UC professor honored for medical device work

University of Cincinnati professor Rupak Banerjee was inducted last week to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering’s College of Fellows. The College of Fellows comprises the top 2 percent of medical and biological engineers and distinguishes those who pioneer new and developing fields of technology. 

The honor reflects the innovation agenda platform of UC’s strategic direction, Next Lives Here.

Banerjee, a professor in UC’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Sciences, directs the Transport in Engineering and Medicine Laboratory. The lab’s mission is to connect patient diagnoses with bio-transport assessment.

Banerjee and his collaborators develop diagnostic endpoints and design devices that detect and treat pathophysiologic conditions, like small and large artery diseases and valvular dysfunction, in the heart. They also use novel devices like high-intensity ultrasound to ablate tumors, microneedle implants to treat ocular diseases and microfluidic devices to detect pathogens in biological fluids.

Under the direction of Banerjee, the team collaborates across disciplines and colleges to successfully treat these biological systems.

“Most of these projects have fluid, heat and mass transfer as their core principle,” said Banerjee. “But they all involve multidisciplinary systems to be successful.”

Banerjee and the lab enhance the quality of life through medical breakthroughs, only one reason why UC is at the forefront of innovation and discovery. The recent honor by the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering recognizes these efforts.