Engineering PhD: Biomedical Engineering

PhD

This lab led by Assistant Professor Jacob R. Rammer investigates, develops, and implements new technologies to study human motion and achieve mobility independence for people with disabilities. The overarching goal of AMBL’s work is to better meet the needs of people with disabilities in daily life through innovative technology development, and to conduct clinical research to understand and ultimately improve mobility independence, quality of care and quality of life in this population. The team’s smart and connected health approach leverages the latest sensors and software to acquire, model, and analyze mobility and participation data in real-time.

AMBL is housed in UWM’s University Services and Research Building (USRB) and comprises two large laboratory spaces with comprehensive motion capture, human performance, computing, and sensor development equipment.

The Big Data Analytics and Visualization Lab led by Professor Zeyun Yu is focused on developments of new computational approaches and software tools for various types of massive data processing, data mining and visualization using both knowledge-based and data-driven techniques. In particular, they have been developing machine learning and deep neural networks for image processing, natural language processing, and 3D geometric shape modeling and visualization and applying these methods to biomedical research problems such as wound analysis, spine modeling, tumor diagnosis, knee arthroplasty and many others.

They are also interested in building mobile device-based applications for smart and connected systems and internet of things. Our work is supported by NIH, NBCR, GE, MCW, and UWM’s Research Foundation. We welcome collaboration in areas of mutual interest from academic/clinical organizations and industrial partners.

Assistant Professor Priya Premnath and her team use genetic, pharmaceutical, and biomaterial-based therapies to improve bone healing outcomes because the normal bone healing process in aged and diseased populations is impaired and currently no therapies can fully regenerate lost bone.

We are also interested in understanding the fundamental mechanisms involved in cell cycle regulation during healing and harnessing this information to further improve regeneration.

Our lab is uniquely placed to conduct research at the intersection of fundamental biology and biomaterials engineering through application and testing of novel biomaterials in animals (in vivo studies) and mammalian cells (in vitro studies).  We have state-of-the-art equipment for cell culture, animal surgeries, biomaterial fabrication and characterization. We also have access to the Animal Facility, the Biotechnology Center and the Advanced Analysis Facility at UWM.

The Biomedical Instrumentation Lab provides hands-on signals and processing experience using sensors to record and analyze brain waves, which control today’s state-of-the art prosthetic limbs, robotic arms, and humanoid robots. The lab also contains Virtual Reality (VR) headsets that are coupled with state-of-the-art EEG equipment to study cognitive processes and translate brain waves into movements in a VR environment.

The Biorobotics Lab, led by Associate Professor Mohammad “Habib” Rahman, focuses on the design, development, and control of wearable robots that can rehabilitate and assist physically disabled individuals whose upper and lower extremities are impaired. These wearable robots are designed for the individual to use them to rehabilitate, and ultimately, be able to leave the wearable robot behind.

In this lab led by Assistant Professor Mahsa Dabagh, graduate and undergraduate students use biology, mathematics, mechanics, biomaterials, and fluid dynamics to answer key questions about human diseases. We develop innovative prevention and treatment plans for cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which are tightly interconnected.

Our college has a wide range of faculty-led labs that perform cutting edge research. For a full list, click here.