Faculty

Since its inception, Biomedical Engineering research at USC has been directed to the study of the function and structure of living systems, as well as the application of engineering science to problems in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. The department's primary faculty conduct innovative research in numerous areas of fundamental importance in biomedicine. 

Please click on the links at left for more detailed information on our faculty.

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Recent faculty honors include the following:

Dr. Jesse Yen wins Coulter Early Career Award
July 12, 2007 — Jesse T. Yen has been named a recipient of a 2007 Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Early Career Award. The main goal of this award is to encourage young faculty to engage in translational biomedical research. Jesse will use his award to develop “Ultrasound Transducers for Near-Field 3-D Imaging”. This is a prestigious award, and is currently the only one of its kind from a private foundation in the Biomedical Engineering field since the Whitaker Foundation ceased its operations in 2006. Jesse's proposal was one of only 16 selected from a large number of submissions.

Ted Berger's Brain Chips Featured in February issue of Scientific American
January 22, 2007 — Supplementing the human brain with computer power has been a staple of science fiction. But in fact, researchers have taken several steps in melding minds with machines, and this spring a team from the University of Southern California may replace damaged brain tissue in rats with a neural prosthesis.

Kirk Shung Receives $5 Million NIH Grant
The researcher will develop a new generation of high frequency ultrasonic arrays
September 28, 2006 — K. Kirk Shung, a professor of biomedical engineering and director of USC’s Ultrasonic Transducer Resource Center (UTRC), has been awarded a $5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop the next generation high frequency ultrasonic arrays and scanners. The devices will greatly improve imaging of superficial structures, such as the cornea of the eye and subcutaneous layers of the skin.

Theodore Berger receives Associates Award for Creativity in Research
The BME Department congratulates Professor Theodore W. Berger, who received the Associates Award for Creativity in Research at the 2006 Academic Honors Convocation on March 30. Dr. Berger holds the David Packard Chair of Engineering and is Director of the Center for Neural Engineering. He was recognized for the tremendous impact his work has had on the fields of basic neuroscience, physiological modeling and neuroengineering. His accomplishments have brought a great deal of national and international attention to USC.


Ellis Meng Wins NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award
Ellis Meng, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and an expert in bioMEMS fabrication, has won a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation. The five-year, $400,000 award will support her research to develop novel microfabricated neural interfaces that may one day help to repair damage and restore lost functions in people who have suffered central nervous system injuries.  

The award, one of the National Science Foundation’s highest honors for young faculty members, recognizes and supports the early career development activities of “teacher-scholars who are most likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century.”  Awardees are selected on the basis of “creative career-development plans that effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of the university.”  


Tzung Hsiai named to the Robert G. and Mary G. Lane Early Career Chair
BME extends its warmest congratulations to Dr. T.K. Hsiai, who has recently been selected to be the first holder of the Robert G. and Mary G. Lane Early Career Chair, effective November 1, 2005. The appointment recognizes his exceptional distinction and promise as a junior faculty member in his field. Dr. Hsiai received the B.S. degree in Bioengineering from Columbia University in 1989, an MD from the University of Chicago in 1993 and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from UCLA in 2002. He received an NIH Career Development award in 2002, and was elected Fellow of the American College of Cardiology in 2005. 


Michael Khoo Elected A Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society
September 13, 2005 — Michael C. K. Khoo, professor and chair of the biomedical engineering department and holder of the Dwight C. and Hildegard E. Baum Chair, has been elected a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) in the organization's inaugural class of fellows.