Complex biomedical systems: from basic science to translation

The Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) of the University of Southern California (BME@USC) has a longstanding tradition of advancing biomedicine through the development and application of novel engineering ideas. More than 80 primary and affiliated faculty members conduct cutting-edge research in a wide variety of areas, such as neuroengineering, biosystems and biosignal analysis, medical devices (including biomicroelectromechanical systems (bioMEMS) and bionanotechnology), biomechanics, bioimaging, and imaging informatics. Currently, the department hosts six internationally recognized research centers: the Biomimetic MicroElectronic Systems Engineering Research Center (funded by the National Science Foundation), the Biomedical Simulations Resource [funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)], the Medical Ultrasonic Transducer Center (funded by NIH), the Center for Neural Engineering, the Center for Vision Science and Technology (funded by an NIH Bioengineering Research Partnership Grant), and the Center for Genomic and Phenomic Studies in Autism (funded by NIH). BME@USC ranks in the top tier of all U.S. BME departments in terms of research funding per faculty.