Since it began in 2019, Georgia Tech and Emory University’s Computational Neural-Engineering Training Program has funded and trained doctoral students at the intersection of neuroscience, engineering, computation, and clinical experience.  

“We saw that there was a new kind of neuroscience that was happening, to both understand the mysteries of the brain and nervous system and to treat related diseases and disorders,” says Garrett Stanley, program co-director, professor, and McCamish Foundation Distinguished Chair in the Walter H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME). “The program was created to fill this gap in training, and to provide a community for like-minded scientists and engineers across these disciplines.” 

Combined with support from Georgia Tech and Emory, that community is set to grow with recently renewed and increased funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

“We’re excited to expand the number of students funded and continue to grow our programs,” says Lena Ting, program co-director, professor, and McCamish Foundation Distinguished Chair in BME. “With this funding, we’ll continue to attract the best and brightest students.” 

Expanding Access 

Through courses, research, professional development, and community outreach, the two-year program provides unprecedented training and community for doctoral students in BME, electrical and computational engineering, neuroscience, machine learning, and beyond.

“Our program is unique in that it combines computation — both how the brain computes and how we can use computational tools to better understand the brain — and engineering of technologies for interfacing with the brain and nervous system,” says Stanley, who also co-directs the Neural Engineering Center with Ting. 

Students are also exposed to neurology, rehabilitation, and other related fields through clinical course requirements. 

“We teach our students alongside physical therapy and occupational therapy students to solve clinically relevant problems,” explains Ting, who teaches several of the courses. “We think early exposure to such clinical problems can accelerate the translation of basic research to the clinic.”  

Originally slated to last five years, funding for the program comes from the T32 program of institutional training grants by the NIH and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. Michael Borich, associate professor in the Emory University School of Medicine, and Chris Rozell, professor and Julian T. Hightower Chair in Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, also serve as directors of the program. 

“The NIH T32 funding mechanism is great because it enables universities to create training programs that span different traditional disciplines,” says Stanley. Without the need to create entirely new academic units, training programs like these provide funding for students conducting interdisciplinary research. Since the funding isn’t tied to a specific research group, it also gives students the flexibility to rotate through multiple labs to find the best fit. “In other words, it’s a game changer.” 

With NIH funding renewed and expanded by 50%, the program will now have the capacity to fund more trainees. 

“I love to see the program grow so more of our students and faculty can benefit,” said Ting. “Thanks to generous funding from Georgia Tech, we will also be able to support international students now, something we couldn’t do in the past.” 

In addition to support from the NIH, Emory University School of Medicine, and the joint Georgia Tech-Emory BME Department, the program is further bolstered by support from Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering and the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research. 

“While the NIH funding enables us to support the salary and tuition for students,” said Stanley, “local support from Georgia Tech and Emory enables us to not only manage the growing program and provide reporting back to the NIH, but also to provide student-initiated training workshops in emerging technical areas, career development activities, training in neuroethics, and social events that help to bring the community together.” 

The community, he said, is the “most exciting and significant part of this. The network of talented people brought together through this program will be valuable and influential for years to come.” 

On Thursday, July 27, the Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB) held a highly anticipated summer art show. Co-hosted by IBB and BBUGS, the Bioengineering and Bioscience Unified Graduate Students, the art show featured over 70 submissions from members of the broader IBB community.

The art show proved to be a summer highlight and source of excitement in the community. Participants showcased their creative talents through diverse mediums ranging from oil paintings to photography and blues music. More than 350 attendees admired the art pieces and mingled while enjoying refreshments.

"The intention of the IBB Art Show was to bring the IBB and Georgia Tech communities together for a fun event to highlight the fantastic talents of our faculty, staff, and trainees," said IBB Executive Director Andrés J. García. "I was blown away at the tremendous response, beautiful and creative works of art, and fellowship that we shared in this special event."

A panel of judges selected the winners and attendees voted for a fan favorite award. García presented awards to the competition's winners, listed below. The winning submissions will be displayed at IBB. 

First Place

Madolyn Penuel – Executive assistant to the dean of the Scheller College of Business. Penuel has worked at Georgia Tech for more than six years. 

