Research

Our primary research areas include:

• Mechanobiology and Biomechanics 
• Engineered Tissues
• Diagnostics, devices, and instrumentation 
• Imaging and Photonics
• Biomaterials/Materials Science

Bioengineer research groups are affiliated with the Harper Cancer Research Institute, the Institute for Precision Health, and other Notre Dame research centers, giving graduate students access to world class facilities and experts in biomedical and engineering research. Research is supported by grants from the NIH, NSF, DOD, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, and other foundations as well as by industry.

Biomaterials

• Donny Hanjaya-Putra
  Biomimetic materials to control stem cell differentiation and morphogenesis.
• Maria Holland
  Mechanics of growth in soft tissues; computational modeling of brain growth and development.
• Meenal Datta
• Mimicking tissue biomaterial properties and in cancer models/scaffolds 
• Ryan Roeder
  Imaging probes, nanoparticles, scaffolds
• Joshua Shrout
  Discernment of bacterial pathogen colonization of implanted biomaterials.
• Matthew Webber
  Self-assembly of peptide and protein-based biomaterials through affinity.
• Yichun Wang
• Nanomaterials and nanocomposite for drug delivery and 3D tissue models.

Cancer

• Başar Bilgiçer
  Development of diagnostics tools for the proper assessment of food and drug allergies. Development of super sensitive protein-biomarker detection sensors for cancer diagnostics.
• Meenal Datta
  Abnormal tumor microenvironment (biological, mechanical, chemical, electrical); tumor mechanopathologies and effects on host tissues; cancer immunity and immunotherapy; immunomechanics/mechano-immunology
• Glen Niebur
  Experimental, computational, and in vivo models of bone and bone marrow mechanobiology applied to osteoporosis, cancer metastasis, and metabolic diseases.
• Thomas O'Sullivan
• Noninvasive and minimally invasive imaging of cancer diagnosis and tumor response to therapy.
• Pinar Zorlutuna
  Soft tissue mechanics, bioengineering, tissue engineering, mechanobiology
• Yichun Wang
• Nanotherapeutics and nanodiagnostic for various cancers.

Computational and Systems Biology

• Tijana Milenkovic
  Network science, network mining, computational biology, computational graph theory, algorithms.
• Meenal Datta
• Ai-informed multi-modal and multi-omic bioinformatics.

Drug Delivery/Therapeutics

• Başar Bilgiçer
  Development of targeted nanoparticle drug carriers for various cancers. Engineering of allergic reaction inhibitors.
• H. Chia Chang
  Developing low-cost liquid biopsy nanotechnologies for cancer screening and therapy management.
• Meenal Datta
• Modeling and improving drug delivery via biotransport mechanisms; nanoparticle design
• Donny Hanjaya-Putra
  Engineering stem cell for site-specific targeting therapeutics.
• Ryan Roeder
  Controlled growth factor delivery from biomaterial scaffolds 
• Matthew Webber
  Spatiotemporal targeting of molecular therapeutics through tunable supramolecular affinity
• Yichun Wang
• Synthetic and naturally derived nanoscale drug carriers for cancer treatment and immunotherapy.

Environmental Science

• Robert Nerenberg
  Biofilms, especially membrane-biofilm reactors (MBfRs) and membrane biofouling
• Joshua Shrout
  Community behavior and biofilm development of bacteria.
• Jingcheng Ma
• Development of phase transition-based, portable, low-cost, and sensitive devices to detect airborne biomarkers including molecular metabolites, allergens, and pathogens.

Health Robotics and Technology

• Paul Bohn
  Use of molecular nanotechnology for chemical analysis
• Danny Chen
  Biomedical image processing and analysis, computational biomedicine, medical treatment planning, deep learning methods for biomedical applications.
• Scott Howard
  Technology achieving high-resolution 3D microscopy in living tissue.
• Emily Johnson
  Parametric modeling and performance-based design of complex medical devices (e.g., heart valves).
• Thomas O'Sullivan
  Development of optical spectroscopy and imaging techniques for preclinical and clinical studies. technology for wearable and implantable optical biosensors.
• Ryan Roeder
  Nanoparticle imaging probes, contrast-enhanced CT, molecular imaging with spectral CT.
• James Schmiedeler
  Biomechanics of human motion, robot- and technology-assisted rehabilitation.
• Bradley Smith
  Imaging of cancer and infection; fluorescence guided surgery.
• Patrick Wensing
  Robot- and technology-assisted rehabilitation; human-machine interface technologies.
• Jingcheng Ma
• Development of phase transition-based, portable, low-cost, and sensitive devices to detect airborne biomarkers including molecular metabolites, allergens, and pathogens.
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Mechanobiology and Physical Effects on Cells

