Welcome to
Biomedical Engineering

Research Focus

Developing sustainable diagnostic solutions to address global health disparities.

Research Interests

The Panpradist lab (Panda Lab) is committed to advancing accessibility and sustainability in diagnostic technologies, delivering actionable health information even in resource-limited settings – from rural clinics in Texas or bedside care environments. By employing a value-centered engineering design approach, the lab fosters interdisciplinary collaborations with key stakeholders, including with local medical centers, the Dell Medical School, industrial partners and international health ministries. To promote equitable research, the lab seeks to transform the typical trajectory of medical technology development and implementation by engaging with historically marginalized communities and researchers.

Technical areas and applications: The lab integrates molecular tools such as isothermal molecular techniques and advanced synthetic biology innovations, including DNA logic circuits and engineered phages, with low-cost hardware and open-access software to create novel diagnostic solutions. Current applications include developing sensitive detection methods for drug resistance in pathogens like HIV and TB as well as new class of biosensors for detecting bacterial sepsis. Beyond human health, the Panpradist lab aims to address the boarder intersections of health and safety. This includes tackling challenges in food and water safety through integrated point-of-care technology platforms.

Additional Links

Related Website

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS  

Dr. José del R. Millán is a professor and holds the Carol Cockrell Curran Chair in the Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He is also a professor in the Department of Neurology at Dell Medical School and faculty of the Mulva Clinic for the Neurosciences. He is co-director of the UT CARE Initiative and associate director of Texas Robotics.

He received a PhD in computer science from the Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, in 1992. Prior to joining UT Austin, he was a research scientist at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in Ispra (Italy) and a senior researcher at the Idiap Research Institute in Martigny (Switzerland). He has also been a visiting scholar at the Universities of Berkeley and Stanford as well as at the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley. Most recently, he was Defitech Foundation Chair in Brain-Machine Interface at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland (EPFL), where he helped establish the Center for Neuroprosthetics.

Dr. Millán has made several seminal contributions to the field of brain-machine interfaces (BMI), especially based on electroencephalogram signals. Most of his achievements revolve around the design of brain-controlled robots. He has received several recognitions for these seminal and pioneering achievements, notably the IEEE-SMC Nobert Wiener Award in 2011, elevation to IEEE Fellow in 2017, and elected Fellow of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering in 2020. In addition to his work on the fundamentals of BMI and design of neuroprosthetics, Dr. Millán is prioritizing the translation of BMI to people who live with motor and cognitive disabilities. In parallel, he is designing BMI technology to offer new interaction modalities for able-bodied people that augment their abilities.

Research Areas

bioECE

Decision, Information, and Communications Engineering (DICE)

Research Interests

• Brain-machine Interfaces (BMI)
• Neuroengineering
• Neuroprosthetics
• Human-robot interaction
• Statistical machine learning
• Neuroscience
• Neurorehabilitation

Research Groups

Clinical Neuroprosthetics and Brain Interaction Lab

Wireless Networking and Communications Group (WNCG)

Texas Robotics

Cellular to Clinically Applied Rehabilitation Research and Engineering (CARE)

Additional Links

Group Website

Director of ARTS Lab

Dr. Farshid Alambeigi joined the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin in August 2019. He is also one of the core faculties of the Texas Robotics. Dr. Alambeigi received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University, in 2019. He also holds an M.Sc. degree (2017) in Robotics from the Johns Hopkins University. In summer of 2018, Dr. Alambeigi received the 2019 SIEBEL Scholarship because of the academic excellence and demonstrated leadership. In 2020, Dr. Alambeigi received the NIH NIBIB Trailblazer Career Award to develop novel flexible implants and robots for minimally invasive spinal fixation surgery. In 2022, he also received the prestigious NIH Director’s New Innovator Award to develop an in vivo bioprinting surgical robotic system for treatment of volumetric muscle loss.

At The University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Alambeigi directs the Advanced Robotic Technologies for Surgery (ARTS) Lab. Dr. Alambeigi’s research focuses on developing high dexterity and situationally aware continuum manipulators, soft robots, and appropriate instruments especially designed for less/minimally invasive treatment of various medical applications. Utilizing these novel surgical instruments together with intelligent control algorithms, the ARTS Lab in collaboration with the UT Dell Medical School will work toward digital surgery and partnering dexterous intelligent robots with surgeons. Ultimately, our goal is to augment the clinicians’ skills and quality of the surgery to further improve patient’s safety.

