolites in relation to aging, and then one morning, I found myself with so much information that I really had no clue what was going on. Simple linear models no longer worked, and dimensionality reduction approaches were not as useful as I hoped."

For Iordanova, assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering, that influx of data set the stage for an interdisciplinary collaboration with Liang Zhan, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, to build integrative neuro-metabolic models capable of making predictions about brain health. Now, the duo is co-investigating a five-year, $3.3M R01 NIH project, “Multiscale Models of Age-Specific Neurometabolic Coupling," to create a whole-brain theory on how the brain's metabolic processes affect cognition in aging. 

Looking beyond blood flow

While most research has typically focused on amyloid plaques and hemodynamics as early warning signs of Alzheimer's Disease (AD), Iordanova and Zhan are focused on the metabolic changes that happen in the brain’s networks by looking at the impact of specific metabolites like glucose, lactate, and creatine on brain activity.

“The brain requires large amounts of glucose and oxygen to function as billions of interconnected cells work together,” Iordanova said. “But old age brings decline in metabolic efficiency, and our brain cells have to maintain networks by adapting their metabolic processing.” 

When that metabolic adaptation fails, it can lead to cognitive decline and dementia, and some individuals may be especially vulnerable due to genetics, lifestyle, or other factors. Ultimately, the goal of this work is to support the development of metabolic screening and therapies for at-risk individuals years before energy metabolism begins to affect cognition. First, however, the team must use advanced modeling strategies to make sense of the vast amount of metabolic and neural brain data they will collect.

A multi-scale, multi-species model

This approach will span three distinct levels of biological scale. At the smallest level, they will use two-photon microscopy to quantify the relationship between red blood cell velocity, neural activity, and lactate transients in late-onset AD mouse models. Next, wide-field imaging will capture how mitochondrial activity ripples across cortical networks in mice. At the largest scale, the team will explore the impact of metabolism on functional whole-brain connectivity by integrating data from brain MRI in both animal models and human cohorts. 

“We want to connect what we know in mice on a cellular level to what we know from non-invasive imaging in humans,” Iordanova said. “And to build a comprehensive brain network theory, we need a lot of robust information at different scales.”

Once the data is collected at each step, Zhan will use his expertise in brain network modeling and graph theory to build the computational architecture that ties these complicated layers of brain data together. 

“The structures of mouse and human brains differ, and of course, we know that the brain is highly complex,” Zhan said. “Because many brain regions function together, diseases such as Alzheimer’s affect not just a single region but the entire brain network, which we aim to characterize and understand.”

Toward better treatments through interdisciplinary collaboration 

The ultimate goal of the project is to bridge the long-standing gap between discoveries in the laboratory and treatments that benefit patients. Although researchers have plenty of AD data from mouse models, translating those insights to humans remains a challenge. By studying how metabolic factors interact with genetics, sex-differences and aging, the team hopes to identify biological signals that could eventually guide more personalized approaches to preventing cognitive decline.

“I’m obsessed with figuring out how to translate what we learn in mouse models of Alzheimer’s into something meaningful for humans, because translation is not trivial,” Iordanova said. “A frequent quip on the translation from mouse to human is that scientists have cured Alzheimer’s in mice many times, but patients and families are still living through the disease every day. If we can improve on the cross-species approach to identify common metabolic vulnerabilities combined with certain genetic risk factors, then perhaps we could tailor interventions at the right time to the people who would benefit most.”

Although they now collaborate closely, Iordanova and Zhan were not previously familiar with each other’s work or the potential of their combined expertise until a chance meeting at a radiology event just a few years ago. While the research itself is promising, the team also hopes their partnership will encourage more engineers and scientists from different fields to pursue collaborative projects together. 

“Engineers and scientists from different fields often speak very different technical languages, and it’s rare to see those perspectives truly come together,” Iordanova said. “There’s real value when you are actually in the room with someone from another field and working to bridge that gap, and I think that’s what’s really valuable about this collaboration.”

The interdisciplinary team also includes co-investigators Alberto Vazquez, Tao Jin and Alex Poplawsky from the School of Medicine and Nicholas Fitz and Rebecca Deek from the School of Public Health at University of Pittsburgh. This project is supported by the National Institute on Aging (R01AG092661) for the period January 2026 through December 2030.

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If the sabbatical happens to be abroad, the complexity only increases. How will it be funded? Is it realistic to uproot a family for months, or an entire year? What about language barriers?

Suddenly, an amazing opportunity of taking a semester or an entire year to recharge, uncover new research, rekindle collaborations, conduct new experiments, write, and learn can feel like a burden. 

Yet for those who do take a sabbatical, the experience is deeply rewarding if not life changing. While overseas sabbaticals are complicated, they offer a unique opportunity to forge lasting relationships, engage across cultures, and reimagine one’s research and teaching.

“You might say I’m resistant to change.” 

Harvey Borovetz, Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering, worked at Pitt for 38 years before he took a sabbatical. But when he did, it created connections that continue to flourish to this day and provide unique opportunities for students at Pitt and at Braude College of Engineering in Karmiel, Israel.

In November 2013, after stepping down as department chair, Borovetz and his wife traveled to Israel and visited the college. The following semester, he took a four-month sabbatical and lived in Karmiel, where he taught a course and developed professional relationships that have endured through a global pandemic and the Israel-Hamas War.

For five years after that first visit, Borovetz returned each year to teach. Since Covid and the war, he’s continued annually teaching remotely. Students in the Swanson School have visited Braude for a summer research experience, and their students have come to Pitt, likewise for a research experience. The exchanges are rooted in the trust and familiarity built during his sabbatical.

“For me, the people and relationships matter most,” said Borovetz. “The sabbatical didn’t advance my research per se, but I’ve grown so much as a teacher. Most of my students in Israel speak English as their second language. They’ve served in the military before attending college, and they come to class with a different set of experiences than students I teach at Pitt.

“I’ve had the opportunity to live like a citizen there,” he added. “I’ve been invited into the homes of families whose students I teach and faculty colleagues who I’ve met and have become good friends with over the years. And the relationship between Pitt and Braude continues today because of these strong connections.”

“It’s easy not to do this,” Borovetz said, “but it’s an amazing experience.”

“It jump-started my work”

Like Borovetz, Bopaya Bidanda, Ernest Roth Professor of Industrial Engineering, had never taken a sabbatical. Between chairing the department, teaching, researching, and traveling abroad to forge transdisciplinary collaborations, the time never seemed right.

In the early 2020s, Bidanda was researching “frugal engineering,” an approach rooted in innovation under constrained resources, and wanted to see it in action. For Bidanda, that meant returning to his old home.

In 2023, he applied for and received a Fulbright-Nehru Award to conduct research and promote industrial engineering excellence in Mumbai, India.

“I spent four months there building networks,” said Bidanda. “I organized a PhD colloquium with about 85 students and faculty from across India and assembled a group of scholars from around the world to help new faculty and PhD students develop global research networks.”

“Working in India involves navigating cultural dynamics alongside research. There are incredibly innovative aspects as well as bureaucratic ones,” he added. “Even though I grew up in India, returning to work there after many years was an adjustment. I felt like I was rediscovering an entirely new India.”

This impact of the sabbatical continues to ripple outward, for faculty and students in India, and for Bidanda. The colloquium was so successful that the Fulbright Commission of Sri Lanka has invited him to conduct a similar program in 2026, extending the work he started while in Mumbai.

“There isn’t just one ‘right’ way.”