Artwork Title: Atlantis 

Medium/Description: Digital print on canvas, 16"x30"

Second Place (Tie)

Yenho Chen – Machine learning Ph.D. student and research assistant in the Signal and Information Processing Lab advised by Christopher Rozell. Research focus is on interpretable ML models for complex time series data. 

Artwork Title: Don’t Forget to Breathe 

Medium/Description: Digital video 

Chad Pozarycki – Ph.D. candidate in analytical chemistry and graduate student in the lab of Amanda Stockton studying analytical chemistry and applications of capillary electrophoresis to the detection of astrobiologically relevant small molecules.

Artwork Title: Ninety-Five Theses 

Medium/Description: Mixed media – door with a stack of thesis papers with a stake driven through them. 

Third Place

John McDonald - Emeritus professor, School of Biological Sciences, and director, Integrated Cancer Research Center.

Artwork Title: Touched by the Blues 

Medium/Description: Original music album 

Fan Favorite

Timothy Hunter – Graduate student at Georgia Tech in the lab of Will R. Gutekunst. 

Artwork Title: Free Thugger 

Medium/Description: 5'x4' oil portrait painting on canvas of a woman surrounded by various doodles found in a notebook. 

The World Health Organization reports that millions of adults worldwide live with neurological disorders and brain or brain-related injuries. Globally, 5 million people are left permanently disabled each year after suffering a stroke or spinal cord injury, creating a critical need for advances in patient care and support. The IUCRC BRAIN Center (Industry-University Cooperative Research Center for Building Reliable Advances and Innovations in Neurotechnology) was formed in 2017 to address complex challenges and opportunities in the field of neurotechnology.

Housed at the University of Houston, the BRAIN Center is a collaborative and creative research effort to develop new neurotechnologies. It began as a partnership between the University of Houston and Arizona State University and is supported by the National Science Foundation. The partnership recently expanded to include the Georgia Institute of Technology and West Virginia University. 

“Georgia Tech is very excited to join the BRAIN IUCRC with other leading neuroengineering institutions, all passionate about bringing faculty and students together with industry to collaborate on cutting-edge neurotechnology development,” said Michelle C. LaPlaca, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. LaPlaca's broad research interests are in neurotrauma, injury biomechanics, and neuroengineering as they relate to traumatic brain injury. “The Center partnerships are an excellent opportunity for small and large companies to invest in pre-translational research that both meets industry needs and harnesses academic expertise in order to ultimately improve patients’ lives.” 

Read more about the partnership and the BRAIN Center in the University of Houston's press release. 

Shepherd Center and Georgia Tech have announced a partnership that will unite researchers and clinicians to improve care and create more success stories for people with spinal cord and brain injuries, pain, multiple sclerosis, and related neurological conditions. Areas of collaboration will include the development of new technologies, strategies, and approaches to improve neurorehabilitation.

Shepherd Center, an Atlanta hospital that provides world-class clinical care, research, and family support for people experiencing the most complex conditions — including spinal cord and brain injuries, multitrauma, traumatic amputations, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and pain — is ranked among the top rehabilitation hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

Ninety percent of Shepherd’s patients return to their communities after receiving care at Shepherd Center, which exceeds the national average by more than 30%. In addition to patient care, Shepherd Center has a robust research program, typically participating in 20 grants and 75 research projects concurrently. It is also one of the few institutions recognized as both a Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Model System by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research.

“Shepherd and Georgia Tech will build upon Shepherd’s expertise to conduct and integrate research and technology throughout the entire continuum of care and Georgia Tech’s research and technology development to create new solutions for the people Shepherd serves and beyond,” said Deborah Backus, vice president of Research and Innovation at Shepherd Center. “Potential collaborative research and development efforts can occur in many disciplines — from developing new devices and technologies to fellowships and training for the next generation.”

Leaders from Georgia Tech and Shepherd Center met in late August to celebrate the partnership.

“Shepherd Center leads the world in treating brain and spinal cord injuries with an innovative research program that implements technology throughout inpatient and outpatient programs to get patients back to leading active, independent lives,” said Julia Kubanek, professor and vice president for Interdisciplinary Research at Georgia Tech.

