UC Trustees Approve Biomedical Engineering Department
Whitaker Foundation Grant Supports New Initiative

Cincinnati -- The University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees today approved the formation of a Department of Biomedical Engineering in the Colleges of Engineering and Medicine. The new department is the outgrowth of a long-standing collaborative effort between the colleges and the first interdisciplinary department to cross UC's main academic and medical campuses.

At the same time, the Whitaker Foundation, a national leader in supporting biomedical engineering, announced it is awarding UC a three-year, Special Opportunity grant worth nearly $1 million to support the new department. The grant must be renewed each year. The first payment of $319,481 is effective Jan. 1, 2001.

"Your efforts and vision paid off handsomely. UCBME has an even more solid footing," said Anthony Perzigian, Senior Vice President and Provost for Baccalaureate and Graduate Education, following announcement of the Whitaker Foundation grant. Additional funding will come from UC and the Ohio Board of Regents Action Fund ($485,500 each).

"The University of Cincinnati has an excellent opportunity to become a leader in biomedical engineering," said Donald C. Harrison, MD, Senior Vice President and Provost for Health Affairs. "There are existing strengths at UC in both medicine and engineering, with strong ongoing collaborations. Those will be further enhanced by the new department."

The new department will train both undergraduate and graduate students. David Butler, professor of engineering mechanics and a founding fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, expects to see a high demand by students in both programs.

"There is need as well as opportunity," said Butler. "The demand for biomedical engineers in Ohio and the Midwest significantly exceeds supply." That means the new department is likely to have a rapid and significant economic impact, serving both regional industries and healthcare facilities.

"The University of Cincinnati has a unique opportunity to integrate disciplinary strengths across campus to perform cutting-edge research, educate leaders, develop intellectual property, and transfer innovations quickly to patient care through industrial interactions," said Stephen Kowel, Dean of the College of Engineering. UC is the first public university in Ohio to create a biomedical engineering department.

John Hutton, Dean of the College of Medicine, thanked Kowel for making the new department a priority so early in his tenure at UC. "Dean Kowel quickly saw the opportunity to build an outstanding inter-college Department of Biomedical Engineering upon the strong research bases and faculty of engineering and medicine," said Hutton. "His visionary leadership was key to making this happen. It has been a pleasure to work with him and the faculty to accomplish something important to the University and our community."

The first undergraduate students would be admitted to the department in Fall 2001 with enrollment expected to reach 120-130 in the coming years. Master's and doctoral level students would be admitted in either Fall 2002 or 2003 with enrollment expected to reach about 100 students by 2006. More important, the Department of Biomedical Engineering is expected to boost enrollment of women and minorities. Studies indicate those groups enroll at much higher rates in biomedical engineering than in other engineering fields.

The primary focus areas for the new department will be in Bioinformatics, Medical Imaging, and Tissue Engineering and Biomechanics. Students will also have access to emerging focus areas in BioMEMS, Environmental Health and Performance, and Biomaterials Engineering. All require a close collaboration across medical and engineering disciplines. "This is a long-overdue initiative that finally brings together two of UC's major research-intensive colleges in a formal way," said Robert Highsmith, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Medicine. "The research focus areas were chosen to build on current strengths that align with planned initiatives and strong federal research support for these areas."

The interim department head will be William Ball, MD, professor of pediatrics and radiology at the UC College of Medicine, and chief of neuroradiology at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati. Dr. Ball is also director of the Imaging Research Center. Christy Holland in the department of radiology will serve as Director of Research in the new department and lead the medical imaging efforts.

Engineering Professor Ed Grood will be Director of Undergraduate Education, and Professor David Butler will serve as Graduate Director and principal investigator of the Whitaker Foundation grant.

Steven Boyce, associate professor of surgery and director of the Tissue Engineering Labs at Shriners Burns Hospital, will bring expertise in biology and the engineering of skin substitutes. The faculty will grow as enrollment and research funding increases and is expected to reach 15 members.