When Lance Davidson, William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Bioengineering, began studying epithelial tissues in frogs, he needed new computational models. A colleague overseas, in the Dutch town of Leiden, had developed a model for plant epithelia, and an opportunity to collaborate set in motion a long-overdue sabbatical.

With funding from the Dutch Research Council, Davidson spent January through May 2019 at Leiden University, the oldest surviving university in the Netherlands, embedding himself in a lab of computational biologists.

“I stayed in a house across a canal from one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world,” Davidson said. “I biked everywhere, brought my bike on trains, and connected with colleagues across Europe.”

Davidson participated in PhD committees, exams, and mentoring, gaining a unique window into science and education in the Netherlands. “The Dutch approach differs from ours, but the quality is outstanding,” he said. “It reinforced the idea that there isn’t just one ‘right’ way to train students or conduct research.”

The experience was not without challenges. Davidson’s wife couldn’t join him, and he still ran his lab at Pitt, still advised his PhD students. “It was difficult, and the time difference made for many late nights.”

Yet the experience fueled new research and resulted in a publication with his Dutch collaborator. Today, Davidson is beginning to plan his next sabbatical.

“It was great to have them here.”

From August to December 2025, Nathan Youngblood, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, lived in Heidelberg, Germany, with his wife and two sons. At Heidelberg University, he collaborated with renowned physicist Wolfram Pernice and researchers from across Europe to advance work in optical computing, an emerging field that uses light to process information faster and more efficiently.

“Advancing this technology requires collaboration across disciplines,” Youngblood said. “Many of my European collaborators work in physics, electronics, or materials science. Being able to connect in person, visit their labs, and meet their collaborators was invaluable.”

Bringing his family overseas was logistically challenging, but meaningful. “It was great to have them here,” he said. His sons, ages four and six, learned some German, and the family traveled throughout Europe.

At the same time, fully disconnecting proved difficult. Youngblood continued to direct his Youngblood Photonics Lab at Pitt and advise his large research group. “I wish I had unplugged a bit more,” he said. “Maintaining contact from overseas took up a lot of time.”

“The plan was to start writing a book.”

Aleksandar Stevanovic, associate professor of civil engineering, taught for 18 years before he took a sabbatical. “I never felt it was the right time,” he said. “I was always too busy.”

Last year, Stevanovic, a traffic engineer who researches ways to improve traffic in urban environments, developed a plan to visit colleagues and lay the groundwork for writing a book. His sabbatical was set. But then he received two awards: a Fulbright to spend ten months at the University of Montenegro and a visiting professor scholarship to visit the Technical University of Munich, in Germany.

Instead of planning a book, Stevanovic flew to Podgorica, Montenegro, a city with about 50 traffic signals total, where he has collaborated with faculty and city officials, delivered lectures, and helped the university develop its traffic engineering studies. He’s also been analyzing the city’s infrastructure and traffic to help improve it. 

In Germany, he has collaborated with researchers and his own PhD students to explore the future of transportation in a vastly different context.

While much busier than he’d anticipated, the experience has been hugely illuminating. “I’m bringing a new perspective to these places,” Stevanovic said, “but I’m also learning things that will be useful for my future research. It’s going to trickle down to my students.”

“We called it Disneyland for academics.”

Anna Balazs, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering and the John A. Swanson Chair of Engineering, traveled to Oxford University in 2001 at the encouragement of a scientist she knew there. Although Balazs didn’t know her that well at the time, the decision would alter the trajectory of her research. 

For Balazs, Oxford was a magical place. Each day at 11:00 a.m., the entire department congregated for teatime. “You were always talking to someone interesting,” Balazs said. “There was just a level of intensity and joy about knowledge.”

During her first sabbatical in England, she brought a postdoctoral researcher. The two would stay in the lab late into the evening. “We were working hard and we’d stop and get kebabs on the way home.”

Balazs investigates polymetric materials and how they interact on surfaces. From her collaborator at Oxford, physicist Julia Yeomans, she learned a new technique that has been invaluable.

“It's called the lattice Boltzmann method, which is used for numerically solving the Navier-Stokes equation. We extended it so that it interacts with soft materials, so you can get the interaction between a soft material and a flowing fluid,” Balazs said. “It's a backbone of what we do today.”

Seven years later, this time with her husband, a computer scientist, she returned. “I think for both of us,” Balazs said, “it changed our lives.”

Beyond the research and opportunities to meet scholars so passionate about their work, she formed a lasting connection. “I made a new friend there, who’s a friend for life, and who gave me a goddaughter.

“Those two years at Oxford were some of the best years of my life,” Balazs added. “They were life changing.”

“Despite the daunting logistics, everything worked out.”

John Keith, associate professor and RK Mellon Faculty Fellow in Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, had been, as he described, “an old-school computational chemist.” Although researchers were increasingly incorporating machine learning into the field, he remained cautiously skeptical.

In 2019, having just received tenure, and with two young sons and a third child on the way, Keith faced a complicated puzzle: funding a sabbatical in Luxembourg with his family for an entire year. In the end, he managed to get the pieces to fit.

Keith joined the research group of Alexandre Tkatchenko at the University of Luxembourg, moving his family abroad just months before Covid upended daily life worldwide. In an unexpected twist, the family even appeared on House Hunters International.

“I joined a top research group,” Keith said. “They had reconciled rigorous computational chemistry with machine learning in a way I respected. It was serious, high-quality science, and I built a strong network there.”

The work culminated in a paper in Chemical Reviews, with Keith as first author.

“I returned supercharged with ideas,” Keith said. “The sabbatical was pivotal. It gave me a foundation for future collaborations, ready to fully embrace machine learning in my research.”

Navigating funding, schooling, housing, and a global pandemic in a foreign country was daunting, but for Keith, like his Pitt colleagues who also ventured overseas on their sabbaticals, the payoff was profound.

Layla Banihashemi, associate professor of psychiatry and bioengineering at Pitt's School of Medicine and Swanson School of Engineering, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Paul D. MacLean Award from the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine. This honor recognizes outstanding neuroscience research in psychosomatic medicine, particularly work that advances understanding of how emotion, brain function, and physical health are interconnected.

Banihashemi researches the neural mechanisms linking the brain and body, with a focus on how these systems shape stress reactivity and contribute to affective psychopathology. Her work examines how early-life experiences, particularly childhood adversity, influence central visceral circuits, key pathways that regulate stress responses and play a critical role in mental and physical health.

“I am incredibly honored to receive the MacLean Award from SBSM." Banihashemi said. "I feel deeply grateful to everyone who has made this work possible - to mentors and collaborators who so generously give of their time and expertise, to lab members who dedicate tremendous effort to these studies, and to SBSM for this distinction and providing me with a scientific home."

Banihashemi delivered the MacLean Award Lecture, a plenary talk titled “The ‘Visceral Brain’: Linking Childhood Adversity to Mind-Body Health” at the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine’s Annual Scientific Meeting in March. The MacLean Award was named after Paul D. MacLean, a visionary physician who emphasized the importance of the brain–body basis of emotion and its relevance for health and behavior. Banihashemi’s research advances this work through translational approaches that bridge preclinical neuroanatomy with human neuroimaging, and she's among a distinguished group of past recipients such as Antonio Damasio, Lisa Feldman Barrett, Helen Mayberg, and Richard Davidson. 

“Greg Carlin’s career is a powerful example of how a bioengineering education can open doors far beyond traditional paths,” said Sanjeev Shroff, Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Bioengineering. “Greg remains connected to biomedical science and technology in his legal career, using his bioengineering training and intellectual property considerations to help translate biomedical innovations into real-world impact. We’re especially proud to honor Greg not only for his professional accomplishments but also for the way he has leveraged his education to bridge disciplines.”

