Department Updates
BES Seminars 2024
The BES Fall 2024 seminar series offered Florida Tech students a unique opportunity to engage with leading experts from top-tier institutions. Speakers included Dr Grant Barish (Northwestern), Dr Rihana Bokhari (Baylor College of Medicine) & Dr Andrew Putnam (University of Michigan) covering cutting-edge topics in metabolic diseases, cancer immunotherapy, and tissue engineering. Additional presenters were Drs Zhanar Abil & Yiannis Ampatzidis (both UF) discussing synthetic biology & agricultural technologies in biomedical applications, respectively. The series also showcased talks from Virginia Tech, California Polytechnic State University, and Florida Tech’s Provost John Kiss and Captain Winston Scott, bridging disciplines from aerospace to wearable health technologies. These seminars provide students with invaluable insights into global research trends, opening doors to future academic partnerships. Faculty & students from across the university as well as the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine are encouraged to contact Dr. Tristan Fiedler (fiedler@fit.edu) to meet with BES seminar speakers to explore research collaborations & career opportunities.
Congratulations to our BES faculty, Dr. Venkat Keshav Chivukula, who has received an NIH R01 grant
Good news keeps coming! Dr. Venkat Keshav Chivukula and his collaborators have been awarded an NIH R01 grant of $214,605 per year over a 5-year period for the project titled “ Beyond Urea Kinetics: Balancing Tradeoffs in Dialyzer Design for the Next 50 Years ”. As a co-investigator and the Florida Tech site PI, Keshav will receive a total direct cost of $150, 000 over the five years.
Congratulations to our BES faculty, Dr. Melissa Borgen, who has received an NIH R15 grant
Dr. Melissa Borgen has received an NIH R15 grant, an amount of $389,851 over a 3-year period for her project titled “ The role of PHR signaling in tauopathy-related neurodegeneration”.
Thanks to the BES faculties for a wonderful STEMPower Day
Letters from Department chair:
"A special thanks to Dr. Careesa Liu, Dr. Jianhui Li, Dr. Timothy Crombie, Dr. Melissa Borgen, Dr. Peshala Gamage, and Dr. Sujoy Hajra. I also want to express my appreciation to all of our graduate students who played a key role in the event."
Congratulations to our BES faculty, Dr. Sujoy Ghosh Hajra, who has been awarded a Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC) grant
Dr. Sujoy Ghosh Hajra has been awarded a Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC) grant of $23,040 over a 9-month period for his project titled “ Using blink-related brain and heart activity for improved astronaut cognitive state monitoring”.
Florida Tech is teaming up with the University of Florida, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Florida A&M University to create a consortium — the Center for Science, Research and Technology in Space, or C-STARS — to advance research in the space manufacturing sector.
Juan Sebastian Rodriguez Paez is a gradaute student from Dr. Chivukula's lab. His excellence and dedication at every step in research and community service will inspire and encourage the young generation in the local Brevard Hipanic Community.
Congratulations to our BME senior capstone team, winning the Florida Tech President's Cup
The Florida Tech President’s Cup for Engineering was awarded to the BME senior capstone team for their project titled “StrabiSense: A Nobel Force Sensor for Strabismus Surgery” at the
Student Design Showcase on April 19th, 2024, out of 120 capstone projects.
Thanks to our BME student Jack Shule sharing his life experience at Florida Tech. Being a scholar-athlete at Florida Tech takes an incredible amount of hard work and dedication to excel both in the classroom and on the field, Jack Shule has demonstrated remarkable commitment both in academics and on the field.
Congratulations to our BES student Sergio Solano achieved 3rd place in the oral presentations category at the regional American Society of Plant Biology meeting
Sergio Solano (MS Cell and Molecular Biology), under the guidance of Dr. Andrew G. Palmer, achieved 3rd place in the oral presentations category for his talk titled “Evaluating the Use of Aquatic Plants in Martian Agriculture” at the regional American Society of Plant Biology meeting held at Dauphin Island Sea Lab from March 22-24.
The Gordon L. Nelson Health Sciences Research Innovation Program was developed last year. In late fall 2023, four winners were chosen from 10 proposals. They were selected by a committee comprised of three faculty members and an alumnus who together evaluated the submissions for innovation and method; future external funding potential; significance and potential for publication; and qualifications.
Congratulations to Dr. Nunes on her student's outstanding achievement!
Dr. Amanda Almeida de Oliveira, who completed her PhD under the guidance of Dr. Kenia Nunes in our department, has recently achieved significant recognition. In January 2024, Dr. Amanda Almeida de Oliveira was awarded a $1.1 million grant from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), where she served as a co-applicant. Today, Dr. Amanda Almeida de Oliveira has been honored with a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, recognized as one of the most prestigious postdoctoral fellowships in Canada. Notably, the University of Alberta has not had a successful Banting recipient among its postdoctoral students since 2018. The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship program, described on the website, "provides funding to the very best postdoctoral applicants, both nationally and internationally, who will positively contribute to the country's economic, social, and research-based growth." Congratulations to Dr. Amanda Almeida de Oliveira and her PhD mentor, Dr. Nunes, on this outstanding achievement!
Enhance our student experience since the first year
To further enhance our student experience, freshmen biomedical engineering students (in BME 1045) are being taken out of the classrooms by Dr. Ghosh Hajra into the heart of research and innovation happening in our department. Students are being introduced to the different research areas in biomedical engineering not just in the classroom, but are also getting to visit the various research labs in our department to meet the faculty and see the research in action - including first-hand demonstrations of cutting-edge research tools and techniques. This is a wondering opportunity for students to get to know our faculty early in their university journeys, and the reviews so far have reflected the students’ positive experiences.
Two Florida Tech Students Named 2023 Astronaut Scholars
Karly Liebendorfer, Ruth Nichols Among Recipients from 45 Universities
University Study Examines Leaky Gut Syndrome
An oft-discussed hypothetical syndrome, a university researcher is studying the potential effect of leaky gut on our health.
New Research May Lead to ACL Reconstruction Improvements
Florida Tech doctoral student Nashaita Patrawalla is researching ways to improve ACL reconstruction outcomes.
Breaking into Biomed
A booming industry that is just getting started, biomedicine is shaping health care, society and the future—at Florida Tech and across the globe.
Community Foundation for Brevard Awards Florida Tech’s Guisbert, Harvey Alzheimer’s Research Grants
The Foundation uses a competitive grant process to award research grants from its Kenneth R. Finken and Dorothy Hallam Finken Endowment Fund.
Mechanisms Behind Diabetes Subject of University NIH Grant
A near-half million-dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health will be used to study vascular problems during diabetes.
