Department Spotlights
Alumna Electra Scarpignato (BS 2024) accepted into URA summer fellowship We are thrilled to announce that alumna Electra Scarpignato has been accepted into the prestigious Universities Research Association (URA) Summer Fellowship at Sandia National Laboratories! During the summer of 2025, she will spend 12 weeks in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributing to research on the rapid testing of biological therapeutics. BES's endorsement of her application played a key role in this achievement. (1/3/2025)
Congratulations to Drs. Borgen, Crombie, and Polson! The Student Government Association Academics Committee has recognized their invaluable dedication by presenting them with Panther Pins and personalized notes of gratitude, shared by graduating students as a gesture of appreciation for their significant impact during their university journey. Thank you for your dedication and contributions! (12/9/2024)
Congratulations to Dr. Venkat Keshav Chivukula on receiving an NIH R01 grant
Dr. Venkat Keshav Chivukula and his collaborators have been awarded an NIH R01 grant of $214,605 per year over a 5-year period for the project titled “ Beyond Urea Kinetics: Balancing Tradeoffs in Dialyzer Design for the Next 50 Years ”. As a co-investigator and the Florida Tech site PI, Keshav will receive a total direct cost of $150, 000 over the five years. (9/23/2024)
Congratulations to Dr. Melissa Borgen on receiving an NIH R15 grant
Dr. Melissa Borgen has received an NIH R15 grant, an amount of $389,851 over a 3-year period for her project titled “ The role of PHR signaling in tauopathy-related neurodegeneration”. (9/18/2024)
Thank you for a wonderful STEMPower Day. A special thanks to Dr. Careesa Liu, Dr. Jianhui Li, Dr. Timothy Crombie, Dr. Melissa Borgen, Dr. Peshala Gamage, and Dr. Sujoy Hajra. We also want to express our appreciation to all of our graduate students who played a key role in the event.(9/14/2024)
Congratulations to Dr. Sujoy Ghosh Hajra on a Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC) grant
Dr. Sujoy Ghosh Hajra has been awarded a Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC) grant of $23,040 over a 9-month period for his project titled “ Using blink-related brain and heart activity for improved astronaut cognitive state monitoring”. (8/26/2024)
Florida Tech is teaming up with the University of Florida, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Florida A&M University to create a consortium — the Center for Science, Research and Technology in Space, or C-STARS — to advance research in the space manufacturing sector. (8/15/2024)
Juan Sebastian Rodriguez Paez is a gradaute student from Dr. Chivukula's lab. His excellence and dedication at every step in research and community service will inspire and encourage the young generation in the local Brevard Hipanic Community. (6/19/2024)
Congratulations to the BME senior capstone team, winning the Florida Tech President's Cup
The Florida Tech President’s Cup for Engineering was awarded to the BME senior capstone team for their project titled “StrabiSense: A Nobel Force Sensor for Strabismus Surgery” at the
Student Design Showcase on April 19th, 2024, out of 120 capstone projects.
Thanks to our BME student Jack Shule sharing his life experience at Florida Tech. Being a scholar-athlete at Florida Tech takes an incredible amount of hard work and dedication to excel both in the classroom and on the field, Jack Shule has demonstrated remarkable commitment both in academics and on the field.
Congratulations to graduate student Sergio Solano achieved 3rd place in the oral presentations category at the regional American Society of Plant Biology meeting
Sergio Solano (MS Cell and Molecular Biology), under the guidance of Dr. Andrew G. Palmer, achieved 3rd place in the oral presentations category for his talk titled “Evaluating the Use of Aquatic Plants in Martian Agriculture” at the regional American Society of Plant Biology meeting held at Dauphin Island Sea Lab from March 22-24.
The Gordon L. Nelson Health Sciences Research Innovation Program was launched in Fall 2023. A committee consisting of three faculty members and an alumnus reviewed and selected four proposals, evaluating them based on innovation, methodology, potential for future external funding, significance, publication potential, and qualifications.
One of the selected projects is titled 'Blink-related Oscillations: A New Approach for Monitoring Brain Health in Aging,' led by the Principal Investigator from the Department of Biomedical Engineering. This project has received funding of $10,000."
Congratulations to Dr. Nunes on her student's outstanding achievement!
Dr. Amanda Almeida de Oliveira, who completed her PhD under the guidance of Dr. Kenia Nunes in our department, has recently achieved significant recognition. In January 2024, Dr. Amanda Almeida de Oliveira was awarded a $1.1 million grant from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), where she served as a co-applicant. Today, Dr. Amanda Almeida de Oliveira has been honored with a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, recognized as one of the most prestigious postdoctoral fellowships in Canada. Notably, the University of Alberta has not had a successful Banting recipient among its postdoctoral students since 2018. The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship program, described on the website, "provides funding to the very best postdoctoral applicants, both nationally and internationally, who will positively contribute to the country's economic, social, and research-based growth." Congratulations to Dr. Amanda Almeida de Oliveira and her PhD mentor, Dr. Nunes, on this outstanding achievement! (2/15/2024)
Enhance BME student experience
Freshmen biomedical engineering students (in BME 1045) are being taken out of the classrooms by Dr. Ghosh Hajra into the heart of research and innovation happening in our department. Students are being introduced to the different research areas in biomedical engineering not just in the classroom, but are also getting to visit the various research labs in our department to meet the faculty and see the research in action - including first-hand demonstrations of cutting-edge research tools and techniques. This is a wondering opportunity for students to get to know our faculty early in their university journeys, and the reviews so far have reflected the students’ positive experiences.
Two Florida Tech Students Named 2023 Astronaut Scholars
Karly Liebendorfer, Ruth Nichols Among Recipients from 45 Universities (1/17/2024)
University Study Examines Leaky Gut Syndrome
An oft-discussed hypothetical syndrome, a university researcher is studying the potential effect of leaky gut on our health.
New Research May Lead to ACL Reconstruction Improvements
Florida Tech doctoral student Nashaita Patrawalla is researching ways to improve ACL reconstruction outcomes.
Breaking into Biomed
A booming industry that is just getting started, biomedicine is shaping health care, society and the future—at Florida Tech and across the globe.
Community Foundation for Brevard Awards Florida Tech’s Guisbert, Harvey Alzheimer’s Research Grants
The Foundation uses a competitive grant process to award research grants from its Kenneth R. Finken and Dorothy Hallam Finken Endowment Fund.
Mechanisms Behind Diabetes Subject of University NIH Grant
A near-half million-dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health will be used to study vascular problems during diabetes.
