Rice University Bioengineering

One month from today! Join us for The International Society for Engineering Health (ISEH) First Annual Summit on Engineering the Elimination of Diseases. This inaugural summit will convene internationally recognized leaders at Rice University in the Texas Medical Center around one bold mission: engineering the elimination of some of our most challenging diseases. Over two days, participants will engage with pioneers working across gene editing, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, cancer research, precision medicine, cell therapies and other rapidly advancing fields. Rice University serves as Academic Host and Lead Sponsor, with the University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering as Co-Sponsor. This National Academy of Engineering member-led event is endorsed by the National Academy of Medicine. https://lnkd.in/dVtb9_xH

Research from Rice University bioengineers shows promise for Type 1 diabetes treatment and autoimmune diseases. A new approach from a team including Omid Veiseh, Amanda Nash, doctoral student Dilrasbonu Vohidova and doctoral alumna Boram Kim enables implanted insulin-producing cells to keep blood sugar under control in diabetic mice for more than 100 days—nearly five times longer than cells implanted without protection. It's an important step forward for cell-based therapies. https://lnkd.in/e3W_whGf

The Advances in Tissue Engineering short course at Rice University is part of a rich legacy of discovery in the field. Now in its 33rd year, the course continues to bridge academia and industry, shaping the global tissue engineering community. Thirteen Rice University School of Engineering and Computing faculty members will join an international lineup of speakers to share research on patient-specific therapeutics, from cellular treatments to 3D printing and biofabrication of complex tissues: Gang Bao, Caleb Bashor, Jessica Butts, Jane Grande-Allen, Isaac Hilton, Lydia E. Kavraki, Michael King, Kevin McHugh, Antonios Mikos, Cindy Reinhart-King, Jacob Robinson, Christina Tringides, Omid Veiseh. Learn more about this virtual program organized by Antonios Mikos, taking place August 12-15: https://tissue.rice.edu/

On August 12-15, we will welcome more than two dozen scholars from around the world as guest faculty speakers for the 33rd annual Advances in Tissue Engineering short course. Organized by Rice University's Antonios Mikos, the course will survey the latest knowledge and technologies in the world of patient-specific therapeutics, from cellular treatments to 3D printing and biofabrication of complex tissues. We are pleased to welcome guest faculty and speakers for the virtual short course: Mohammad Albanna (Humabiologics®, Inc), Athina Bakopoulou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH)), Thomas Boland (The University of Texas at El Paso), Maria Chatzinikolaidou (University of Crete), Lorenzo Deveza (Baylor College of Medicine), Luis A. Diaz Gomez (University of Santiago de Compostela), Eleonora Dondossola (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center), Mary C. Farach-Carson (The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Dentistry), John P Fisher (University of Maryland), Michael Floren, Ph.D. (AlloSource®), Eliza Fong (National University of Singapore), Teja Guda (The University of Texas at San Antonio), Dimitrios Kontoyiannis (University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center), Hai Lin (Sichuan University), Lorenzo Moroni (Maastricht University), Katja Schenke-Layland (University of Tuebingen), Heungsoo Shin (Hanyang University), Yasuhiko Tabata (Kyoto University), Alexander Tatara (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center), Johnna Temenoff (Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University), Venu G.Varanasi (The University of Texas at Arlington), William R. Wagner (University of Pittsburgh), Xiumei Wang (Tsinghua University), James J. Yoo (Wake Forest University), Simon Young (The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Dentistry), Shengmin Zhang (Huazhong University of Science and Technology) Learn more about the program: https://tissue.rice.edu/

"When you are in the lab full-time, the people really matter—and everyone brings something different." That was a key takeaway for Columbia University undergraduate student Charlotte Connolly, participant in the 2026 Research Experiences for Undergrads (REUs). Over the past 10 weeks, students from across the country joined Rice University labs to explore healthcare innovations in real-world research settings. 🩺 The ENGMED (Engineering and Medicine) program brought students to Rice Bioengineering's home in the Texas Medical Center to explore innovations in healthcare, from cellular and molecular engineering to robotics. Faculty director Dr. Caleb Bashor introduced students to emerging technologies that are changing the way we study, diagnose, and treat disease. ♥️ The SURFN program (Summer Undergraduate Research for Foreign Nationals) opened pathways for students to explore cardiovascular research. Led by Dr. Jane Grande-Allen, students worked alongside faculty to develop new ways to treat heart disease and stroke. 👂 The STEMM-HEAR program, now in its third year, gave students with hearing loss an opportunity to perform inner ear research under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Raphael. The students were part of a cadre of 10 young scholars supported by The National Institutes of Health R25 GRANT with other institutions: The Johns Hopkins University, University of Southern California, Stanford University, Creighton University and University of Minnesota. Students integrated with the other REU programs and benefited from professional development and supportive activities. Learn more about REUs at Rice University School of Engineering and Computing: https://lnkd.in/eFPTkF2m

How did Houston become home to the largest medical center in the world? Houston Chronicle's timeline illustrates how the Texas Medical Center has grown over the past century to what it is today: 49 member institutions, including the largest children’s hospital and cancer hospital in the world. 10 million patient encounters every year. Rice bioengineers have a rich history of partnership with the Texas Medical Center—from collaborating on the first artificial heart in 1964 to today's high-impact collaborations, enhanced by our location within the medical center at the BioScience Research Collaborative. https://lnkd.in/gvUDmwrD

Dublin is a global technology hub, and Rice University's Global Medical Innovation (GMI) program puts Morgan Mitchell right in the middle of it. Morgan, graduate student in the GMI program, is spending her summer interning in Dublin at CroiValve, an early-stage medical device company developing a unique transcatheter device to repair the tricuspid valve. Through this immersive experience, Morgan is exploring medical device design comprehensively: from market research to hands-on design and prototyping. Outside the lab, she is exploring Ireland’s mountains, seaside towns, and rich culture, while also taking advantage of the opportunity to travel farther afield—including weekend trips to the Swiss Alps and beyond. Learn more about Morgan's journey and the GMI program: https://lnkd.in/ear8EyNA

Two triple academy members. One university. Rice Bioengineering's Rebecca Richards-Kortum and Rice Computer Science's Lydia E. Kavraki have earned one of America's rarest academic distinctions: membership in the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. On August 27 at 4 pm, we will celebrate their extraordinary careers at the Triple Crown of Discovery event. Registration is now open: https://lnkd.in/eTAdEW3Z We hope you'll join us in honoring their global impact. Congratulations, Professors Richards-Kortum and Kavraki.

Research by a Rice team including bioengineer Robert Raphael could help improve assistive technologies for millions of people with hearing loss. Along with collaborators Santiago Segarra and Melia Bonomo, Raphael is using graph signal processing to model how the cochlea processes incoming sound. Their study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nexus, proposes a framework that makes it easier to study human sound perception holistically. It opens up a new way to think about hearing loss and auditory processing. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ejhQp4pG