Faculty Accolades

Finding Disease and Toxins Early: Tianfu Wu’s Laboratory Creates Ultra-Sensitive Detection Tool June 27, 2017Tianfu Wu used to dream of the day when cancer could be detected long before it was diagnosed. Now he sees that day dawning because of a system his...	Tianfu Wu used to dream of the day when cancer could be detected long before it was diagnosed. Now he sees that day dawning because of a system his research group created called the ultrasensitive polymeric sensing system (UPSS), which may detect biomarkers early – well before an illness strikes.
Treating Stroke Patients at the Intersection of Nerve and Muscle April 27, 2017A UH biomedical engineer is zeroing in on the gap where nerve meets muscle to bring more precise treatment to stroke patients. The National...	A UH biomedical engineer is zeroing in on the gap where nerve meets muscle to bring more precise treatment to stroke patients. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded more than $434,000 to Assistant Professor Yingchun Zhang to delve deep into the neuromuscular junction, the connector of the nerve and muscle fiber, to calculate the exact spot to deliver the dose of motion-restoring Botox.
Global Visitors Come To Cullen College Biomedical Engineering Department April 27, 2017The Cullen College department of biomedical engineering hosted a roster of distinguished international guests.	The Cullen College department of biomedical engineering hosted a roster of distinguished international guests.
Eyes on the Prize: Two Biomedical Engineers Awarded $1.1M to Study Unique Gene Specific to the Eye February 14, 2017Two Cullen College biomedical engineering professors, Muna Naash, John S. Dunn Endowed Professor and Muayyad Al-Ubaidi, see eye-to-eye on just about...	Two Cullen College biomedical engineering professors, Muna Naash, John S. Dunn Endowed Professor and Muayyad Al-Ubaidi, see eye-to-eye on just about everything.
The Clot Thickens: UH Engineer's New Method To Help Keep Donated Blood Supply Safe November 22, 2016Every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood, according to America’s Blood Centers, generating a fundamental need to keep the blood...	Every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood, according to America’s Blood Centers, generating a fundamental need to keep the blood supply healthy. A significant part of that process is to remove the white cells (leukocytes) from donated blood.
Turkish Consul General Visits Cullen College’s Biomedical Engineering Department November 21, 2016Cullen College’s biomedical engineering department was host to Houston’s Turkish consul general on Nov. 1. Ferhat Alkan met professors and visited...	Cullen College’s biomedical engineering department was host to Houston’s Turkish consul general on Nov. 1. Ferhat Alkan met professors and visited labs before having lunch with a few faculty and staff members.
Restoring the Sense of Touch Makes Professor Joe Francis Sensational August 17, 2016If it has to do with the brain, Associate Professor of biomedical engineering Joe Francis’ neurons are crackling. While he continues teaching robots...	If it has to do with the brain, Associate Professor of biomedical engineering Joe Francis’ neurons are crackling. While he continues teaching robots to sense what humans want through brain research, he’s just published a paper in the Journal of Neural Engineering where he shares his ideas to restore the lost sense of touch by electrical stimulation of the central nervous system.
UH Biomedical Engineer Pursues Nerve Regeneration August 15, 2016A biomedical engineer from the University of Houston will use a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to determine how best to...	A biomedical engineer from the University of Houston will use a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to determine how best to spur nerve regeneration in the nervous system.
Professor Joe Francis’ Mind is Teeming with Ways to Team with Robots July 26, 2016To the unfamiliar, it might seem a Jedi mind trick – the notion of controlling robots by simply thinking of what you wish for them to do. If so, then...	To the unfamiliar, it might seem a Jedi mind trick – the notion of controlling robots by simply thinking of what you wish for them to do. If so, then Joe Francis, associate professor of biomedical engineering, is Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Research Identifies New Blood Biomarkers for Lupus June 17, 2016Biomedical engineers at the UH Cullen College of Engineering have identified several new blood biomarkers that can help to predict which lupus...	Biomedical engineers at the UH Cullen College of Engineering have identified several new blood biomarkers that can help to predict which lupus patients will progress towards more severe forms of the disease.
