Research Field Guide
How to Get a Biomedical Engineering Research Position
To get a Biomedical Engineering research position, find professors who are actively publishing in Biomedical Engineering, read what they actually work on, and email one of them a short, specific note. The work mixes in-person and computational tasks, so there is a way to help either on-site or remotely.
Below are 12 professors publishing in Biomedical Engineering right now, what each is working on, and how to reach out. Every name and topic is pulled from real, recent publication data, not a generic list.
Biomedical Engineering professors who are actively publishing
| Professor | Institution | Recent research focus |
|---|---|---|
| Rui L. Reis | University of Minho | Bone Tissue Engineering Materials |
| David J. Hunter | The University of Sydney | Lower Extremity Biomechanics and Pathologies |
| Michael Weller | University of Zurich | Radiomics and Machine Learning in Medical Imaging |
| David L. Kaplan | Tufts University | Bone Tissue Engineering Materials |
| Christof Koch | Gere Foundation | Neuroscience and Neural Engineering |
| Li Ding | Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China | Radiomics and Machine Learning in Medical Imaging |
| Harvey I. Pass | NYU Langone Health | Medical Imaging and Pathology Studies |
| Donald E. Ingber | Boston Children's Hospital | Cellular Mechanics and Interactions |
| Juhani Knuuti | University of Turku | Medical Imaging Techniques and Applications |
| Daniel S. Berman | Cedars-Sinai Medical Center | Medical Imaging Techniques and Applications |
| John A. Rogers | Northwestern University | Neuroscience and Neural Engineering |
| Marc W. Kirschner | Harvard University | Cellular Mechanics and Interactions |
Sourced from OpenAlex publication records. Click a name to see their full profile and recent papers.
What Biomedical Engineering research involves
Biomedical engineering applies engineering to medicine and biology. Active areas include medical imaging and radiomics, biomechanics, tissue engineering and biomaterials, and neural engineering that connects devices to the body. The field is genuinely mixed. Device fabrication, tissue work, and experiments happen hands-on in the lab. But a large share of the work, especially imaging analysis, modeling, and machine learning on medical data, is computational and can be done remotely. That breadth is good for students, because a strong programmer and a strong builder can both find a role. Read a professor's recent papers to see whether their group leans toward wet-lab and device work or toward imaging and computation.
How to email a Biomedical Engineering professor
Biomedical engineering spans bench and computer, so match your offer to the group. For an imaging or modeling lab, offer to help analyze medical images or build models and name your tools, like Python, MATLAB, or machine-learning experience. For a tissue-engineering or device lab, offer to be on-site, learn fabrication or testing techniques, and stress reliability. Reference one recent paper, on biomechanics or medical imaging, for example, and ask a specific question about the design or method. Engineering students should mention relevant coursework and any projects. Keep the email short and propose one concrete first task rather than asking for a position outright.
Biomedical Engineering overlaps with nearby fields. If you are casting a wider net, look at research positions in Materials Science, Machine Learning, Neuroscience, and Organic Chemistry.