MIT
Reports to the President 1994-95
The Center for Biomedical Engineering (CBE) was established in January 1995.
An interdepartmental minor degree program in Biomedical Engineering, developed
by the CBE Curriculum Committee (headed by Roger Kamm, Alan Grodzinsky, and
Linda Griffith Cima) was approved in May 1995, to be administered through CBE
by Associate Director for Programs, Roger Kamm.
CBE members offered new courses in Cell Engineering (Doug Lauffenburger) and
Cell & Molecular Kinetics and Transport in Organs and Tissues (Linda
Griffith Cima); new laboratory courses are being developed in Molecular
Engineering (Paul Matsudaira) and Cell & Tissue Engineering (Elazer
Edelman). CBE members are also working with the Division of Health Sciences
& Technology to create a new PhD degree track analogous to the Medical
Engineering / Medical Physics degree, emphasizing quantitative approaches to
molecular and cell biology.
Thrusts are being developed in Molecular Engineering, Cell & Tissue
Engineering, and Physiological Systems Engineering. New multi-disciplinary
collaborative project areas have been initiated between CBE investigators in
Engineering and Biology/Medicine; examples include:
- Paul Matsudaira (Biology) and Ian Hunter (Mechanical Engineering) --
physicochemical microscopies for investigation of single molecule properties
- Doug Lauffenburger (Chemical Engineering), Roger Kamm (Mechanical
Engineering), and Shuguang Zhuang (Biology) -- self-assembling peptide
biomaterials for control of cell functions
- Alan Grodzinsky (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science) and Bob
Rubin (Health Sciences & Technology) -- noninvasive diagnosis of arthritis
by measurement of tissue electrochemical transport properties
- Linda Griffith Cima (Chemical Engineering) and J.P. Vacanti (Harvard Medical
School) -- creation of three-dimensional vascularized organoids for replacement
of tissue function
Multi-user core laboratory facilities are being developed, under the direction
of Associate Director for Facilities, Alan Grodzinsky, in Graphics Analysis
& Display, Histology & Immunochemistry, Biomolecular Interactions &
Cell Responses, and Quantitative Microscopy & Image Analysis. A core
facility in Electron Microscopy is being shared with the Department of Biology,
and a Laser Optical Trap core facility is being developed with the Whitehead
Institute.
An NSF grant for development of a multi-user Quantitative Microscopy &
Image Analysis Network has been obtained by the CBE team of Elazer Edelman, Ian
Hunter, Forbes Dewey, and Doug Lauffenburger. A Whitaker Foundation Special
Opportunities Award grant for a Laboratory in Cell & Tissue Engineering has
been obtained by Elazer Edelman. A proposal for an analogous grant for a
Laboratory in Molecular Engineering has been invited from Paul Matsudaira.
Douglas Lauffenburger
MIT
Reports to the President 1994-95