About Gregory J. Carlin

Gregory J. Carlin, BSME ’92, MSBioE ’94, is a biomechanical engineer turned intellectual property attorney who has built one of the Southeast’s leading specialty IP law firms while helping bring cutting edge medical and technology innovations to market. Since 2010, he has served as a founding principal of Meunier Carlin & Curfman, LLC, in Atlanta, Georgia, where he leads a practice focused on patent strategy, licensing, and transactions for clients ranging from university spinouts to global medical device and software companies.​ 

A Pittsburgh native and graduate of South Park High School, Greg was a first generation college student at the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a BS in mechanical engineering and an MS in biomechanical engineering. At Pitt’s Musculoskeletal Research Center, he first encountered patent law and saw how intellectual property could bridge laboratory discoveries and patient care.​​ 

Greg enrolled at The George Washington University Law School, earning his JD in 2000. He began his legal career in the mechanical and medical device patent practice at Alston & Bird LLP. In 2010, Greg joined with colleagues to cofound what is now Meunier Carlin & Curfman LLC, a boutique firm tailored to the postrecession innovation economy.  

Greg is admitted to practice in Georgia, North Carolina, and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He has held leadership and board roles in organizations including ASIAM, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering cross cultural medical knowledge exchange between Asia and the Americas. A committed mentor and educator, he has been a guest lecturer in Duke University’s Entrepreneurs’ Workshop Series and regularly speaks with high school and college students about careers at the intersection of engineering, medicine, and law.​ 

Greg credits his Pitt engineering education and mentors—including Savio Woo and the late Freddie Fu—with transforming him from a first generation student into a leader in the global innovation community. He remains an engaged alumnus and an advocate for the role of public research universities in driving economic development, medical advances, and opportunities for the next generation of engineers and entrepreneurs. 

My name is Connor Page and I am excited to begin as the CMI Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Medical Innovation! In 2022 I received a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. During my time in undergrad, I was a member of the Pitt Varsity Marching Band and the Pitt Men's Glee Club. I was also an undergraduate teaching assistant (UTA) for Biology II, Genetics, and Microbiology.

After graduation, I spent 3 years in a clinical microbiology lab where I performed identification and sensitivity testing on bacterial and fungal pathogens from patient samples. In 2025 I decided I wanted to return to Pitt to further my education. I began Pitt’s Master of Science in Medical Product Engineering (MS-MPE) program in the Fall 2025 semester and have loved my experience in the program thus far. I have developed a foundational understanding of various skills including ethnography, CAD, human centered design, and human factors, and I look forward to expanding my skillset and knowledge as I continue through the program. Outside of school, you can find me at run club, playing pickleball, or spending time with my cat.

I am looking forward to continuing my educational journey at Pitt through the completion of the MS-MPE program within the Swanson School of Engineering and I am excited to contribute to CMI’s mission while preparing for my future career in medical device innovation. 

“Neuroimaging studies are often limited by recruitment cost and feasibility,” said Tamer Ibrahim, professor of bioengineering at Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering. “Reducing the required sample size shortens study timelines, lowers expenses, and broadens the types of questions that can be investigated.”

A publication in Human Brain Mapping from Ibrahim’s team, “Brain morphometrics correlations with age among 350 participants imaged with both 3T and 7T MRI: 7T improves statistical power and reduces required sample size” (doi.org/10.1002/hbm.70195), provides compelling evidence that ultra-high-field 7-Tesla (7T) MRI can substantially improve the detection of age-related structural changes in the human brain compared to scans with lower magnetic fields. 

Evidence from this publication demonstrating 7T’s improved efficiency has strengthened investigations into menopause-related brain changes, mild cognitive impairment, and other aging-related conditions, allowing researchers like Rebecca Thurston, distinguished professor of psychiatry, clinical and translational science, epidemiology and psychology at the School of Medicine justify the use of 7T MRI in their grant submissions and research.

“7T MRI has been integral to answering the questions that I address in my work, which is focused on the brain changes of the menopause transition.” Thurston said. “For example, it is ideally suited to delineating the subtle brain changes of the early perimenopause that we are studying in our current $7.5M NIH-funded MenoBrain study.”

Building a better scanner 

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses strong magnetic fields to create detailed images of the body’s tissues and organs. The magnetic flux density—measured in the unit Tesla (T) —helps determine the level of anatomical detail visible in the scan. While most MRI scanners operate at 1.5T or 3T, Ibrahim has developed specialized radiofrequency coils that allow Pitt’s 7T system to fully leverage this ultra-high magnetic field and deliver exceptional quality images.

“This publication shows that 7T provides more reliable and sensitive morphometric measurements when compared to 3T,” Ibrahim said. “For research questions involving subtle structural differences or longitudinal change in the brain, high performance 7T MRI is definitely the way to go.”

The large-scale, first of its kind study analyzed brain morphometry in 350 healthy adults between the ages of 29 and 68, each of whom completed imaging sessions at both 3T and 7T. The research team evaluated cortical and subcortical volumes, cerebral white matter, and mean cortical thickness. Across all measures, 7T demonstrated stronger correlations with age and revealed a greater number of brain regions, exhibiting more statistically significant age associations compared to 3T.

“Because 7T produces higher-contrast, lower-noise data, researchers need substantially fewer participants to detect meaningful effects with our 7T technology." Ibrahim said. “Studies that would require 350 participants at 3T could achieve statistical significance with approximately 100 participants at 7T.”

While 7T scanners exist at other institutions, their adoption for large-scale human studies has been limited since the magnetic strength can cause distortions and inhomogeneity in the images. Ibrahim and the 7 Tesla Bioengineering Research Program (7TBRP) have been troubleshooting these limitations for over the last 20 years by developing a custom radiofrequency coil system, Tic-Tac-Toe, which enables the 7T scanner to work smoothly and create the sharpest images possible.

“There are significant challenges when scanning at 7T. The interactions between the electromagnetic waves and tissue can lead to regions in the brain where there’s simply no MRI signal to detect.” Ibrahim said. “But our anti-claustrophobia Tac G2 coil system is, to my knowledge, the only one in the world that has successfully and comprehensively solved this problem. We don’t have those voids in our 7T images, and there are no barriers to running all types of MRI studies at 7T.”

Following the successful development of the first generation coil system, Tac G1, which was used on about 2,000 in-vivo human scans, the Tac G2 coil system implemented in 2022 has been used on more than 2,500 in-vivo human scans, exceeding the Tac G1’s usage in less than half of the time. This development has since enabled over 40 NIH-funded studies across aging, psychiatry, neurology, and cognitive neuroscience. 

7T’s impact

With these ongoing studies, many researchers and students at Pitt across medicine, psychology, engineering, and more utilize the 7T for their studies year-round, including bioengineering visiting research assistant professor Tales Santini and bioengineering graduate student Cong Chu, both working in the 7TBRP. 

“As a young faculty member, I feel fortunate to have access to what is likely the largest paired 3T and 7T dataset, which has enabled us to directly characterize differences in brain structure measurements arising from these imaging techniques.” Santini said. 

“And as a student, I'm excited to continue exploring this data to maximize the 7T's potential and to establish cross-platform harmonization methods for my future research.” Chu added. 

For Anna Marsland, professor of psychology, nursing and clinical translational science at the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, the technology has supported her work through visualizing brain regions known to decline with age in the Adult Health and Behavior Cohort project, allowing her team to closely examine factors related to neurocognitive aging. 

