Class details are subject to change. Last updated 4/28/2015

Course Descriptions

Course descriptions are provided here for only those courses with a temporary course number such as BME 6086-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 6086-001 Special Topics in BME: Sensory Neuroscience Laboratory

Techniques employed in the experimental investigation of sensory neuroscience. Laboratory exercises in psychophysics and assessment of human and animal sensory abilities. Elementary computer programming is used to synthesize and process sound files and analyze psychophysics data.  A one-hour lecture and two two-hour labs each week.

BME 6086-004 Special Topics in BME: Dynamical Modeling of Biochemical Networks

Recent advances in biological measurement technology have opened up a new era in quantitative
biology. Part of this revolution is the new eld of systems biology, which consists of viewing processes
in biological cells as a whole, rather than considering one gene or protein at a time. Systems biology
relies heavily on mathematical models of cellular processes, often derived from the microscopic laws
of chemical and enzyme kinetics. In this course we will focus primarily on continuum (dierential
equation) models of cellular processes arising from these microscopic laws. Because most of these
models wind up being nonlinear, we will spend a lot of time learning techniques to analyze systems
of nonlinear ordinary dierential equations, and we will explore the fundamental dierences between
linear and nonlinear systems. Biological applications will include modeling observed error rates in
protein translation, using system nonlinearities to design biological toggle switches, and exploring
biological motifs that lead to oscillations, switches, and other behaviors.

BME 6086-012 Special Topics in BME: Introduction to Microscopy Imaging and Biophotonics 

This course will discuss the principles of different state-of-art imaging technologies.  Topics include
monochromatic field propagation, field propagation through lens, computational imaging, structured
illumination, coded aperture imaging, spatial-angular light field imaging, holographic imaging, 3D
tomographic imaging,  detector noise, scattering and absorption, energy transitions associated with
fluorescence, phosphorescence, and Raman emissions. Study of different imaging technologies employed for biomedical research and clinical applications: optical coherence tomography, photon migration, acousto-optics (and opto-acoustics) imaging, fluorescence microscopy, phase microscopy, confocal microscopy, coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS), and various super-resolution microscopy techniques.

BME 6086-020 Special Topics in BME: Biomedical Entrepreneurship

This course will prepare students for being innovators and entrepreneurs in life science industries, such as medical devices and biopharmaceuticals. It will involve inter-disciplinary teams that tackle real clinical needs to offer technical solutions and business models that might enable future commercialization. Teams will be aided by industry expert speakers and mentors and faculty coaches. It is expected that businesses might form from the class, but regardless, students will have had an experience that will help them be entrepreneurs in startups or within established firms. Other course information/considerations: Targeting (biomedical, mechanical, and electrical) engineers, MBAs, nurses, medical students, and other health science students.