bioengineering Archives

Jaimi Lard, who is blind and deaf, feels the TATUM robotic hand to try to determine what letter it is spelling during a validation study at the Northeastern University Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Complex. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

This robot uses tactile sign language to help deaf-blind people communicate independently

While many others were baking bread early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Northeastern bioengineering graduate student Samantha Johnson built a robotic arm. Now, that robot can produce tactile sign language that she hopes will enable more independence for people in the deaf-blind community.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki August 4, 2021

Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

You won’t want to miss these events in the second half of June

Get advice from a life coach. Learn about the dangers of deepfake technology. Donate blood. These and other events are what’s on tap in June.

by Kaitlyn Budion June 12, 2020

Christina Carroll, a bioengineering student at Northeastern, teaches Arduino, a coding platform that allows for rapid prototyping, to a group of technicians, technical students, and engineers at St. Paul’s Hospital and Millennium Medical College. Photo courtesy of Caitlynn Tov

Engineering students had a bright idea: A new kind of surgical lamp for doctors in Ethiopia

At the second-largest hospital in Ethiopia, medical devices are often donated, and the overwhelming majority are faulty after five years, says bioengineering student Joe Iskander. He and a team of students traveled to Addis Ababa in March, where they equipped the hospital with a surgical lamp that can be recreated and repaired with locally sourced parts.

by Irvin Zhang May 19, 2020

Kerry Eller, a bioengineering student at Northeastern, has been named a Truman Scholar. The scholarship is a national award and the premiere fellowship in the United States for those pursuing careers as public service leaders. Photo courtesy of Kerry Eller. Photo courtesy Kerry Eller

She’s solving global health issues on a local level

Bioengineering student Kerry Eller has studied international law and policy in Geneva, started developing a low-cost wearable pesticide monitor for agricultural workers in Santiago, and taught technicians, technical students, and engineers in Ethiopia critical skills for developing medical devices. She has been named a Truman Scholar.

by Khalida Sarwari April 19, 2020

Jake Potts, a bioengineering student at Northeastern, has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship, which he will use to study mutations in DNA repair genes at Sorbonne University in Paris. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

He wants to find ways to prevent or slow the spread of cancer

Jake Potts, a bioengineering student at Northeastern, has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study how DNA repair pathways cause mutations. He’ll attend Sorbonne University in Paris in the fall.

by Khalida Sarwari March 26, 2020

Abigail Koppes, assistant professor of chemical engineering, is isolating cell groups on tiny plastic chips, enabling her team to observe the specific roles of cells that have gotten lost in the noise of the body. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

If cells could talk… Actually, they do. But what are they saying?

How our cells talk—and what they say—is complicated, and it’s different body to body. To boil down this performance to its characters, assistant professor Abigail Koppes is letting them play out on a chip, clarifying both their roles and how sensitive they are to a set change.

by Aria Bracci January 31, 2020

Ambika Bajpayee, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Northeastern, has created a birth control pill that would need to be taken just once per month. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

What if birth control pills could be taken monthly, instead of every day?

Currently, oral contraceptives need to be taken at the same time every day to be effective. Ambika Bajpayee, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Northeastern, has created a birth control pill that needs to be taken just once per month.

by Laura Castañón December 4, 2019

Mona Minkara, assistant professor of bioengineering in the College of Engineering, holds a model of a molecule. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

She realized that her blindness was a strength

The research of Mona Minkara, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Northeastern, could help researchers understand how vaping affects our lung function, as well as lead to better treatments for diseases such as respiratory distress syndrome. And she’s hoping to pave the way for other blind scientists.

by Laura Castañón November 7, 2019

Sparx, founded by Northeastern graduate Russell Layton, has been ranked 56th on the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing private companies in the U.S. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

From the NHL to the local rink, he’s helping ice hockey players stay sharp

People would roll their eyes whenever Northeastern graduate Russell Layton described his invention: a machine that enables hockey players to sharpen their skates at home. His fast-growing company, Sparx, has silenced the doubters.

by Ian Thomsen August 23, 2019

Jeffery Ruberti, professor of biomedical engineering, uses a machine built by Northeastern students to create a controlled ultrasonic system that produces collagen sheets in the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

A faster way to bounce back from injury

Tendon injuries can be devastating—but Jeff Ruberti, a professor of bioengineering at Northeastern, is creating new ways to reverse the damage.

by David Levin - contributor August 1, 2019

bioengineering