“The greater acuity of 7T imaging permits assessment of individual differences in the volume of subcortical brain regions, increasing our ability to identify brain regions that subserve cognitive functions and to identify individuals on accelerated aging trajectories who may be at increased risk for dementia.” Marsland said.

While each generation of coil systems can take about eight years to develop, working with researchers like Thurston, Marsland, and Santini and students like Chu to better understand the brain is exactly the kind of outcome that sustains Ibrahim and his team to keep improving the technology. 

“When our coils are used in human studies, it’s incredibly rewarding, far more rewarding than just publishing this paper.” Ibrahim said. “We’re developing devices that clinicians and scientists use, and the result isn’t just pretty pictures; our engineering innovations are being used in real patient studies. We’re not making something that just could be used some time in the future, we are impacting human life now.”

An entrepreneurial student team developing a new IVF needle guide is taking their invention to South Bend, Indiana, this month to represent the University of Pittsburgh at the 2026 ACC InVenture Prize innovation competition.

Sydney Barber, Arshia Cyrus Shams, Ashlyn Odenwald, Ishan Patel, Colby Shores, and Lyric Zimmermann, bioengineering undergraduate students at the Swanson School of Engineering, will showcase abdOguide, a first-of-its-kind device designed to improve IVF egg retrieval for patients whose ovaries cannot be accessed through the standard transvaginal approach. At the competition, teams of undergraduates representing each ACC university will pitch their inventions before a live audience and a panel of judges and compete for $30,000 in prizes. 

“Our team members are very entrepreneurial, and this competition presented itself just as our device began showing some promise in the clinic,” Shores said. “There was just a perfect storm of hard work and opportunity that led us to this moment.”

abdOguide mounts directly onto an abdominal ultrasound probe and guides the needle along a fixed, aligned trajectory. The design allows a single fertility specialist to perform a procedure that typically requires two clinicians. By transforming a complex two-operator procedure into a single-clinician workflow, the team hopes that abdOguide can create a more streamlined path to parenthood by expanding fertility access for underserved patients while reducing procedural costs for hospitals nationwide. 

Support the team:

The Pitt community can show their support by voting for abdOguide in the People’s Choice competition. Voting opens on Monday, March 23, and closes following the final team presentations on Friday, March 27. To cast a vote, text “Pitt” to 415-965-7445.

The final event will be broadcast live on PBS at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on March 27.

Wagner’s career has centered around casting a wide net, seeking to fully understand the impact of what biomedical engineers do. His passion for translating research into real-world solutions has placed him at the center of conversations across academia, industry, and clinical practice. This interdisciplinary approach is what has granted Wagner the 2026 BMES Robert A. Pritzker Distinguished Lectureship Award.

Each year, BMES bestows this prestigious award on an individual who has demonstrated impactful leadership and accomplishments in biomedical engineering science and practice.

Graciously, Wagner attributes the award to the many people who helped him reach this point in his career, noting that in 1991 he made the move from University of Texas to University of Pittsburgh where he felt the university was front lining clinical interactions.

“What was so opportune and impactful was the ability to get right in front of the problem, to be embraced by clinical colleagues and be treated by those senior surgical colleagues as one of their partners,” he said. “Obviously not doing surgery, but someone who can help them and collaborate with them on their problems. Engineers, we love problems, give us more problems, we want to try and understand.”

After joining the University of Pittsburgh, Wagner soon realized that his understanding of engineering and his connections to clinical practice were not the only areas he had to grasp.

“Solving clinical problems is not just applying one’s engineering background, but integrating the clinical background, and as I've learned over the years, the patient background and the commercialization and regulatory backgrounds, all these have to have their say and be considered as you try to develop a better option for the condition you're dealing with,” he said.

This sort of forward thinking led Wagner into several leadership roles, like serving as Director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh from 2012-2023. He also has recently served as president of the Society for Biomaterials (US) and is a past president of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO) and past chairman of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) Americas region. He is a fellow and former vice president of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and has also been elected a fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering, TERMIS, the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE) and the American Heart Association.

With more than 30 combined years of experience in leadership roles, several awards, and 64 issued patents worldwide, Wagner has learned to manage extracurricular responsibilities with his own research. Finding that while the journey may not have always been perfect, each opportunity allowed him to learn, grow, and adapt.

"When you engage as a leader with an array of individuals and resources, you learn things that help you with individual research projects,” he said. “Much of leadership is identifying and supporting individuals that can make a difference. However, in our profession, failure is much more common than not. Learn from the failures, recycle the efforts and remodify them so that they're better next time, for maybe even a similar or different problem.”

His roles and recognitions do not stop there, he also undertook the lead editor role of the 4th edition biomaterials textbook, “Biomaterials Science.” Handed off by Dr. Buddy Ratner, the BMES 2025 Athanasiou Medal of Excellence in Translational Bioengineering awardee and one of four founding editors of the textbook, Wagner also collaborated with BMES President Dr. Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert, Dr. Guigen Zhang, and Dr. Michael J. Yaszemski on the production, and is currently working with partner editors on the 5th edition.

Collaborating on these textbooks allows Wagner to contribute to a broader legacy, creating resources students can return to as reference tools when solving future problems, something he frequently encourages them to do.

"Go back 25 years, grab a journal, your [the student’s] favorite journal, look at the reports, especially in biomaterials and biomedical engineering, and look at the last couple paragraphs where they predict how their research is going to ultimately have impact,” he said. And read article after article that does that, and then ask yourself, did any of them move forward as envisioned? And the number is so vanishingly small. And then the question becomes, ‘Why? What might have prevented their vision from being realized?”

His encouragement does not come blindly though. Wagner asked himself similar questions in cardiovascular engineering as he addresses medical device biocompatibility and design, biomaterial development, and tissue engineering. Utilizing unspoken guidance he learned during his tenure like “Be your own worst critic. Don’t share too soon, share when you’re happy with it;” “Don't be intimidated by language, learn the terms;” and “Keep your eye open for unexpected opportunities and don’t be afraid to take a detour.”

All the advice he’s learned from his mentors and experience. While his work continues, he recalls a time when all his career experiences came to the forefront. When out with his family, he spotted an elderly gentleman wearing a battery pack for a ventricular assist device, which Wagner had a “small” role in developing.

“I said, ‘Excuse me, I don't want to disturb you, but do you mind if I ask, are you being supported by a HeartMate 2 ventricular assist device?’ And he said, 'Yes, I am.’ I asked him, ‘How's it going? What do you think?’ And he said, ‘Not everything’s great about it, but in general, I feel so much better than I did before I got the pump.’ I said, ‘Thanks so much. I appreciate you sharing that.’”

Wagner saw the broader picture; the impact of the technology he helped develop.

“To run into that randomly, to have my boys see it. We were worried about how the blood interacted with that device and verifying that it was relatively safe and then seeing that translate. I know 10s of 1000s of patients have been treated with that device, still to this day that encounter really hit home," Wagner said.

His career trajectory was not made by chance, but through steady growth, collaboration, and translation. Wagner attributes his legacy to integrating fully within the clinical environment, which allowed him to “go deep” and learn as much as he could, something he encourages students and early career engineers to do as well.

Dr. William Wagner will deliver his plenary lecture on Thursday, October 22 at the BMES 2026 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. For more information on the conference, visit www.bmes.org/2026/annualmeeting

Research on spinal cord stimulation led by scientists and physicians at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine was spotlighted as one of the most significant projects supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) over its 75‑year history.

