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Researchers create shape-shifting, self-navigating microparticles

Mallory Phillips — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 21:34:13 +0000

Researchers create shape-shifting, self-navigating microparticles Mallory Phillips Thu, 01/22/2026 - 14:34

Researchers, including BME faculty member Wyatt Shields at CU ��ý�� have created tiny, microorganism-inspired particles that can change their shape and self-propel, much like living things, in response to electrical fields.

One day, these shape-shifting “active particles” could be used as microrobots that deliver medications inside the human body, particularly in areas that are hard for drugs to reach on their own, or for building large-scale dynamic materials that are responsive and self-healing.

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Donated blood has a shelf life. A new test tracks how it's aging

Alexander James Servantez — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 17:33:08 +0000

Donated blood has a shelf life. A new test tracks how it's aging Alexander Jame… Wed, 01/21/2026 - 10:33

Roughly 6.8 million people donate blood in the United States alone, helping save millions of lives, according to the American Red Cross. But just like groceries sitting on store shelves, red blood cells age over time. That's why Associate Professor Xiaoyun Ding and medical collaborators at CU Anschutz have created a new chip device to help give blood centers and hospitals a reliable way to monitor the quality of red blood cells after they sit for weeks in storage.

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Major funding fuels osteoarthritis treatment collaboration

Mallory Phillips — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 16:53:11 +0000

Major funding fuels osteoarthritis treatment collaboration Mallory Phillips Tue, 12/09/2025 - 09:53

CU ��ý�� and partners secure up to $39M ARPA-H contract to develop revolutionary joint-healing solutions for millions

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AISES names CU ��ý�� Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous students 2026

Shrim Patel — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 16:53:42 +0000

AISES names CU ��ý�� Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous students 2026 Shrim Patel Wed, 12/03/2025 - 09:53

The national nonprofit AISES — Advancing Indigenous People in STEM — has ranked CU ��ý�� among its “Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous Students” in the 2025–2026 list, recognizing the university’s strong support and community for Indigenous students in STEM.

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Biomedical engineering students present research at BMES Annual Meeting

Alexander James Servantez — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 17:09:02 +0000

Biomedical engineering students present research at BMES Annual Meeting Alexander Jame… Wed, 11/19/2025 - 10:09

Alexander Servantez

Engineering student research on joint damage, arthritis, heart problems, and tissue defects were the subject of presentations at a major national conference.

Six students and researchers from the Biomedical Engineering Program (BME) presented their work at this year’s Biomedical Engineering Society 2025 Annual Meeting in San Diego.

The conference, one of the premier gatherings of biomedical engineers and allied fields, brought together over 5,500 attendees worldwide in early October to focus on health and wellness through engineering innovation.

During the five-day event, each student was given the opportunity to present a poster or talk highlighting the primary outcomes of their research. Read below to learn more about these students and their incredible contributions to science and engineering.

Faith Olulana

Faith is a graduate student in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at CU ��ý��. She is a member of the Neu Lab, led by Professor Corey Neu, and gave a talk at this year’s annual meeting titled “Granular Extracellular Matrix-Based Biomaterial for Engineering of Biological Tissues.”

Joint cartilage has a limited capacity for self-repair, thus there is a need to develop tissue engineering strategies capable of new tissue growth. Decellularized extracellular matrices (dECM) are a promising platform for tissue repair, as they retain biological cues that support cell invasion and integration.

However, dense cartilage ECM presents biophysical barriers that hinder cell infiltration. While hydrogels can provide higher porosity and migratory properties, they often fail to match the mechanical properties of dense connective tissues. Therefore, a key challenge is developing materials that provide both mechanical support and facilitate cellular migration, promoting tissue repair and function.

The Neu Lab addresses this challenge by developing granular extracellular matrix (gECM) biomaterials, comprising decellularized ECM microparticles densely packed within a hyaluronic acid (HA)-based hydrogel. The packing and architecture of gECM biomaterials balances mechanical integrity and porosity, facilitating structural support and cellular migration.

Faith’s research characterizes the mechanical and structural properties of gECM biomaterials using percolation theory. As tissue particle density increases, material properties shift from hydrogel-like to tissue-like. The percolation threshold is the point at which mechanics are dictated by tissue particles rather than the surrounding hydrogel.

Faith and her team aim to define where this threshold occurs in naturally derived gECM biomaterials and how particle size and shape influence this threshold. Understanding this transition shows how closely the biomaterial mimics native tissues, thus demonstrating the gECM’s ability to replicate characteristics of native tissues.

Izaiah Ramirez

Izaiah is a PhD student in the BME program and is also a member of the Neu Lab. He presented a poster titled “Increased Nuclear Reorganization Following Repetitive Stiffening in NIH-3T3 Fibroblasts.”

Fibroblasts in the heart regulate the tissue’s extracellular matrix by continuously sensing and transducing external mechanical forces. When mechanical signals become persistently imbalanced, such as after a heart attack, fibroblasts activate and quickly remodel the tissue environment in a process known as fibrosis.

Notable changes in fibroblasts occur within hours of an altered environment and persist for the cell’s lifespan. Although these changes are well characterized, the mechanisms at play prior to these visible changes remain poorly understood.