Kubanek was joined by Andrés García, executive director of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB), Petit Director’s Chair in Bioengineering and Bioscience, and Regents’ Professor; and Stephen Sprigle, a professor and researcher in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering who directs Georgia Tech’s Rehabilitation Engineering and Applied Research Lab (REARLab), which focuses on applied disability research and development.

“We were inspired by our recent visit and tour, where we observed clinicians and researchers working directly with patients,” García said. “Georgia Tech’s mission of using technology to improve the human condition is a perfect fit for our collaboration with Shepherd. I’m grateful for Stephen Sprigle and IBB for their goals of increasing the breadth and depth of our partnership. There will be wonderful upcoming opportunities for Georgia Tech students and faculty to bring their expertise in data science, AI, robotics, cell therapies, exercise physiology, and neuroscience, among many strengths, to join with Shepherd clinicians to help patients.”

Driven by a shared vision for transforming healthcare, the two institutions will utilize their complementary capabilities to provide technical solutions for clinical needs. The teams are identifying challenges to tackle and will establish a series of workshops to bring researchers and clinicians together.

For inquiries to support the collaboration, please contact Jaimie Hayes (Senior Director of Development, Office of Development at Georgia Tech)

2023 ABOVE & BEYOND AWARDS

Congratulations to these members of the IBB community, who were recognized for their dedication and excellence in 2023!

Faculty

Levi Wood - Associate Professor, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

Levi is a collaborative and supportive PI and provides amazing mentorship to his trainees. He goes above and beyond for everyone he interacts with. His research focuses on applying systems analysis approaches and engineering tools to identify novel clinical therapeutic targets for inflammatory diseases.

Hang Lu - Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, College of Engineering 

Hang provides tremendous leadership for the Bio-E program and through her guidance, the number of Bio-E students has grown. She knows the importance of community building for both the students and advisors and oversees several events each year to accomplish that sense of community. 

Entrepreneurship 

OZ-Link Technologies & Team - Kasie Collins, CEO (Postdoc), Jasmine Hwang, CSO (Postdoc), Steve Seo, COO (GT Affiliate), Wenting Shi, Lead Scientist (Ph.D. Candidate), Prof. M.G. Finn, Scientific Advisor 

This team’s groundbreaking research has consistently translated scientific discoveries into practical, real-world solutions. The group's work in developing innovative diagnostics and therapeutics has had a profound impact on our field, demonstrating exceptional ability to bridge the gap between research and tangible, game-changing solutions. They have participated in Create-X and Nucleate and fostered collaboration from other academic institutions and stakeholders to maximize their technology and real-world impact for patients.

Trainees

Athena Chien, Ph.D. - Biomedical Engineering, Craig Forest, Advisor

Athena provides outstanding contributions as the leader in the BBUGS Outreach and Education Committee. She spends a significant amount of her free time visiting schools, organizing science and engineering demonstrations, and actively engaging with students to spark their interest in these fields. Her passion for science outreach comes through in every exchange with her! Athena does all of this while remaining an exemplary student in her academic pursuits. Her dedication to both research and community engagement demonstrates a well-rounded commitment to advancing her field of research while actively contributing to the broader community.

Daniel Shah, Ph.D. - Biomedical Engineering, Edward Botchwey, Advisor

Daniel is a CTENG trainee and has served as a mentor for CMaT and as a Petit mentor, passing down his scientific skills to underprivileged students in the Atlanta area. He also supports graduate recruitment efforts year-after-year, engaging with his cohort, and incoming cohorts bringing a sense of ease into every conversation while including others to make the community more inviting.

Staff

Lisa Redding - Academic Program Manager, Bioinformatics and Quantitative Biosciences

Lisa is foundational to the operation of the QBioS and Bioinformatics Ph.D. programs. She provides prompt and personalized support to dozens of students and excellent co-ordination and management for the Bioinformatics Program. She values and prioritizes every student's needs, and her unfailing optimism is inspiring.

Leonard Law - Building Coordinator

Leonard makes a great first impression on all visitors thanks to his smile and positive attitude. He brings joy to IBB in all that he does, from welcoming visitors, rearranging our atrium for events, and answering and unending stream of questions from new students, faculty and guests. He embodies Bob Nerem's Rule of Life #10 - "People will remember not what you said, but only how you made them feel." He exhibits a contagious earnestness and warmth. Leonard is a true gem to have as part of our community.