NINDS, a core institute within the National Institutes of Health, has driven many of the field’s most groundbreaking advances since 1950. To mark its 75th anniversary, the institute is highlighting landmark work that’s shaped modern neuroscience.

“NINDS‑supported neuroscience has evolved the field as we know it,” said Marco Capogrosso, assistant professor of neurological surgery, School of Medicine. “Being recognized as part of this milestone underscores Pitt’s leadership at the forefront of translational neuroscience.”

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is emerging as a powerful way to restore movement by reactivating weakened or dysfunctional neural circuits. Capogrosso and colleagues first showed that because spinal pathways often remain structurally intact after stroke, targeted SCS can boost residual signals and restore arm and hand movement. In early human trials, stimulation rapidly improved strength, precision and range of motion, with some gains lasting even after the device was removed. Surgeons, including Peter Gerszten, Peter E. Sheptak Professor of Neurological Surgery, School of Medicine, helped refine the minimally invasive implantation techniques that make this possible.

The same research team has now extended SCS to neurodegenerative disease. In a Nature Medicine study published in February 2025, Capogrosso, alongside first author Genís Prat-Ortega, assistant professor of neurological surgery, and corresponding author Elvira Pirondini, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, both School of Medicine, demonstrated that stimulating sensory spinal nerves can “reawaken” silent motor neurons in adults with spinal muscular atrophy. Over a month of targeted sessions, all participants showed improved motoneuron function, reduced fatigue and better walking ability—far exceeding gains from exercise or medication alone.

Together, these findings point to a unifying principle: precisely timed spinal stimulation can restore function in circuits weakened by stroke, injury or degeneration. Ongoing trials aim to determine how durable these improvements are and how SCS can be combined with rehabilitation or pharmacologic therapies to maximize recovery.

Throughout his career, Debski has published more than 170 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 30 book chapters and review articles. A longtime member of the ASME community and ASME fellow since 2012, Debski has been involved with the society since his undergraduate years at the University of Pittsburgh. 

“I’ve been attending ASME conferences since the '90s, and have been deeply involved in the organization throughout my career.” Debski said. “I've always wanted to give back to the scientific community, and as an editor, what I really want to do is bring this journal to more societies, share it with more of the scientific community, and increase our impact.” 

The Journal of Biomechanical Engineering reports research results involving the application of mechanical engineering principles to the improvement of human health. Debski will share editorial leadership of the journal with Thao (Vicky) Nguyen, professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Debski and Nguyen will guide the peer-review and publication process for cutting-edge research spanning the full breadth of biomechanics, from cellular and tissue-level mechanics to human motion, fluid dynamics, and medical device design. 

“It’s such a tremendous honor to be entrusted with helping guide the scientific direction of a journal that has played such a formative role in my own career.” Debski said. “Serving the biomechanics community in this way is both a huge responsibility and an immense privilege.”

Debski is also a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS). He previously served as an Associate Editor of the journal from 2007 to 2013, and his five-year Co-Editor term will begin March 10, 2026, and run through December 31, 2031.

Because of these early-career accomplishments, Galloway and Leslie were selected to be on the Pittsburgh Business Times 30 Under 30 list. In partnership with Leadership Pittsburgh Inc., the Pittsburgh Business Times honors young professionals who are making an impact on both their workplaces and their communities.

Galloway (ENGR ’20) is corporate development manager of Pro Max Fence Systems and president and co-founder of Future Kings Mentoring. While at SSOE, Galloway won the 2019 T-Mobile Changemaker Challenge with Future Kings Mentoring co-founders Isreal Williams and Sean Spencer. 

Leslie (ENGR ‘24) is currently a student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a co-founder of Malleous, a startup developing a patent pending, bendable suction-retractor designed for microsurgery optimization. During his time at SSOE, Leslie was also named the American Society of Engineering Education’s (ASEE) 2024 Student of the Year and winner of the University of Pittsburgh’s Emma W. Locke Memorial Award.

This year's class of honorees will be honored in a series of profiles in a special edition of the Pittsburgh Business Times on March 20 and at an awards celebration in April.

The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) has named Robert L. Kormos, emeritus professor of cardiothoracic surgery and bioengineering, as the recipient of its 2026 Amanda W. Rowe Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes sustained and outstanding contributions to the Society.

Dr. Kormos is a global leader in mechanical circulatory support (MCS) and cardiothoracic transplantation. His record of service has touched nearly every facet of the Society’s work. As the 15^th ISHLT President and a long-standing volunteer, Dr. Kormos has helped develop ISHLT’s scientific programs, guidelines, and registry efforts. He currently serves as an at-large member on the Membership & Outreach Oversight Committee.

Dr. Kormos is currently the Division Vice President Global Medical Affairs Heart Failure at Abbott Laboratories in Austin, Texas. He was formerly a deputy director at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the past director of UPMC’s Artificial Heart Program. His work has pioneered durable ventricular assist device (VAD) therapies and advanced both surgical techniques and patient outcomes.

“I joined the family that is ISHLT in 1985,” said Dr. Kormos, “and I have immense gratitude for all of the pioneering and contemporary educators and mentors that helped foster my growth in heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support.”

The 2026 Amanda W. Rowe Distinguished Service Award address by Dr. Kormos during the ISHLT’s 46^th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions will be recorded and available online after the Annual Meeting in April. 

Daniel Shiwarski, assistant professor of bioengineering at the Swanson School of Engineering, developed HemoLens, a custom-built, open-source system designed to evaluate the strength and flexibility of both natural blood vessels and tissue-engineered blood vessels. With findings recently published in the December 2025 edition of Device (10.1016/j.device.2025.100996), his team’s work demonstrates that high-quality vascular measurements don’t require expensive hardware, just thoughtful engineering.

“There is a serious need for a customizable, low-cost, biomechanical myography platform that uses affordable manufacturing processes.” Shiwarski said. “We developed HemoLens to address the high cost of these existing systems and to make it easier for researchers to study vascular function across a wide range of cardiovascular applications.”

The most commonly used method to test how blood vessels behave under pressure ex-vivo is pressure myography. With this technique, arteries, veins, or tissue-engineered vascular systems are pressurized to mimic physiological conditions, allowing researchers to measure real-time changes. While widely used, these commercial myography systems rely on highly specialized, precision-engineered components, cost about $40,000, and lack options for customization, according to first author Antonio PereiraTavares, a third-year bioengineering PhD student in the Shiwarski Tissue Engineering Lab. 

“Most existing tools for this type of research require really expensive components, and because some of these systems are old and outdated, doing minor upgrades each year leaves costs for labs high.” PereiraTavares said. “But now, 3D printing has become so advanced that we've figured out how to create systems of the same quality much quicker and much cheaper than ever before.”

To keep costs low, Shiwarski’s team developed HemoLens primarily from 3D printed components and paired the hardware with open-source software, eliminating traditional manufacturing and development expenses to dramatically reduce the system’s overall cost to just $750. 

“Advances in 3D printing have made it easy to reduce costs, but the real shift came from the open-source maker community—components that once cost $50 to $100 are now available for just a few dollars.” Shiwarski said. “When you combine that with low-cost cameras and single-board computers, it becomes possible to build powerful systems like HemoLens at a fraction of the traditional price.”

While inexpensive, HemoLens is a highly advanced research tool. A dedicated module allows the device to regulate pressure under normal physiological conditions or mimic disease states such as hypertension, revealing how chronically elevated blood pressure causes vessels to stiffen and lose their ability to stretch over time. And, as an open-source technology designed to be adopted by the broader research community, the impact of HemoLens will extend far beyond the lab where it was developed.  