Izaiah’s research aims to understand how mechanical stresses can affect nuclear organization, before a fibroblast activates and loses its ability to recover. To study this, he and his lab group use customized, soft polymer materials to control the magnitude and time the cells are stimulated.

Using this system, Izaiah says his team can track how fibroblast nuclei reorganize after each cycle of stress. He believes this knowledge can one day help identify when certain diseases, like fibrosis, become irreversible and when treatments might be most effective.

Markkus Tong

Markkus is an undergraduate student in the BME program and a member of the Computer Vision/Imagine AI Lab, led by Associate Professor Tom Yeh. At this year’s BMES event, he presented a poster titled “T13 - Supporting Strategies to Address Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations in Fontan Patients.”

Markkus’ research focuses on treatments for children who are born with serious heart defects where only one pumping chamber develops properly. In these instances, doctors can perform a series of surgeries to help reroute blood flow to improve oxygen levels in the lungs, bypassing the heart entirely.

But while these treatments exist, they can cause complications and patients can develop other health issues; with no resistance in blood vessels from the heart pumping blood, malformations would develop as a result, leading to less flow traveling to organs.

Markkus says there isn’t a clear way yet for doctors to compare the various treatment’s effectiveness and decide which option is best for a given patient. The goal of his study is to develop a framework that helps clinicians evaluate and choose the most effective strategies for restoring blood flow in patients who require this attention virtually, without having to open up the patient.

Katie Gallagher

Katie is a PhD student in the BME program and also a member of the Neu lab. She gave a talk titled “Tissue-specific granular extracellular matrix biomaterials drive differential responses in human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells.”

Much like Faith, Katie’s research involves using gECM biomaterial to repair damaged cartilage. But she is looking to tackle the issue from a different perspective.

Over time, small areas of damaged cartilage can lead to the breakdown of nearby cartilage and bone, eventually causing osteoarthritis. This debilitating disease affects millions of people worldwide and currently has extremely limited treatment options.

In her talk, Katie demonstrated how human derived mesenchymal stromal cells behave within different tissue derived gECM hydrogels. Her findings showed tissue specific responses to the bone and cartilage gECM materials including cellular growth and gene expression.

Katie believes these results will help them move closer towards future treatments for osteoarthritis.

S. Ellyse Schneider

Ellyse is a Research Associate in Dr. Corey Neu’s lab, and holds a master’s degree and a PhD from the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at CU ��ý��. At the annual meeting, Ellyse presented a poster titled “Senescent cardiac fibroblasts after cardiomyocyte nuclear mechanics.”

As a person ages, senescent fibroblasts within the heart can build up and may interfere with how the heart functions, but their mechanical impact on the behavior of neighboring cells, especially the contracting cardiomyocyte, is still not well understood.

In this study, Ellyse cultured cardiomyocytes on soft “healthy” and stiff “diseased” substrates to see how they respond when senescent fibroblasts are added. She found that these senescent cells immediately changed the contraction mechanics of the cardiomyocyte especially on the stiffer, disease-like substrates.

When conditioned media from senescent fibroblast cultures was used, smaller effects on the cardiomyocyte contraction mechanics were observed, suggesting that direct contact between cells plays an important role.

Overall, these findings show that senescent cells mechanically disrupt the microenvironment, helping to better delineate the factors that contribute to aging and heart disease.

Juliet Heye

Juliet is a PhD candidate in the BME program and Neu Lab. She presented a poster at the BMES event titled “Characterization of Extrudable Granular ECM (gECM) Biomaterials for Five Distinct Tissue-Specific Applications.”

Juliet’s research aims to develop granular ECM (gECM) biomaterials that recapitulate native tissue for realistic in vitro models and filling tissue defects in vivo. Her work characterizes gECM biomaterials for five tissue applications that cover a large percentage of disease applications—cartilage, bone, skin, liver, and kidney.

In her poster, Juliet characterizes the biophysical and mechanical behavior of these gECM biomaterials. She also demonstrates in a subset of gECM tissues (cartilage and skin) that these materials can support cell viability, proliferation, and tissue-specific gene expression.

Juliet says the work demonstrates that gECM biomaterials are practical, translational, and biomimetic, supporting their use in developing realistic tissue models and implantable fillers for a variety of disease types.

Six students and researchers from the Biomedical Engineering Program (BME) presented their work on joint damage, arthritis, heart problems, and tissue defects at this year’s Biomedical Engineering Society 2025 Annual Meeting in San Diego.

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Researchers redefine hip arthroscopy with breakthrough surgical device

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:56:09 +0000

Researchers redefine hip arthroscopy with breakthrough surgical device Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/18/2025 - 09:56

A surgeon using the CAP-LIFT cannula dduring a hip arthroscopy procedure

Jacob Segil, a research professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at CU ��ý��, collaborated with Dr. Omer Mei Dan from the Department of Orthopedics at University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine to create a redesigned surgical instrument called the CAP-LIFT cannula. The technology completely transforms arthroscopic procedures in the hip region, making them safer and more efficient than ever before.

