Spring 2010 Offerings

Reminder

BME 4985 (Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering) and BME 4999 (Independent Study in Biomedical Engineering) are available. Please see an instructor in the program if you have an interest in one of these courses.

Course Descriptions

Course descriptions are provided here for only those courses with a temporary course number such as BME 4985-XX. Undergraduate and Graduate course descriptions are provided at the BME website under either the BS Degree Program Description or the Graduate Program Handbook.

BME 4985-001 Special Topics: Computational Cell Biology for BMEs
In the last decade, interdisciplinary science has established itself as a leading area of scientific investigation. The use of physics and mathematics to help understand biological systems hints at being one of the major scientific frontiers of this coming century. This course looks at cellular biology from a physical and mathematical perspective and teaches the application of computational methods for solving cell biological problems. This course stresses the physical intuition of how to apply quantitative methods to the study of biology through the use of dimensional analysis,
analytic calculation and computer modeling. A prerequisite of introductory physics and calculus is recommended.

BME 4985-002 Special Topics: Advanced Optical Microscopy and Bio-Imaging
This course will cover several aspects of state of the art biological and biophysical imaging. We will focus on advanced techniques including nonlinear optical processes (multi-photon excitation, second harmonic generation, and stimulated Raman processes), as well as optical coherence tomography.  3 lab projects will supplement the lectures, providing hands-on experience with nonlinear optical methods.  Special emphasis will be given to current imaging literature and experimental design. Successful completion of “Current Topics in Optical Microscopy and Bio-imaging” is a prerequisite for this course or requires permission of the instructor.

BME 4985-004 Special Topics: Mechanics of Molecules and Cells
The interplay between molecules, cells, and their viscous surrounding are important in determining physical behavior at the micro- and nano- scales.  Mechanics at the micro- and nano-scales can be different from mechanics at the macroscale. Therefore, quantitative engineering, chemical and physical principles will be applied to understand the molecular mechanics associated with the function of these molecules.  Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding the molecular mechanical behavior of proteins that form the cytoskeleton and proteins that act as motors. Scale-dependent mechanical behavior will be studied as it applies to understanding cellular mechanics.

BME 4985 Special Topics: Drug Delivery
This course includes two main issues: 1) physiological barriers and drug transport; 2) design and characterization of drug delivery systems. The first section of this course introduces the mechanisms of drug delivery at the levels of cell, tissue and whole body from the viewpoint of engineering. The second one describes the rational design of various drug delivery systems and emphasizes biomolecular nanomedicines. Case studies of cancer therapy and tissue engineering are described to illustrate the functions of drug delivery systems. The specific topics include:
1. Delivery barriers at the level of nucleus and cell;
2. Delivery barriers at the level of tissue;
3. Delivery barriers at the level of whole body (pharmacokinetics);
4. Preparation/characterization of polymeric delivery systems for local delivery;
5. Preparation/characterization of nanomedicines for systemic delivery.