Brown’s Institute of Biology, Engineering, and Medicine (I-BEAM) is thrilled to present the Spring 2025 I-BEAM BME Seminar Series.

This semester’s lineup features visionary speakers from leading universities and research organizations nationwide, sharing their cutting-edge work at the intersection of engineering and medicine.

 

When: Selected Thursdays, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET

Where: Barus & Holley, Room 190 

If you’re not on site, email [email protected] to request a link to join us via Zoom. 

Check out the full seminar schedule and the speaker bios below.

 

January 30: Dr. Michael Rainbow, Queens University

Associate Professor, Dr. Rainbow, uses imaging and biomechanical modeling to explore the relationship between the structure and function of the wrist, foot, and patellofemoral joint, intending to understand the pathomechanics of chronic injuries. After earning his B.Sc. in Computational Physics from Penn State, he completed his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Brown University in 2011, where he developed a three-dimensional model of the human wrist joint. His interest in biomechanics began with gymnastics and grew through an internship at Shriners Hospital for Children, where he worked on treatment strategies for children with musculoskeletal disorders.

February 6: Dr. Aaron Batista, Carnegie Mellon University

Dr. Aaron Batista—an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh—leads the SMILE Lab (Sensory Motor Integration Laboratory and Engineering), where he investigates how populations of neurons enable learning, cognition, and sensory-motor coordination. His research explores the brain’s adaptability during learning, the potential of neurofeedback to accelerate skill acquisition, and advancements in brain-computer interfaces to improve functionality for patients with paralysis. By examining population neural activity, Dr. Batista’s work offers fresh insights into sensory-motor coordination and aims to enhance dexterity and neural prosthetic technology.

February 20: Dr. Vincent Ling, Morphocell Technologies

Dr. Vincent Ling is a biotech and pharmaceutical leader with over 30 years of experience in cell therapy, biologics, and genetic engineering. He holds degrees from U.C. Berkeley, and the University of Illinois (MS, Ph.D.), and completed postdoctoral work at Harvard. Dr. Ling has held leadership roles at Genetics Institute, Adnexus Therapeutics, Neurotech Pharmaceuticals, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, where he supported the development of the Kariko-Weissman mRNA vaccine technology that led to the first COVID mRNA vaccine and the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. Currently, he is the Chief Business Officer at Morphocell Technologies, leading business development for its regenerative medicine platform targeting liver diseases.

March 6: Dr. Sarah Stabenfeldt, Arizona State University

Dr. Sarah Stabenfeldt is a biomedical engineer pioneering regenerative therapies for acute neural injuries. After earning her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Saint Louis University and her Ph.D. from Georgia Tech—where she developed neural tissue engineering strategies for traumatic brain injury—she advanced fibrin-based wound healing therapeutics as an NIH postdoctoral fellow. Since joining ASU’s School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering in 2011, Dr. Stabenfeldt has earned the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, the NSF CAREER Award, and the Arizona Biomedical Research Early Stage Investigator Award, leading groundbreaking research in neural repair.

March 20: Dr. Brendan Harley, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Dr. Brendan Harley is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois and a research leader at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. He runs the Harley Research Lab, where his work focuses on developing biomaterials that replicate the dynamic microenvironments of human tissues to better understand how biomaterial cues influence cell behavior in development, disease, and regeneration. Harley has published over 100 papers and co-authored the book Cellular Materials in Nature and Medicine. A recipient of the NSF CAREER Award and the Society for Biomaterials Young Investigator Award, he co-founded Orthomimetics, Ltd., which is advancing clinical trials for knee repair. 

April 17: Dr. Evan Scott, University of Virginia

An expert in nanotechnology for cancer, glaucoma, heart disease, and more, Dr. Scott is currently in the process of relocating his lab from Northwestern to UVA's Biomedical Engineering Department, where he will also lead the nanoSTAR Institute within the new Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology. He earned his Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis in 2009 and conducted postdoctoral research at EPFL in Switzerland. With a decade of experience at Northwestern University as the Kay Davis Professor of Biomedical Engineering & Microbiology-Immunology, Scott's NIH-funded research focuses on immunotherapies, biomaterials science, and tissue engineering. At UVA, he will hold dual appointments and collaborate with the UVA Cancer Center. Dr. Scott earned his Sc.B. in Biomedical Engineering from Brown.