This area seeks to understand and attack biomedical problems at the microscopic level and use such knowledge to engineer replacement tissues and organs from individual cells. Knowledge of anatomy, biochemistry and the mechanics of cellular and sub-cellular structures is needed to understand disease processes and to target interventions. Armed with such knowledge, new technologies have been, or are being, developed. Examples include: (1) Miniature devices for delivering compounds that stimulate or inhibit cellular processes in precise locations to promote healing or inhibit disease formation and progression; (2) New techniques that have produced replacement skin and may one day produce heart valves, coronary vessels, and even entire hearts; (3) Development of artificial materials used for implantation as well as new biomaterials that incorporate proteins or living cells, thereby providing a truer biological and mechanical match for the living tissue.

Career in Biomedical Engineering