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. The comprehensive list below includes primary faculty,as well as joint appointed, adjunct and research faculty.
Michael A. Arbib, Ph.D., Professor
Neural mechanisms, visuomotor coordination, neuroinformatics, language evolution (Computer Science, Neurobiology, Electrical Engineering, Psychology)
Andrea Armani, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Biological and chemical sensors and microfluidics; development of novel surface chemistries; optical device design and characterization; synthesis of optical materials (Chemical Engineering and Materials Science)
George A. Bekey, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus
Robotics, artificial intelligence, and neuromuscular systems (Computer Science and Electrical Engineering)
Theodore W. Berger, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering, David Packard Chair in Engineering
Neurophysiology of memory and learning, nonlinear systems analysis of hippocampal network properties, neurobiology
Stefan Bluml, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Research Radiology, Director, New Imaging Technologies Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
Study of Metabolism of Normal and Pathological Tissue in Vivo
Roberta D. Brinton, Ph.D., Professor
Molecular pharmacology & toxicology, neuroscience, development of therapeutics to prevent and treat memory disorders, Alzheimer's disease. (Molecular Pharmacology & Toxicology)
Robert Hsiu-Ping Chow, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor
Advancement of our understanding of how hormone and neuronal secretion is controlled in normal and pathological states; research topics are Exocytosis, Synaptic transmission , SNARE proteins, diabetes, pancreatic beta cell and insulin secretion (USC Neuroscience, Department of Physiology & Biophysics, Zilkha Neurogenetic Insitute, Keck School of Medicine)
Sophia Chun, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor
Peter S. Conti, M.D., Ph.D., Professor
Development of new radio tracers and diagnostic procedures for use in positron emission tomography (Radiology, Director, PET Imaging Science Center)
David Z. D'Argenio, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Chonette Chair in Biomedical Technology
Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic systems analysis, systems biology of drug action, drug development
Alireza DiBazar, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor
Computational neuroengineering (BME-Neural Dynamic Laboratory)
Stephan G. Erberich, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Research Radiology, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
PACS research, medical image informatics. (Radiology, Pediatrics, Children Hospital Los Angeles)
Daniel Farkas, Ph.D., Vice-Chairman for Research, Research Professor
(Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center , Los Angeles)
Greg D. Field, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Information processing in the retina; functional connectivity of neural circuits; large-scale multi-electrode array recording from neurons, systems neuroscience. (Cell and Neurobiology, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute)
Scott Fraser, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Imaging the molecular signals, cell motions and tissue morphogenesis involved in embryogenesis and other complex events using advanced imaging technologies.
Qian-Jie Fu, Ph.D.,Research Professor
Speech perception in cochlear implants, robust speech recognition, speech and image processing. (House Ear Institute).
John J. Granacki, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Systems and Biomedical Engineering
Computer architecture including biologically-inspired architectures, design automation, and VLSI design. (EE-Systems, Information Sciences Institute)
Tracy C. Grikscheit, M.D., Assistant Professor of Surgery/Attending Surgeon
Current treatment for children with an inadequate amount of small bowel has a 30% 5-year mortality rate and serious morbidities that destroy the quality of life. Surgical and medical therapies are inadequate with high costs and failure rates. Tissue-engineered small intestine may offer an alternative and superior means for restoring intestinal length and function.; Organ-specific stem cells, tissue engineering (Pediatric Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, The Saban Research Institute, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles)
Norberto M. Grzywacz, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Dwight C. and Hildagarde E. Baum Chair (Department Chair)
Small networks of retinal neurons, emergence of retinal function during development, retina as an optimal computational device, measurement of visual motion in the brain, perceptual learning, analysis of medical images
Justin P. Haldar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Biomedical Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neuroimaging; Constrained Image Reconstruction; Signal Modeling; Inverse Problems; Parameter Estimation; Experiment Design (Electrical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering)
Bo Han, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Research
Tissue engineering (Surgery)
Tzung K. Hsiai, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Dean's Professor in Biomedical Engineering
MEMS and nano sensors, reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), vascular endothelial dynamics, molecular imaging of atherosclerotic lesions, and medicine
H.K. (Bernie) Huang, D.Sc., FRCR(Hon.), Professor
PACS research, medical image informatics, imaging processing and communication and telemedicine. (Radiology)
Mark S. Humayun, Ph.D., Professor
Retinal prosthesis, transplantation of photosystem I molecules into bipolar cells, and cannulation of retinal vessels. (Medicine)
Hossein Jadvar, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., Associate Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering
Positron emission tomography (PET), molecular imaging, medical imaging in microgravity, biosignal processing, bioinstrumentation (Radiology).
