Biomedical engineering

Dr. David Margolis MD, PhD, is a board certified orthopaedic surgeon with sub-specialty certification in hand surgery. In addition to treating patients, he oversees the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratories within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He collaborates with colleagues across campus in the departments of biomedical engineering, systems engineering, pharmacology and chemistry. His research specifically focuses on bone and cartilage tissue regeneration and development of implantable sensors that continuously monitor fracture healing and bone health. His research interests also include carpal tunnel syndrome, osteoporosis and bone cancer pain.

Jeong-Yeol Yoon, PhD, is Associate Professor in Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering, with joint appointment in Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona. Dr. Yoon obtained his first PhD degree in Chemical Engineering from Yonsei University, South Korea, and his second PhD in Biomedical Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Yoon’s research is focused on the design and the development of micro- and nanotechnology-based biosensors, which can be applied to medical diagnostics, veterinary diagnostics, food safety and environmental monitoring. He is equally interested in designing better biomaterial surfaces with micro- and nanotechnology, which can be used for medical implants and tissue engineering applications.Dr. Yoon has published over 50 original peer-reviewed journal articles and authored a textbook “Introduction to Biosensors” published by Springer. He serves as associate editor or editorial board member for several journals, including Journal of Biological Engineering, Biological Engineering Transactions, and Resource Magazine.

Xiaoyi Wu, PhD, works with biomechanics and biomaterials extensively. Tissue engineering is a primary focus of his work. In addition, he applies computational analysis to his studies of biomaterials.

Urs Utzinger, PhD, is department head of Biomedical Engineering, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Electrical and Computer Engineering, BIO5 Institute, and Optical Sciences.Dr. Utzinger is internationally renowned for his work in optical spectroscopy, fiber optic sensing and microscopy. He has developed clinical instruments for detection of cervical, ovarian and gastrointestinal cancer. He also studies cellular migration during angiogenesis using intravital imaging techniques. He has published over 60 original research papers, 6 of them with more than 100 citations. Many papers were a result of collaborations with physicians and with researchers at multiple institutions. He has authored 3 book chapters and holds 7 issued patents in the field of optical diagnostics. Dr. Utzinger and members of his laboratory frequently present at international bio-photonics meetings. He is a member of the optical society of America and SPIE. In his research Dr. Utzinger has studied the spectral signature of light reemitted from tissue and its components for diagnostic purposes. He has conducted clinical studies on the cervix, with patients undergoing oophorectomy and patients having gastro intestinal procedures. In his laboratory he studies living tissue culture systems with time series and label free imaging. With colleagues he has developed microscopic imaging procedures allowing studying the deformation of the extracellular matrix under tension.As instructor he teaches graduate classes in Biomedical Instrumentation and Biomedical Optics. He introduces engineering undergraduate students into the clinical practice by providing them with experiences in physician’s clinics and university hospital environment.He currently serves as department head in Biomedical Engineering, which is a growing program of more than 160 undergraduate students. He also reviews small business proposals and other research projects for the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Trouard is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Imaging and a member of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute. His research involves the development and application of novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to understand human health and effectively treat disease. Dr. Trouard’s multidisciplinary work spans a range from basic studies of cell culture systems, to studies of preclinical animal models of disease, to clinical imaging in humans. Many aspects of this work are directed towards understanding and treatment of neurological disorders including Alzheimer's Disease, Niemann Pick Type C disease, Stroke and Cancer.

John A Szivek, PhD, is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine and the Director of the Orthopaedic Research Laboratory in the Arizona Arthritis Center. He holds the William and Sylvia Rubin, Chair of Orthopaedic Research and serves as the Chair of the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Interdisciplinary Program. Dr. Szivek is a member of the Physiological Sciences Graduate interdisciplinary Program as well as an adjunct faculty member of Materials Science and Engineering and Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. He is internationally recognized for his research on the development of implantable measurements systems to characterize the effect of implants on tissue and on activity induced musculoskeletal tissue regeneration (specifically bone and cartilage). Recently he has utilized adult stem cells on 3D printed scaffolds to regenerate joint cartilage in efforts to develop techniques to help athletes and osteoarthritis patients. He has published over 180 research articles, several in collaboration with investigators from around the world, and authored 2 book chapters. As part of the sensor and transmitter systems developed in his lab, computer software programs for hand held devices (including tablets, hand held computers and smart phones) have been written to allow portable monitoring of tissue while it heals. He is a frequent presenter at national and international meetings, and has been an invited speaker at the Arizona Rheumatology Society; the Musculoskeletal Transplant Society Board meetings and the research forums at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital in the University of Toronto. He has won more than 165 grants, specifically to provide support to undergraduate minority students, allowing them to do hands on research on a range of activity induced tissue engineering topics. He has trained graduate students with federal grant support and has had support through a number of regional and national foundations to train top tier undergraduates and medical students. Dr. Szivek believes it is essential to effectively train the next generation of bioengineering researchers, clinicians and clinician scientists, in cutting edge topics so that the progress that his lab has made in developing tissue regeneration approaches and sensor/transmitter systems used to design patient specific therapies will become widely utilized.

Judith Su is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering and an Assistant Professor of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona. She is also an Associate Member of the University of Arizona Cancer Center. Judith received her B.S. and M.S. from MIT in Mechanical Engineering and her Ph.D. from Caltech in Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics. Her background is in imaging, microfabrication, and optical instrument building for biological and medical applications. In general, her research interests are to develop new imaging, sensing, and rheological techniques to reveal basic biological functions at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels. Recently her work has centered on label-free single molecule detection using microtoroid optical resonators with a focus on basic research, and translational medicine through the development of miniature field portable devices.