“Providing open-source technology has always been a core focus of our lab, and our goal has consistently been to make bioengineering tools more accessible.” Shiwarski said. “We're already integrating HemoLens across our research pipelines, and several other labs are now building their own versions as well. I hope the next step for HemoLens is widespread use.”

This effort is in collaboration with the Swanson School of Engineering (Department of Bioengineering), the Schools of Health Sciences, and the Innovation Institute.  Pre-proposals can be submitted by clinically-affiliated faculty members of the Schools of Health Sciences (SOHS), engineering faculty with appointments in the Swanson School of Engineering (SSOE), or a clinician/engineer partnership from SOHS and SSOE. Students enrolled in SSOE or SOHS are also eligible to apply, but an advisor with a primary faculty appointment in either the SSOE or SOHS must be designated in the submission.

The deadline for submission of pre-proposals is March 1, 2026 at 11:59pm. Awards for final full proposals will start June 1, 2026. More information can be found in this PDF.

More often than not, the answer was a resounding yes. Whether they needed academic guidance, a bit of perspective, an entertaining story — or even an impromptu moment to cry — bioengineering students at the Swanson School of Engineering knew that Arash Mahboobin’s door was always open. 

After more than a decade of shaping the undergraduate experience, however, the professor of bioengineering and associate chair for undergraduate education is stepping down from his professorship and leadership roles. This career shift marks a milestone in his lifelong passion for education: growing up in Iran and inspired by multiple family members working in medicine and academia, pursuing higher education was a natural path for Mahboobin to follow.

“I kind of fell into the biomechanics field, as it was a bit of a homage to my father, who was an orthopedic surgeon.” Mahboobin said.

Although research brought him to pursue his PhD at the University of Pittsburgh, teaching and mentorship ultimately kept him here. He hadn’t planned on leadership, but his rapport with students made him stand out to department staff and leadership, who recommended him to step into the role of undergraduate program director. 

“I always wanted to teach, but I wasn’t really seeking a leadership role in the department,” Mahboobin said. “But people talked and students said positive things, so I eventually began a two-year, carefully structured transition into directing the undergraduate program.”

Since his official tenure in the role began in 2018, Mahboobin has consolidated bioengineering program information into an incredibly organized handbook, streamlined advising, and used student feedback as a key driver of curriculum improvement every step of the way. Among many other accomplishments, he was monumental in the Swanson School’s 2023 ABET accreditation and received the 2024 Swanson School of Engineering Outstanding Educator Award.

“There was already a great foundation in the department, so I just continued to strengthen what was good about our program,” Mahboobin said. “I wanted to stay true to the data, and use every piece of information I had to continually improve our curriculum.”

Mahboobin also enjoyed teaching and optimizing the courses like Biosignals and Systems and  Dynamic Systems - A Physiological Perspective, creating interactive digital laboratories that provide students with unlimited opportunities to test hypotheses, observe outcomes, and iterate on their understanding of complex engineering concepts. But even with the satisfaction of his academic accomplishments, Mahboobin’s motivation has always come back to those students visiting him in his office each day. 

“As professors, we don't have a hippocratic oath like doctors, but I've always felt that it's my responsibility to take care of our students.” Mahboobin said. “The logistics and curriculum are great to fine-tune, and we've made a lot of changes, but at the end of the day, it's really all about helping our students have a good experience here.”

As Mahboobin prepares to leave the University, he’s looking forward to returning to the family that inspired his path from the very beginning — and exploring new ways to share his talents, knowledge, and passion beyond academia.

“Spending more time with my family is definitely what I’m looking forward to most, since I’ve been in school full time in some way or another since I was seven years old.” Mahboobin said. “I’m excited to see how I can take all of my experiences here and still contribute to education in some way in a new chapter of my life.”

“The Design Expo is a unique opportunity for our students to gain real-world experience solving industry problems,” said Mary Besterfield-Sacre, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Nickolas A. DeCecco Professor in Industrial Engineering. “Students are learning important skills that extend beyond developing their technical abilities. They’re working as a team and thinking creatively. They’re using their hands and innovating. I’m grateful for everyone—from faculty and staff to industry partners and volunteer judges, and of course our students—who make this amazing event happen.”

An integral aspect of the Design Expo is mentoring and collaboration across faculty and disciplines. Pitt alumni, faculty, and industry volunteers judged the event, engaging with the teams and sharing ideas and experience. Faculty and other Pitt schools as well government agencies, nonprofits, and industry sponsored teams as well, providing valuable insight while students developed their projects.

Winners below. Visit Flickr for the Expo Photo Album.

Best Overall Project
GaN Motor Controller 
Fredrick Laudati, Connor Watson, and Joseph Zaradzki

People’s Choice Award
Adaptive Assist Robotic Joint 
Elizabeth Novikova, Julia Koma, and Jillian Zitcovich

DEPARTMENT AWARDS

Bioengineering

1^st Place E-Z CVC: Improving Ultrasound-Guided Central Line Placement
Tristyn Auth, Alexis DiNapoli, Colin Henchy Tyler Johnston, Abrahim Kashkoush, Phillip Lavrenyuk, and Trin Murphy

2^nd Place High Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation Chest Wiggle Detection Device
Isabella Hsia, Isabelle Lisi, Connor Rees, and Jaiden Steele

3^rd Place Streamlining Transabdominal Ultrasound-Guided Oocyte Extraction Process
Sydney Barber, Ashlyn Odenwald, Ishan Patel, Arshia Shams, Colby Shores, Astrid Yerardi, and Lyric Zimmermann

Civil and Environmental Engineering

1^st Place (tie)
Oakdale Pump Station
Anna Abelev, Owen Gaskill, Patrick Lovenguth, and David Nisula

Clearwell Replacement
Marie Flinchbaugh, Lily Leh, Jack Schlegel, and Julianna Sergi

2^nd Place ALCOSAN Primary Sedimentation Basin
Quincey Kilbridge, Julia Resch, and Sameer Ul Haque M Sayed

Electrical and Computer Engineering

1^st Place GaN Motor Controller
Fredrick Laudati, Connor Watson, and Joseph Zaradzki

2^nd Place VR Tremor Assessment System During MRgFUS
Colton Tamburri, Aidan Uher, and Noble Woodall

3^rd Place Paint the Canvas
Connor Marsh, William Muckelroy, Connor Murray, and Greg Soltys

Industrial Engineering

1^st Place Enhancing Productivity with 5S Solutions for Tooling and Calibration Management
Alison Bergkoetter, Christos Mavrogeorgis, Maiah Ruby, and Rylee Shaffer

2^nd Place Steel Coil Transfer Optimization Using SIMIO
Jake Johnson, Alison Ngau, Morgan Powers, and Henry Veltum

3^rd Place Project Centargo: Enhancing Bayer’s Injector Line Production for Optimum Efficiency 
Cameron Case, Tara Nguyen, Ethan Snyder, and Jason Wiedmann

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

1^st Place Remote Control Vehicle for Use in Contaminated Environments
Sebastian Carre Jordan, Jacob Korus, Caelin Langton, Angus Nicholson, and John Profozich

2^nd Place Advanced Head and Neck Support System for Patients with Disorders of Consciousness (DoC)
Owen Bishop, Jared Kartschoke, Aishani Ramoju, Randy Saintjean, and Rachel Thomas

3^rd Place Functional Requirements for Thermal Fatigue and Additive Manufacturing
Tanay Agrawal, Ethan Kinyon, Dylan Noker, and Gabriel Warriner

Medical Product Prototyping

1^st Place Perfect Pessary
Francesca Chioda, Karla Frank, Kyla Frenja, Angelina Pribozie, and Jace Statam

2^nd Place MicroTymp
Saif Abbas, Mateen Atassi, Bharath Ramineni, and Peter Wood

Product Realization 

1^st Place Canales Cleaning Device
Josh Lee, Mike Lee, Kyla Frenja, Adam Price, and Sophia Roa

Led by Chief Technology Officer Bryan Brown (BioE PhD ‘10), professor of bioengineering at the Swanson School of Engineering, and CEO Lorenzo Soletti (BioE PhD ‘08), Renerva, Inc. was founded in 2017 to develop and commercialize transformative implantable technologies for patients affected by peripheral nerve injury. Now, the company has received its first FDA Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approval to begin a human clinical study of its Renerva PNM-CAP, a device designed to prevent painful neuroma formation. 