Radha Kalluri, Ph.D.,Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, Keck School of Medicine, House Ear Institute
Interested in understanding the biophysical mechanisms by which the auditory periphery parses frequency and intensity information, and how these functions degrade with hearing loss (Medicine, Neuroscience)
Michael C.K. Khoo, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Pediatrics
Neurorespiratory system modeling, cardiopulmonary control, non-invasive physiological monitoring.
Kwang Jin Kim, Ph.D., Professor
Pulmonary epithelial transport properties in health and disease (Medicine, Physiology, and Biophysics)
Jason J. Kutch, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor
Neuromechanics, electrophysiology, computational hypothesis testing, engineering of non-invasive systems to study human motor function (Brain-Body Dynamics Lab)
Clara Lajonchere, Ph.D. Research Assistant Professor & Program Director, Autism Genetic Resource Exchange
Research interests: Genetic basis of autism; bioengineering applications in autism research
Samuel Landsberger, Sc.D., Adjunct Associate Professor
Prosthetics and Orthotics ( Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center )
Meng Law, M.D., MBBS, FRACR, Professor
MR Imaging methods for functional, diffusion, perfusion, permeability neuroimaging of the brain and spine. Development of novel MRI sequences and ultrafast MR imaging with compressed sensing and other acceleration techniques (Director of Neuroradiology, Neuroradiology Fellowship Program, ADRC Neuroimaging Core at USC)
Richard M. Leahy, Ph.D., Professor
Biomedical image formation and analysis (Electrical Engineering and Radiology)
Eun Jin “Grace” Lee, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Biology of vision (BME - Center for Vision Science and Technology)
Natasha Lepore, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Research in Radiology at USC and Children's Hospital Los Angeles, with joint appointment in Biomedical Engineering.
Computational anatomy, post-processing methods for structural and diffusion brain MR images, group analyses of normal and abnormal brain development and of brain neurological disorders in adults, genetic analyses in twins
Rongsong Li, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor
Jay Lieberman, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine
Leonard Litvak, Ph.D., Scientist Fellow (Advanced Bionics Corporation)
Brent Liu, Ph.D., Associate Professor
PACS research and medical image informatics (Radiology and Biomedical Engineering)
Gerald E. Loeb, M.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Deputy Director of the BMES ERC
Neural prosthetics, neurophysiology and computer modeling of sensory-motor control systems.
Jean-Michel Maarek, Dr. Eng., Associate Professor of Engineering Practice
Director of Medical Device & Diagnostic Engineering Program
Biomedical photonics, clinical lasers, measurement and modeling of cardiorespiratory activity.
J. Andrew Mackay, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Biomolecular engineering, biophysics, and pharmaceutics of environmentally-responsive drug carriers, developed using lipid and polypeptide nanoparticles (Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences) Biomolecular engineering, biophysics, and pharmaceutics of environmentally-responsive drug carriers, developed using lipid and polypeptide nanoparticles (Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences)
Anupam Madhukar, Ph.D., Professor
Nano-science and technology, interfacial materials science, cell adhesion (Materials Science & Chemical Engineering, Physics)
Noah Malmstadt Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Passive transport across lipid membranes. Biomimetic synthetic cell membranes. Green nanomanufacturing.Nanoscale structure formation in model lipid membranes. Microfluidic reaction control by phase-selective extraction.
Alfred E. Mann, M.S., Research Professor
Device and other technologies for improving human health. (Mannkind Corporation)
Vasilis Z. Marmarelis, Ph.D. Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Mathematical and computational modeling of dynamic nonlinear physiological systems and analysis of biomedical signals, with emphasis on improved clinical diagnosis and novel treatments. Innovative use of ultrasound for 3D diagnostic imaging and non-invasive treatments.