• Donny Hanjaya-Putra
  Mechanical regulation of stem cell differentiation in vascular and lymphatic systems.
• Maria Holland
  Mechanics of growth in soft tissues; computational modeling of brain growth and development
• Meenal Datta Immunomechanics/mechano-immunology in (patho)physiology; biological consequences of abnormal mechanical properties and forces in tumors.
• Glen Niebur
  Experimental, computational, and in vivo models of bone and bone marrow mechanobiology applied to osteoporosis, cancer metastasis, and metabolic diseases.
• Pinar Zorlutuna
  Tissue Engineering, Biorobotics, Stem Cells, Micro/nanofabrication, Organ-on-chip.

Orthopaedics

• Glen Niebur
  Experimental, computational, and in vivo models of bone and bone marrow mechanobiology applied to osteoporosis, cancer metastasis, and metabolic diseases.
• Joshua Shrout
  Prosthetic joint infections.

Engineered Cells and Tissues

• Donny Hanjaya-Putra
  Stem cell for tissue engineering and disease modeling.
• Glen Niebur
  Experimental, computational, and in vivo models of bone and bone marrow mechanobiology applied to osteoporosis, cancer metastasis, and metabolic diseases.
• Gregory Timp
  Nanobiotechnology; biophysics; single molecule detection; protein nanopore sequencing; secretome detection and transfection; synthetic tissue; cancer metastasis; induced pluripotent stem cells; visualizing live cell physiology with high-resolution using STEM
• Matthew Webber
  Injectable and responsive materials for support of therapeutics cell populations and delivery of regenerative signals.
• Meenal Datta
• Microphysiological models of the tumor microenvironment, including mechanics and immunity; engineering cancer models in microgravity/space.
• Jeremiah Zartman
  Biological systems; Developmental biology; Growth Control; Regeneration; Systems bioengineering
• Pinar Zorlutuna
  Tissue Engineering, Biorobotics, Stem Cells, Micro/nanofabrication, Organ-on-chip.
• Yichun Wang
• High throughput and high content biomaterial platform for engineering tissue models.

Rehabilitation and Motor Control

• Edgar Bolívar-Nieto
  Biomechanics of human motion, robot- and technology-assisted rehabilitation.
• Margaret Coad
  Biomechanics of human motion, robot- and technology-assisted rehabilitation.
• James Schmiedeler
  Biomechanics of human motion, robot- and technology-assisted rehabilitation.
• Patrick Wensing
  Robot- and technology-assisted rehabilitation; human-machine interface technologies.

Sensors and Diagnostics

• Başar Bilgiçer
  Development of diagnostics tools for the proper assessment of food and drug allergies. Development of super sensitive protein-biomarker detection sensors for cancer diagnostics.
• Merlin Bruening
  Development of thin films for specific protein capture in porous membranes, ion separations in electrodialysis, and controlled protein digestion prior to analysis with mass spectrometry.
• Hsueh-Chia Chang
  Development of low-cost liquid biopsy nanotechnologies for cancer screening and therapy management.
• David Go
  Development of microfluidic technologies for cancer screening and diagnostics. Development of ionization sources for mass spectrometry for biochemical analysis.
• Nosang Myung
  Development of intelligent sensor systems for precision health including electronic nose and tongue.
• Thomas O’Sullivan
  Development of optical spectroscopy and imaging techniques for preclinical and clinical studies. technology for wearable and implantable optical biosensors.
• Joshua Shrout
  Development of Screening and assessment of bacterial pathogens for drug susceptibility.
• Jingcheng Ma
• Development of phase transition-based, portable, low-cost, and sensitive devices to detect airborne biomarkers including molecular metabolites, allergens, and pathogens.