Penn Bioengineering

09/03/2026

New research from Su Chin Heo, Assistant Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery with a secondary appointment in Bioengineering, could help improve rotator cuff repair.

Heo and his team developed a scaffold that mimics the body’s natural transition from tendon to fibrocartilage to bone, with the goal of supporting stronger, more organized healing.

Read more from Penn Medicine: https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/mimicking-natural-tissue-may-improve-rotator-cuff-repair

Penn Engineering

08/27/2026

From Penn to Texas A&M, Raghav Garg is taking the next step in his academic career.

Garg recently joined Texas A&M University as an Assistant Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he is building a research program focused on implantable and wearable neural interfaces for monitoring and treating neurological diseases.

His 4.5 years in the Vitale Lab and Penn’s Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics helped shape both his patient-centered approach to research and his vision for the collaborative culture he hopes to create in his own lab.

“My time at Penn transformed my career,” says Garg. “The mentorship and support I received from Dr. Vitale have been instrumental in preparing me for a faculty role.”

Read Part 3 of Launching the Next Generation of Faculty to follow Garg’s path from Penn researcher to independent faculty member: https://beblog.seas.upenn.edu/launching-next-gen-faculty-garg/

Penn Engineering

08/25/2026

08/20/2026

From training alongside clinicians at Penn to building a research group of her own, Hannah Zlotnick (Ph.D. BE 2022) is carrying a commitment to clinically relevant bioengineering into the next stage of her career.

This August, Zlotnick joined Wake Forest University School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Her new lab will develop materials to model, monitor and mitigate orthopaedic diseases such as osteoarthritis and joint infection.

During her Ph.D. training in the Mauck Lab at Penn, Zlotnick worked alongside orthopaedic residents and clinical faculty, experiences that helped her understand the practical considerations that can determine how engineering advances move toward the clinic.

Now, as she builds her own team, that perspective is helping shape both the research she plans to pursue and the laboratory culture she hopes to create.

Read Part 3 of our Launching the Next Generation of Bioengineering Faculty series: https://beblog.seas.upenn.edu/next-gen-be-faculty-zlotnick/

Penn Engineering

08/06/2026

The next chapter begins.

Our Launching the Next Generation of Bioengineering Faculty series continues with Margaret Billingsley who will join the University of Virginia on August 31 as an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and a faculty member in the NanoSTAR Institute.

Billingsley reflects on how her experience as part of the first graduate student cohort in the Mitchell Lab shaped her approach to building a research community, mentoring future scientists, and launching an independent laboratory.

Read her story and learn how Penn helped prepare her for this next step: https://beblog.seas.upenn.edu/next-gen-be-faculty-billingsley/

Penn Engineering

07/30/2026

The deadline to apply for the 2026 Rising Stars in Engineering in Health workshop is tomorrow, July 31.

Postdocs, research scientists and Ph.D. students preparing to pursue faculty positions are encouraged to apply for this two-day workshop, co-hosted by Penn, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University and Boston University.

The workshop will highlight emerging scholars working at the intersection of engineering, medicine and health.

Learn more and apply: https://be.engineering.upenn.edu/home/rising-stars/

Please share with interested applicants and relevant networks.

07/29/2026

Launching the Next Generation of Bioengineering Faculty

The Department of Bioengineering is proud to celebrate Marshall Padilla as he begins the next chapter of his career as an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University and a faculty member of Stanford ChEM-H.

Marshall's story highlights how mentorship, interdisciplinary research, and a collaborative community can prepare scientists to launch impactful independent careers. As he builds his own laboratory focused on biomaterials and advanced drug delivery technologies, he carries forward the lessons, partnerships, and spirit of innovation developed during his time at Penn.

Read the first feature in our new series, Launching the Next Generation of Bioengineering Faculty, and learn more about Marshall's journey.

🔗 https://beblog.seas.upenn.edu/next-gen-be-faculty-padilla/

Penn Engineering

07/24/2026

Oral squamous cell carcinoma is the most common form of head and neck cancer, and treating it remains a significant challenge. Standard therapies can leave patients with permanent disfigurement or lifelong difficulty speaking and swallowing.

A multidisciplinary Penn team led by Michael J. Mitchell, Hibbert Professor in Bioengineering and Anh D. Le, Chair and Norman Vine Endowed Professor of Oral Rehabilitation at Penn Dental Medicine, has developed a lipid nanoparticle platform that combines two cancer-fighting therapies in a single formulation.

Marshall Padilla, first author of the study and a former postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Bioengineering and the Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry, helped show how the treatment can directly kill cancer cells while also reprogramming the immune system to target them. He is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering and a Sarafan ChEM-H Institute Scholar at Stanford University.

This collaboration across engineering, medicine and dentistry could help move oral cancer treatment beyond one-size-fits-all therapies and toward more precise, customizable options for patients.

Learn more:
https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-medicine-dental-engineering-one-two-punch-using-lipid-nanoparticles-transform-oral-cancer-treatment

Penn Engineering | Penn Medicine | Penn Dental Medicine

A multidisciplinary team of Penn researchers has developed a platform that delivers a combination of cancer-fighting therapies to treat oral squamous cell carcinoma.

07/22/2026

Call for applications: The 2026 Rising Stars in Engineering in Health workshop application deadline is approaching.

Postdocs, research scientists and Ph.D. students preparing to pursue faculty positions are encouraged to apply for this two-day workshop, co-hosted by Penn, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University and Boston University.

The workshop will bring together emerging scholars whose work advances engineering, medicine and health.

Applications close July 31, 2026.

Learn more and apply: https://be.engineering.upenn.edu/home/rising-stars/

Please forward this opportunity to interested applicants and relevant networks.

Penn Engineering