Jill McNitt-Gray, Ph.D., Professor
Control and dynamics of movement (multijoint systems) (Kinesiology, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering)
Bartlett W. Mel, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Dendritic computation, biologically inspired vision algorithms, neural substrate for learning and memory.
Ellis Meng, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
BioMEMS, microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip, microsystem integration and packaging, world-to-chip interfacing, cell-to-chip interfacing, implantable biomedical microdevices.
Rex Moats, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Research, Department of Pathology and Radiology, Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
Krishna S. Nayak, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Rapid magnetic resonance imaging, cardiovascular imaging, artifact correction (Electrical Engineering and Medicine).
C. L. Nikias, Ph.D., Professor
Statistical signal processing, array processing, detection and estimation (President, USC ).
Philip Requejo, Ph.D., Adjunct Assistant Professor, Director of Rehabilitation Engineering Program at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center
Focuses on engineering solutions to enhance mobility in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI)
Alapakkam P. Sampath, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Molecular mechanisms underlying early visual processing; research topics are Cellular Neurobiology, Signal Transduction, Vision Research, Rod and Cone Phototransduction, G-Protein Coupled Signaling Pathways and Retinal Physiology and Signal Processing (USC Neuroscience, Department of Physiology & Biophysics, Zilkha Neurogenetic Insitute, Keck School of Medicine)
Terence Sanger, M.D., Ph.D., Provost Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Neurology and Biokinesiology
Computational models of motor learning and adaptation, phenomenology of movement and movement disorders, childhood motor development
Stefan Schaal, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Statistical learning, motor control, computational neuroscience, biomimetic and humanoid robotics, nonlinear dynamics, motor psychophysics, neuroimaging
Joseph Schulman, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor
Long-term glucose sensing; neural prostheses; glucose delivery system; medical devices (Alfred E. Mann Foundation).
Nicolas Schweighofer, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Biokinesiology & Physical Therapy, Director of Computational Neuro-Rehabilitation & Learning Lab
Developing a neuro-computational theory of sustained motivation to learn motor skills; studying the roles of neuromodulation in synaptic plasticity in health and disease; developing optimal schedules of motor skill learning in stroke patients.
Robert V. Shannon Ph.D, Research Professor
Auditory prosthesis and electrical stimulation patterns (House Ear Institute)
Prakash Shrivastava, Ph.D., Professor
Advanced imaging techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, controlled delivery of clinical hyperthermia, and monitoring of tissue temperature distributions (Radiation Oncology).
K. Kirk Shung, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Ultrasonic imaging and tissue characterization, ultrasonic transducers and arrays.
Dong Song, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor
Cortical prosthesis (Center for Neural Engineering)
Armand Tanguay, Jr., Ph.D., Professor
Electrical and electrophysics engineering: photonic implementations of neural networks, development of materials and devices for optical information processing and computing. (Electrical Engineering)
Shirin Towfigh, M.D., Adjunct Associate Professor (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center)
Development of novel technologies for minimally invasive surgery
Francisco Valero-Cuevas, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering Associate Professor of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy
Neuromuscular systems and sensorimotor control, biomechanics, computational methods, human dexterous manipulation
Pin Wang, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Engineering viral vectors for targeted gene delivery; dendritic cell-directed vaccine; bionanotechnology (Chemical Engineering and Materials Science)
James D. Weiland, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Retinal prosthesis, electrical stimulation of nerve and muscle, and stimulating electrode technology (Medicine)
John Wood, M.D. Assistant Professor Of Pediatrics, Assistant Professor Of Radiology
MR Imaging (Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles)
Tishya A.L. Wren, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor of Orthopaedics, Radiology and Biomedical Engineering
Biomechanics of pathological movement (Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles)
Stanley M. Yamashiro, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Cardiopulmonary regulation and dynamics, and pulmonary assist devices (also Electrical Engineering).
Jesse T. Yen, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Volumetric ultrasound imaging, biomedical imaging
Qifa Zhou, Ph.D., Research Professor
Ultrasonic transducers (Medical Ultrasonic Transducer Resource)
Materials property characterization, thin film devices, high frequency MEMS transducer/array, Intravascular probe and imaging, Photoacoustic imaging.