Putting a cap on chronic nerve pain

When a nerve is damaged during injury or amputation, the axons inside the nerve can form a disorganized nerve growth, called a neuroma, which makes the nerve extremely sensitive and can cause severe chronic pain. Neuroma pain impacts quality of life and is a major driver of opioid use disorder, so Renerva’s PNM-CAP is designed to prevent neuroma formation and pain from the start. 

“Our nerve cap is designed to limit how far those axons can grow.” Brown said. “As the cap degrades, it’s replaced with healthy, natural connective tissue. We’ve found that this process stops the axons from becoming entangled, halts their growth, and prevents the formation of painful neuroma.”

IDE approval was supported by preclinical data recently published in npj Regenerative Medicine. “Our preclinical studies demonstrate that PNM-CAP profoundly inhibits nerve growth and leads to a 3.5-fold reduction in average pain behavior observed over a four-month period compared to untreated controls.” Brown said. 

Renerva’s earliest technology was jointly developed at Pitt and Cornell University, and early support from Pitt’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship helped connect Brown with Soletti to explore commercialization pathways. With additional funding from success in several campus innovation competitions, the team built the scientific foundation and business strategy that led to Renerva’s 2017 launch — and ultimately to this major achievement. 

“This is a pivotal milestone for Renerva, transitioning us into a clinical-stage company and significantly de-risking our business,” Soletti said. “This achievement allows us to proceed with our first-in-human study with a world-class US center for peripheral nerve injury and repair and is a major validation of our rigorous, evidence-based product development.”

The clinical trial will test the nerve cap in 10 patients over the span of one year, hoping to evaluate whether the device can reduce pain, limit opioid use, and improve overall quality of life for patients. Renerva plans to pursue market clearance for the cap once interim clinical data becomes available.

“I came to Pitt in 2018 ready to dust off my physics textbooks and maybe understand what fluid dynamics is, but I quickly realized I was in for so much more than that.” Beresford said.

He didn’t expect to end up as CEO and co-founder of Respair, Inc, a Pittsburgh based medical device manufacturing company designing improved endotracheal tubes. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, 12.1% of patients experienced endotracheal intubation for mechanical ventilation while hospitalized, and while critical for intensive care units worldwide, endotracheal tubes frequently cause ventilator assisted pneumonia (VAP) due to a design that hasn’t been changed in decades.

“The current tubes that doctors use haven't changed for about 45 years, with an inflatable balloon to seal the airway and stop bacteria from getting in your lungs and making you sick.” Beresford said. “But it doesn't do a very good job of that, because the balloon can crease in the airway, allowing dangerous fluids to sneak around it and make patients sick.”

Beresford is one of many Pitt Bioengineering students, faculty, and alumni translating research into biomedical solutions. From startups developing better detection of aneurysms and treatments for peripheral nerve injuries to collaborative research that bridges engineering and clinical needs, Pitt Bioengineering is a hub for turning ideas into impact.

The ‘BioE’cosystem

The momentum behind this innovation begins with dedicated researchers who have pushed bioengineering from concept to clinic. Take Harvey Borovetz for example: the distinguished professor of bioengineering and former department chair is a pioneer in the development of artificial heart transplantation. Featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for the 40^th anniversary of the first artificial heart implanted in Pittsburgh, Borovetz helped guide the clinical translation of ventricular assist devices, which launched UPMC as one of the most successful and innovative mechanical heart programs in the country.

Today, Borovetz is one of many experienced professors teaching in the MS in Medical Product Engineering (MS-MPE) program, the same program that Beresford entered in 2018. A professional master's degree that prepares engineers to translate medical technologies from concept to clinical use, the MS-MPE program guides students through the full medical product development process, from identifying unmet clinical needs to designing, prototyping, testing, and navigating regulatory and commercialization pathways.

“Our professors always pushed us to be curious and to ask the questions: What do people need this device to do? Who will be using it? Why will it matter to them?” Beresford said. “That mindset forces you to confront your own assumptions and biases to make sure you’re building the right product.”

MS-MPE students work directly with bioengineering professors, UPMC clinicians, and industry mentors to develop solutions rooted in real patient and provider challenges. Many projects lead to patents, continued product development, or startup ventures like Respair, Inc., which began as an in-class project supported by clinical mentorship.

ROI: Research of Impact

Innovation is also seen across the department among research groups that have spent years in the lab refining their expertise before moving toward commercialization. David Vorp, professor of bioengineering and senior associate dean for research and facilities at the Swanson School of Engineering, co-founded Aneurisk, Inc. in 2023 to improve assessment of aortic aneurysms and currently serves as the company’s Chief Scientific Officer.

“Clinicians typically assess aneurysm rupture risk by measuring their diameter, a one-size-fits-all method that overlooks patient-specific differences in vessel shape, tissue strength, and other potentially important factors” Vorp said. “No two aneurysms are alike, and diameter alone doesn’t really reflect the true mechanics of rupture risk.”

Aneurisk’s technology provides a more personalized approach to rupture risk assessment by creating 3D models of the aneurysm, evaluating morphological parameters, estimating wall stress and strength distributions, and integrating patient clinical data through machine learning. Early testing and validation suggest this AI-based method can outperform diameter-only assessment and better guide decisions about whether a patient needs surgical intervention.

“My entire career has been focused on understanding aneurysms as mechanical systems.” Vorp said. “The dream was always to develop a tool that clinicians could use to better predict who is at risk. It took thirty years, but now we finally have the platform and the environment to make that possible.”

To move the technology toward clinical use, the company turned to Micah Guffey (BioE MS-MPE ‘23), now Aneurisk’s Chief Operating Officer. With Guffey’s assistance and an experienced scientific advisory board spanning both academia and industry, Aneurisk is now preparing its first product for FDA submission, with the goal of achieving clearance in 2026.

“It is really exciting to see Aneurisk take the substantial background work that had already been done in the Vorp Lab and to actually be involved in moving it toward commercialization and clinical impact,” Guffey said. “I didn’t think I’d end up in this role at first, but to help take something from the research space into a product that could be useful clinically is what made me want to stay and be part of this.”

Like Aneurisk, Inc., Swan NeuroTech, founded by Kacey Marra, professor of plastic surgery and bioengineering, is also transforming decades of laboratory research into life-changing tools. Her company is developing solutions to improve peripheral nerve regeneration following traumatic injury, tumor removal, or surgical complications.

“There are only a handful of nerve repair products on the market, so it's not a big field at all.” Marra said. “And these injuries can result in lifelong loss of function without treatment.”

Swan NeuroTech’s initial products include a nerve wrap designed to reduce scarring and speed healing after nerves are sutured, and a nerve guide for short gaps. Its most advanced technology, a drug-releasing nerve conduit, has successfully bridged two-inch nerve gaps in non-human primate models, far exceeding the two-centimeter limit of currently approved devices.

