Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering

At this challenging time across the nation, our Joint Department stands against all forms of racism and discrimination: we remain committed to our mission, to improve people’s lives, as we strive to maintain a supportive environment, where our students feel safe, respected and valued.

Since the coronavirus outbreak began, faculty and students at the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering have been collaborating to solve COVID-19-related problems, which have the potential to save lives. One of these groups is the Carolina Respiratory Emergency – Ventilator (CaRE-Vent) team who has been prototyping an open-source emergency ventilator for COVID-19 patients. Also, BME students have been crafting thousands of smaller face masks for NC Children’s Hospital to address shortages of pediatric face masks. You can read more about these initiatives on our website and twitter account below.

The BME department is well-positioned to help in times of need, and is committed to making an immediate impact in improving people’s lives. Your support of BME will allow our students to further support, excel and lead the way in new technologies in biomedical microdevices, medical imaging, pharmacoengineering, rehabilitation medicine, and regenerative medicine.

Below are some of the areas in which your gift makes a difference:

• Resources for urgent, real-world design projects at the undergraduate and graduate levels
• Funds for BME students to attend, present and share their work at virtual conferences and when appropriate, travel
• Lab research opportunities for students during the academic year and the summer months as research is reinstated on campus

Dr. Diekman’s Lab, Joint BME Department and UNC School of Medicine, July 2019, photograph by Rocky Rothrock.