UH Engineer Targets Corneal Disease Through Imaging and Analysis June 13, 2016A biomedical engineer at the University of Houston is developing new techniques to map the structural integrity of the human cornea, work that could...	A biomedical engineer at the University of Houston is developing new techniques to map the structural integrity of the human cornea, work that could lead to more effective therapies for degenerative corneal disease.
Professor Earns Multiple Awards Worth Millions for Brain-Machine Interface Research March 29, 2016Joseph T. Francis, associate professor of biomedical engineering, has earned four grants amounting to more than $4 million since he joined the...	Joseph T. Francis, associate professor of biomedical engineering, has earned four grants amounting to more than $4 million since he joined the faculty at the UH Cullen College of Engineering less than six months ago.
Engineer Earns Millions to Explore Effects of Alcohol and Nicotine on Brain Development in Mice February 18, 2016Maternal exposures to alcohol and nicotine, which are sometimes abused during pregnancies, are linked to fetal growth retardation and neurotoxicity....	Maternal exposures to alcohol and nicotine, which are sometimes abused during pregnancies, are linked to fetal growth retardation and neurotoxicity. However, the individual and combined effects of the toxins on molecular mechanisms of fetal development are poorly understood.
Award Allows Engineers to Pursue Technique for Assessing Systemic Sclerosis February 18, 2016Two professors at the UH Cullen College of Engineering earned a $200,000 Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) Discovery Award from the U.S...	Two professors at the UH Cullen College of Engineering earned a $200,000 Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) Discovery Award from the U.S. Department of Defense to further explore a quantitative assessment technique for systemic sclerosis (SSc). The autoimmune disorder is characterized by thickening of soft tissues in the body caused by accumulations of collagen.
Engineering Professor Discovers Gene Linked to Lupus January 13, 2016Lupus is an autoimmune disease that affects approximately 1.5 million Americans, according to the Lupus Foundation of America. In lupus patients,...	Lupus is an autoimmune disease that affects approximately 1.5 million Americans, according to the Lupus Foundation of America. In lupus patients, antibodies that are produced by the immune system’s B cells to protect the body against invading bacteria and viruses also attack the body’s healthy cells.
Engineering Research Shows Potential for Helping Lupus Patients January 4, 2016Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease without a cure and without a highly effective treatment option. Many scientists believe that genetics and...	Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease without a cure and without a highly effective treatment option. Many scientists believe that genetics and environmental factors interact to cause immune cells in the human body to overreact and attack healthy cells and organs in the estimated 1.5 million Americans affected by the disease.
Professor Elected Optical Society Fellow November 13, 2015Kirill Larin, professor and director of the biomedical engineering graduate program at the UH Cullen College of Engineering, was recently elected a...	Kirill Larin, professor and director of the biomedical engineering graduate program at the UH Cullen College of Engineering, was recently elected a Fellow of The Optical Society, OSA.
Fish Oil Supplements Offer Promising Results for Lupus Patients August 25, 2015An estimated 1.5 million Americans and at least five million people worldwide live with a form of lupus, a chronic autoimmune disorder, and...	An estimated 1.5 million Americans and at least five million people worldwide live with a form of lupus, a chronic autoimmune disorder, and approximately 16,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year, according to the Lupus Foundation of America website. Almost 90 percent of those diagnosed with the disease are women between the ages of 15 and 44.
Biomedical Engineering Chair Receives Honorary Doctoral Degree from Aalborg University April 20, 2015Metin Akay, founding chair of the biomedical engineering department at the UH Cullen College of Engineering, received an honorary doctoral degree in...	Metin Akay, founding chair of the biomedical engineering department at the UH Cullen College of Engineering, received an honorary doctoral degree in biomedical engineering and science from Aalborg University in Denmark on Friday, April 17.
Journal Features Professor and Ph.D.’s Heart Muscle Research on Cover January 23, 2015Researchers at the Cullen College’s biomedical engineering Artificial Heart Laboratory (AHL) have recently accomplished a feat valued to researchers...	Researchers at the Cullen College’s biomedical engineering Artificial Heart Laboratory (AHL) have recently accomplished a feat valued to researchers across the world: their research was not only chosen for publication in a scholarly journal, but their illustrations were also chosen to serve as the journal’s cover art.

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