“Getting a product off the ground can be tedious, especially because it’s a whole new world outside of academia.” Marra said. “But I always tell my students to be persistent, patient, and passionate, and if you have those three p’s, just keep going.”

Respair, Inc., Aneurisk, Inc., and Swan NeuroTech are just a few examples of Pitt Bioengineering’s impact at large. Another Pitt-led startup, Renerva, Inc., was just cleared for its first-in-human FDA clinical trials, bringing their advanced nerve cap technology to patients to reduce chronic pain in amputees and prevent painful neuroma formation. 

BioE faculty, students, and staff are advancing the field daily, whether it’s bioprinting revolutionary tissue models, creating magnetic biomaterials for drug delivery, developing diamond-based wireless electrodes to improve better treatments for neurological disorders, or developing prosthetics that can actually feel touch. Across these efforts, the focus remains the same: working together to create meaningful change, and for Beresford, that mindset shaped the course of his career.

“None of this was on my radar before I came to Pitt, so interacting with the research ecosystem and faculty here was really the inflection point that made all of this possible,” Beresford said. “What began as a napkin sketch in class has become a product, a company, and jobs for people in the region. It’s a very cool thing to see become real.”

Luckily for the fields of urology and biomechanics, that hasn’t stopped Robertson and her team from trying to understand it — a commitment that’s led to a collaboration between the University of Pittsburgh and University of Sheffield to develop the first digital twin of the bladder — and a new publication revealing that bladders don’t fill up like a simple balloon as previously thought, but instead have large inner folds that expand and retract to accommodate changes in volume and pressure.

“The bladder remains one of the most underexplored organs in the biomechanics community,” said mechanical engineering and materials science (MEMS) PhD candidate Fatemeh Azari, “and this publication decisively bridges a gap in knowledge that has persisted for over three decades.”

Led by Azari and Robertson, distinguished service professor of mechanical engineering and materials science (MEMS) at the Swanson School of Engineering, the team’s findings, “Elucidating the high compliance mechanism by which the urinary bladder fills under low pressures,” were published in the July 2025 edition of Scientific Reports.

The group’s main objective was to uncover how the bladder fills with urine at low pressure by examining both its structure and function. While previous studies proposed that small folds (rugae) in the bladder wall allow it to expand, the team found that much larger folds, about ten times bigger than once thought, are the key to its flexibility. Using high-resolution micro-CT and multiphoton imaging, the team analyzed how the bladder wall changed shape as it filled in a rat model.

“When we looked at the bladder’s geometry, we realized it was so much more complex than what had been previously thought.” Azari said. “The bladder wall thickness isn’t uniform, and what used to look like empty spaces on earlier CT scans were actually full of collagen and elastin structures that we could finally see by using multiphoton imaging.”

A complementary experiment then linked these changes to pressure–volume behavior during filling, using a customized imaging-inflation system to visualize the mechanisms behind how bladders fill. The team discovered that the large-scale folds that formed during voiding drove over 95% of the urine out of the bladder. These folds then flattened during filling, enabling the bladder to fill with very little increase in pressure — a critical component for protecting the kidneys and avoiding leakage.

“We observed that bladder filling occurs in two distinct phases, rather than behaving like a simple expanding balloon.” Azari said. “The first phase involves a large increase in volume with minimal pressure change, followed by a high-pressure phase where pressure rises sharply as the bladder continues to fill.”

The team’s study marks the first full-organ mechanical test to capture how a healthy bladder fills, providing critical insight into urological conditions like bladder outlet obstruction (BOO). A common disorder in aging men, the flow of urine from the bladder into the urethra is blocked, causing the bladder to enlarge, thicken, and lose efficiency. Looking ahead, Robertson hopes to continually adapt this model to understand better treatment methods for conditions like BOO and bladder cancer.

“A common treatment for BOO is to surgically reduce the obstruction by removing part of the prostrate with the goal of regaining healthy function.” Robertson said. “Even this invasive treatment fails in about one third of the cases. We're creating a digital twin model for the BOO bladder so that we can determine which patient factors affect outcome and identify more effective personalized treatment strategies.” 

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) grants R01 AG056944 and R01 DK133434. Along with Azari and Robertson, authors include Simon Watkins, Yasutaka Tobe, Lori A. Birder, Naoki Yoshimura and Kanako Matsuoka at the University of Pittsburgh, Christopher Hardin, University of Missouri School of Medicine, and Paul N. Watton, University of Sheffield, UK. 

Through the Plus3 Transfer Plus Program, students explore the intersections of engineering, technology, and society in the Czech Republic. Thanks to renewed scholarship support from the Maiorana Trust of the Nationality Rooms & Intercultural Exchange Programs, 15 scholarships, each worth up to $3,500, will be available for 2026 participants in the two-week, three-credit program. 

“Even though we design our programs to be as cost-effective as possible, airfare and travel costs can still be barriers,” said Alicia Olalde, director of Global Experiences and Engagement at the Swanson School. “Having dedicated scholarship funding for this program helps us ensure that more of our students have access to global learning opportunities.”

The program immerses students in the engineering, cultural, and historical context of Prague, and highlights industrial ties between the Czech Republic and Pittsburgh. Led by Mary Besterfield-Sacre, senior associate dean for academic affairs and director of the Engineering Education Research Center, the program features a mix of company and university visits along with cultural excursions, including stops at the Bohemian Innovation Center, automobile manufacturer Škoda, historic sites such as Terezín and Kutná Hora, and visits to silver mines, cathedrals, power plants, and more. 

“Sometimes you can’t see how engineering impacts societies unless you’re looking at it from a perspective that’s not usual to you.” Besterfield-Sacre said. “When you’re born and raised in Pennsylvania, you can get used to certain things, but when you look at engineering as an outsider, you can pick up on insights you might have missed before, which is fundamentally why we bring these students abroad.” 

14 Swanson School students were awarded Nationality Room scholarships from the Maiorana Foundation for the summer 2025 program. For third-year bioengineering student Amaris Mbuagbaw, who traveled to Prague with the program last summer, the experience deepened her understanding of global research and collaboration. Even with visits to the International Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry and learning about cancer research in the Czech Republic, Mbuagbaw found that one of the strengths of the program was its interdisciplinary nature. 

“Initially, I thought I would learn more about bioengineering, but my final paper was actually more focused on civil and environmental engineering.” Mbuagbaw said. “Going on this trip, you can really think outside the box and invest your time into learning different things that are technically not in your field of study.” 

Unlike other SSOE Plus3 programs for first-year students, this program is open to SSOE sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and priority acceptance is given to students who have transferred into the school. Scholarship applications are open until December 1, 2025, and the complete program application is due January 28th, 2026. 

“I think being a responsible engineer today means developing a global perspective,” Olalde said. “Engineering solutions aren’t one-size-fits-all—the right answer in Pittsburgh may look very different in West Virginia, South Africa, or the Czech Republic. You have to design with context in mind, and there’s no better way to learn that than through experiential opportunities like Plus3.

Don’t have a passport? The Swanson School’s Global Experiences and Engagement Office is offering a passport raffle to support first-time U.S. passport applicants, funded through generous alumni donations. Eligible students must be U.S. citizens who have never held a passport and are graduating after 2027. Winners will receive reimbursement of application and execution fees (up to $165) upon submitting proof of application by January 31, 2026. The raffle closes on Wednesday, November 19 at midnight, with winners announced the following day. Apply now!