Welcome to the UAB Department of Biomedical Engineering! We hope that our new website will allow us to express BME activities more nimbly and frequently. The next 10 years is a really exciting era of convergence of engineering and life sciences and I am thrilled to be part of this process.
At the beginning of my tenure as Chair of BME, it is important that I share with you my initial thoughts as we prepare to confront together the challenges of the coming years. I take this opportunity to appreciate the trust that the UAB leadership has shown in me and I am grateful to our UAB-BME faculty for supporting my initiatives in the first 12 months of my tenure. I am humbled by the task ahead, yet energized by the support that the faculty have already expressed.
The new joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at UAB provides leadership in teaching the principles of engineering and biology, and in conducting research that will translate new discoveries in biological engineering science to the fields of public health and clinical medicine. These efforts will enable us to identify new solutions to critical challenges in health care and the life sciences.
Our objective is to perform cutting-edge research in biomedical engineering that aims to address significant unmet clinical needs through the development and use of innovations in engineering. To meet our goals, we will establish departmental themes that synergistically integrate complementary intellectual expertise and cutting-edge research. Theme activities will increase the department’s visibility within UAB and promote collaborations across the boundaries of colleges and clinical units. These activities will need to be funded by both endowments and unrestricted funds, thus one of our objectives is to obtain center grants and training grants, which will increase the national visibility of the UAB-BME.
The broad educational mission at UAB-BME is to provide an outstanding biomedical engineering education through an integrated curriculum that will lead to the development of future leaders in the fields of biomedical engineering, clinical medicine, business, and law. We will build on our already strong undergraduate and graduate programs, and develop the department’s educational program to leverage UAB’s strengths in IT and other basic and clinical science educational units.
The UAB-BME research programs will address major challenges in medicine and public health by conducting high-impact bioengineering investigations with results that can be translated to the clinic. We will build on existing core strengths in several broad and overlapping areas. To advance our research mission, the department will develop synergistic relationships with other colleges, departments, and clinical units. The objectives will address major unmet clinical needs and health concerns.
Finally, I would like to thank our BME community for their support and all the individuals who have played such an instrumental role in helping get the new joint Department of Biomedical Engineering off the ground. And we are just getting started! I look forward to work with each one of you and your cooperation and support to growing as one in 2018 and beyond.
Best Wishes,
Jianyi “Jay” Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering
T. Michael and Gillian Goodrich Endowed Chair of Engineering Leadership
Professor of Medicine, of Engineering
School of Medicine, School of Engineering