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Biomedical Engineering Career Symposium returns for its fourth consecutive year

Alexander James Servantez — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:12:12 +0000

Biomedical Engineering Career Symposium returns for its fourth consecutive year Alexander Jame… Fri, 10/24/2025 - 14:12

Alexander Servantez

The Biomedical Engineering Career Symposium returned for its fourth consecutive year, this time with an expanded and more methodical approach.

The annual student-led symposium, organized by the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), provided an opportunity for students to connect and learn from various company representatives in the med-tech industry. It featured company information sessions, company tabling, product demonstrations and one-on-one meetings with experienced industry professionals.

A student talking with a company representative at the fourth annual Biomedical Engineering Career Symposium.

This year’s iteration of the event featured 15 companies and organizations, including newcomers Stryker and Parameters Research Laboratory. Fourth-year student and BMES Career Symposium Committee member Meredith Overton said the slight increase in industry presence compared to last year’s event was a sign of changing times, but also a result of their proactivity.

“We really focused on reaching out to companies earlier this year,” Overton said. “We utilized resources from Career Services to promote the event to a larger group of industry contacts. Our goal was to broaden the group that we were bringing in and I think that’s why we got some of these other companies to register.”

Overton and her team saw an increase in student attendees, as well. Nearly 175 students in the Biomedical Engineering Program (BME) showed up to the event ready and eager to meet with company representatives.

But for the committee, it wasn’t just about providing students with more companies and opportunities. It was about raising awareness and helping students understand what they can do with the opportunities available.

“We wanted to provide a diverse breadth of companies so that students are aware of what’s out there, what they can do with their degree and where they can work,” said fourth-year student and BMES Committee member Vivian Shi. “That’s the message we focused on with this event—what it truly means to be a biomedical engineer in the industry.”

A Medtronic company representative giving a product demonstration.

Even the company representatives themselves felt the impact of the group’s efforts. Luke Shaw, a project engineer at Murphy Company Mechanical Contractors, said he was impressed with both the event and the student attendees.

“CU ��ý�� does a really good job providing larger, more comprehensive career fairs with a vast amount of companies, but also these more specific ones tailored to a certain industry that allows for more depth and connection between company and student,” said Shaw, who is also affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering. “The kids who attended this event—they are the cream of the crop. They’re well-prepared, professional and it really makes a difference.”

As the BME program continues to grow, Overton and Shi say they are excited to see the symposium expand even further.

But there’s one thing more important to them than growth: maintaining the integrity of the event.

“It’s all about the student experience,” Overton said. “It’s about finding ways to help students have a successful career fair experience where they feel confident and prepared to talk to company representatives when the time comes.”

The Biomedical Engineering Career Symposium returned for its fourth consecutive year, this time with an expanded and more methodical approach.

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Xu selected to receive a 2025 Packard Fellowship award

Alexander James Servantez — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 16:44:20 +0000

Xu selected to receive a 2025 Packard Fellowship award Alexander Jame… Wed, 10/15/2025 - 10:44

Assistant Professor Nicole Xu has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering. The award provides some of the nation’s most promising early career scientists and engineers flexible funding to test novel ideas and lead research that drives real-world impact.

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Researchers pioneer fluid-based laser scanning for brain imaging

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 19:50:36 +0000

Researchers pioneer fluid-based laser scanning for brain imaging Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 10/14/2025 - 13:50

Darwin Quiroz is exploring new frontiers in miniature lasers with major biomedical applications.

Quiroz, a physics PhD student in the lab of BME Professor Juliet Gopinath in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, and also co-advised by Professor Victor Bright from Paul M. Rady in Mechanical Engineering, is co-first author of a new study that demonstrates how a fluid-based optical device known as an electrowetting prism can be used to steer lasers at high speeds for advanced imaging applications.

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A better band-aid: New 'suspended animation' technology could revolutionize wound care

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 19:39:40 +0000

A better band-aid: New 'suspended animation' technology could revolutionize wound care Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/09/2025 - 13:39

Burn your hand on a hot stove and, almost instantly, immune cells within the wound begin producing inflammatory compounds to help clear out dead tissue and fight off infection. But for those who suffer serious burns, the immune response can cause prolonged inflammation, increasing risk of scarring, disfigurement and disability. A team of CU ��ý�� scientists hopes to minimize such long-term damage by suspending that cellular immune response until the body, or care providers, are better equipped to deal with it.

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All News

Researchers create shape-shifting, self-navigating microparticles

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Donated blood has a shelf life. A new test tracks how it's aging

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Major funding fuels osteoarthritis treatment collaboration

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AISES names CU ������ý���� Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous students 2026

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Biomedical engineering students present research at BMES Annual Meeting

Faith Olulana

Izaiah Ramirez

Markkus Tong

Katie Gallagher

S. Ellyse Schneider

Juliet Heye

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Researchers redefine hip arthroscopy with breakthrough surgical device

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Biomedical Engineering Career Symposium returns for its fourth consecutive year

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Xu selected to receive a 2025 Packard Fellowship award

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Researchers pioneer fluid-based laser scanning for brain imaging

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A better band-aid: New 'suspended animation' technology could revolutionize wound care

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AISES names CU ��ý�� Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous students 2026