Biomedical Engineering Research
Systems and synthetic biology
Systems biologists rely on both quantitative experiments and computational modeling to understand how the molecular components of cells (such as genes and proteins) determine higher-level behaviors (proliferation or migration, for example). Ultimately, systems biology can be used to identify drug targets, develop personalized therapies, and determine design principles to control cellular behavior or optimize production.
Faculty
Core faculty
Faculty affiliates
Centers, Consortia and Institutes
The Forward BIO Institute catalyzes innovation in biomanufacturing research, entrepreneurship, and workforce development. It acts as a “catapult” that pushes groundbreaking technologies into the private sector.
The institute engages with research institutions throughout the Midwest and supports innovations in workforce development, transformative research and development, and public-private partnerships in the emerging area of biomanufacturing: the advanced manufacturing of therapeutic medical devices, cells, tissues, or pharmaceuticals.
Technological innovations have revolutionized the scale and detail with which biological systems can be explored. With that revolution comes a new demand for scientists who transcend biological and computational sciences to seamlessly integrate complex datasets into quantitative and predictive models of biological systems.
To address this need, the Quantitative Biology Initiative at UW–Madison is training the next generation of scientists who will work at the interface of computational, statistical, and quantitative biology. The QBI represents a university-wide initiative that brings together students and faculty from diverse departments. They utilize an exceptional level of inter-departmental collaboration at UW–Madison to provide students outstanding training opportunities in interdisciplinary, collaborative research.
The University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center is recognized throughout the nation as one of the leading innovators in cancer research, quality patient care, and active community involvement. It is the only comprehensive cancer center in Wisconsin, as designated by the National Cancer Institute.
UWCCC’s location in the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research (WIMR) allows researchers to work with scientists from other disciplines, speeding the transfer of cutting-edge science to patients.
Since the first successful culturing of embryonic stem cells from non-human primates in 1995, and later with the isolation of the world’s first human embryonic stem cells, the University of Wisconsin–Madison has been a leader in the companion fields of stem cell research and regenerative medicine.
The UW–Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center (SCRMC) provides a central point of contact, information, and facilitation for all stem cell research activities on campus. The center’s mission is to advance the science of stem cell biology and foster breakthroughs in regenerative medicine through faculty interactions, research support, and education.
The Wisconsin Institute for Discovery was created in 2010 to explore new ways of generating innovation in science and engineering. Since opening in 2010, the institute has been awarded and administered more than $22 million in grant funding from a variety of foundations and agencies to continue pursuing research collaborations with the Morgridge Institute for Research, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the State of Wisconsin, and more.
The Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research has embraced a new way of doing science since its opening in 2008. In this new model, traditional research silos become obsolete as basic, translational, and clinical scientists—in cancer, imaging, neuroscience, surgery, and cardiovascular and regenerative medicine—work together to move discoveries quickly from bench to bedside and into the community.
In addition to its three interdisciplinary research towers, WIMR neighbors the UW Health Sciences Learning Center, the UW Schools of Pharmacy and Nursing, and the UW Hospital and Clinics and American Family Children’s Hospital—making it well-positioned for easy interactions between WIMR scientists, their health sciences colleagues, practicing clinicians, and the patients whose lives they hope to improve.