By: Cassidy Delamarter, University Communications and Marketing
鈥淲hen I started my degree at USF, I didn鈥檛 know exactly what to expect. I鈥檝e been blown away by the abundance of opportunities and the support provided by the medical engineering faculty and staff." 鈥� Priscilla Santos, a first-generation student.
Fueled by rapid growth, USF鈥檚 Department of Medical Engineering is expanding its state-of-the-art lab space to support its growing community of students and researchers and meet public demand for biomedical engineers. Since launching its undergraduate program in 2019, the department has more than doubled its student enrollment and faculty, driving innovation at the intersection of engineering and .
鈥淓ven through the pandemic, we continued to grow,鈥� said Distinguished University Professor Robert Frisina, founder and chair of the department. 鈥淭he renovations for our department are an important milestone for us.鈥�
Construction is underway to create three new research laboratories in the Interdisciplinary Sciences Building on the Tampa campus and enhance existing labs with cutting-edge technology, including an advanced 3D bioprinter capable of creating biocompatible tissues and organs for regenerative medicine. Other additions include high-resolution microscopes, improved real-time imaging systems and expanded cell culture facilities.
For students like Victoria Johnson, a Judy Genshaft Honors College student studying biomedical engineering, the lab expansion will elevate her research capabilities and opportunities.
Johnson is developing a non-invasive pressure sensor for medical tubing. Her goal is to use the device to detect if chemotherapy has leaked into a patient鈥檚 surrounding tissue.
鈥淲hat makes this project tricky is its non-invasive nature,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淲e cannot have any contact with the fluid, so we're coming up with some creative ways to measure the pressure of the fluid through the tubing.鈥�
The first medical engineering cohort in 2019
Johnson is one of 43 seniors currently designing prototypes in the medical engineering capstone course led by Associate Professor Souheil Zekri鈥攁 BME class that has grown significantly each year since its first cohort of just five students in 2019. Among that inaugural group was Rachel Llewellyn, now an engineer at Boston Scientific.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to see how much the students have advanced and how much the department has grown,鈥� Llewellyn said. 鈥淚鈥檝e stayed connected by returning each year to review capstone projects. The sheer size of the capstone class is incredible and comparing my capstone project to what today鈥檚 students are producing鈥攊t鈥檚 impressive.鈥�
A rare joint effort between the USF College of Engineering and USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the Department of Medical Engineering was established in 2019 following the Florida Board of Governors' designation USF as a Preeminent State Research University. to support high-impact initiatives, such as the formation of the Department of Medical Engineering, which continues to attract prestigious faculty from across the world.
Since its launch, the department has grown from two full-time faculty members, including Frisina, to 14, with the next phase of expansion focused on securing funding to recruit at least three more full-time faculty members. Despite its relatively small size, the department has made a significant impact鈥攑roducing 25 patents and publishing nearly 650 academic journal articles.
The research has spanned a variety of topics including , novel methods of drug and gene delivery to treat malignancies, significant hearing loss in longtime cancer survivors, unlocking mysteries of brain development, new systems for treating glaucoma and .
Associate Professor Albert Kim is researching how to revolutionize dental implants. In collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania and with $3.2 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, Kim鈥檚 goal is to develop a smart dental implant designed to last longer and minimize failure rates, particularly for smokers and patients with diabetes as their implants tend to fail more frequently.