Recent Publications

1. O. C. Kara, N. Venkatayogi, N. Ikoma, F. Alambeigi, “A Reliable and Sensitive Framework for Simultaneous Type and Stage Detection of Colorectal Cancer Polyps”, Annals of Biomedical Engineering (ABME), January 2023.
2. Y. Liu, T. G. Mohanraj, R. Rajebi, L. Zhou, and F. Alambeigi, “A Multiphysical Analytical Modeling Framework of Magnetically Steerable Robotic Catheter for Treatment of Peripheral Artery Disease,” IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics (TMECH), May 2022. DOI: 10.1109/TMECH.2022.3174520.
3. Pettinger, F. Alambeigi*, M. Pryor*, “A Versatile Affordance Modeling Framework Using Screw Primitives to Increase Autonomy during Manipulation Contact Tasks”, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RAL), 7(3), pp.7224-7231, 2022. DOI: 10.1109/LRA.2022.3181732
4. J. Zhu, A. Cherubini, C. Dune, D. Navarro-Alarcon, F. Alambeigi, D. Berenson, F. Ficuciello, K. Harada, J. Kober, X. Li, J. Pan, W. Yuan, and M. Gienger, “Challenges and Outlook in Robotic Manipulation of Deformable Objects,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine (RAM), In Press, pp. 2-12, Feb. 2022. DOI: 10.1109/MRA.2022.3147415
5. Y. Liu and F. Alambeigi, “Impact of Generic Tendon Routing on Tension Loss of Tendon-Driven Continuum Manipulators,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RAL), 7(2), pp.3624-3631, Feb. 2022. DOI: 10.1109/LRA.2022.3147903
6. Y. Liu, U. Yoo, S. Ha, S. F. Atashzar, and F. Alambeigi,” Influence of Antagonistic Tensions on Distributed Friction Forces of Multi-Segment Tendon-Driven Continuum Manipulators with Irregular Geometry,” IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics (TMECH), pp. 1-11, October 2021. DOI: 10.1109/TMECH.2021.3112580
7. F. Alambeigi, S. Aghajani Pedram, J. Speyer, I. Iordachita, R. H. Taylor, and M. Armand, “SCADE: Simultaneous Sensor Calibration and Deformation Estimation of FBG-Equipped Unmodeled Continuum Manipulators“, IEEE Transaction on Robotics (TRO), October 2019.
8. F. Alambeigi, M. Bakhtiarinejad, S. Sefaty, R. Hegeman, I. Iordachita, H. Khanuja, and M. Armand, "On the Use of a Continuum Manipulator and a Bendable Medical Screw for Minimally-Invasive Interventions in Orthopedic Surgery", IEEE Transaction on Medical Robotics and Bionics (TMRB), January 2019.
9. F. Alambeigi, Z. Wang, Y. H. Liu, R. H. Taylor, and M. Armand, "Toward Autonomous Needle Insertion Using Collaborative Manipulation of Unmodeled Deformable Tissues," Annals of Biomedical Engineering, March 2018.
10. F. Alambeigi, Wang Y, Sefati S, Gao C, Murphy RJ, Iordachita I, Taylor RH, Khanuja H, Armand M. “A Curved-Drilling Approach in Core Decompression of the Femoral Head Osteonecrosis using a Continuum Manipulator,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2017.
11. F. Alambeigi, Z. Wang, R. Hegeman, Y. H. Liu, R. H. Taylor, and M. Armand, ”A Robust Data-Driven Approach for Online Learning and Manipulation of Unmodeled 3-D Heterogeneous Compliant Objects,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters and IROS 2018 conference, June 2018.

Marras Research Group

Alexander Marras received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University as a Presidential Fellow working with Carlos Castro in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. His graduate research in structural DNA nanotechnology established a framework for DNA-based mechanical mechanisms and methods for their rapid actuation. During his PhD, he received multiple awards including the Best Poster Award at the Foundations of Nanoscience conference, a preeminent conference for DNA nanotechnology. Upon completion of his PhD, Marras joined Matthew Tirrell’s research group as a postdoctoral researcher at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at The University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory in October 2017. His postdoctoral studies focused on charged polymer assembly with biomolecules and structural characterization of nanomaterials using light scattering, electron microscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering. His postdoctoral research also included a project with SiO2 Materials Science assembling COVID-19 vaccines and studying their structure and stability under various conditions. During his time as a postdoc, he served as co-chair for the Biomolecular Self-Assembly session at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers meeting, served as Guest Editor of Applied Sciences, and served on the User Executive Committee for the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In August 2022, Dr. Marras joined The University of Texas at Austin as an Assistant Professor in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering and affiliated faculty member with the Texas Materials Institute.

The Marras research group at UT Austin specializes in biomolecular self-assembly, using tunable soft materials for nanoscale engineering. Current focuses are understanding structural design rules for nanoparticles for nucleic acid delivery, developing DNA-based sensors and actuators, and creating smart biohybrid materials. More information is available at the Marras research group website.

Selected Publications

1. Marras, A.E., “Hierarchical Assembly of DNA Origami Nanostructures” MRS Communications. (2022)
2. Marras, A.E., Ting, J.M., Stevens, K.C., Tirrell, M.V., “Advances in the structural design of polyelectrolyte complex micelles” Journal of Physical Chemistry B. 125:7076-7089 (2021)
3. Marras, A.E., Campagna, T.C., Vieregg, J.R., Tirrell, M.V., “Physical property scaling relationships for polyelectrolyte complex micelles” Macromolecules. 54:6585-6594 (2021)
4. Marras, A.E., Shi, Z., Lindell, M., Patton, R.A., Huang, C.M., Zhou, L., Su, H-J., Arya, G., Castro, C.E. “Cation-activated avidity for rapid reconfiguration of DNA nanodevices” ACS Nano. 12:9484-9494 (2018)
5. Marras, A.E., Zhou, L., Su, H.J., Castro, C.E. "Programmable motion of DNA origami mechanisms." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112:713-8 (2015)

Alex Haynes, M.D., MPH, is charged with developing the research strategy for the Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care, including facilitating collaborations between faculty members and other departments within Dell Medical School and across The University of Texas at Austin campus. He is a practicing surgical oncologist with a focus on melanoma and soft tissue sarcoma.

Prior to joining Dell Med, Haynes was an associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he served as the director of the safe surgery program at Ariadne Labs, a center for health care delivery innovation at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Haynes received his medical degree from Wayne State University and his Master of Public Health from Columbia University, followed by surgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and a fellowship in complex general surgical oncology at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. His research has focused on implementation of tools to improve patient safety and outcomes of surgery at scale, both in the United States and abroad. He has published extensively in journals such as New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Annals of Surgery and Health Affairs and serves on the editorial board of Annals of Surgical Oncology. Haynes and his family are excited to return to Texas be a part of Dell Med’s unique mission.