Over the past 25 years, interdisciplinary research in biomedical engineering has been undertaken at Queen's University, but in separate engineering departments. The departments of chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering are formally collaborating to support a new graduate biomedical engineering program that allows graduate students to access courses and co-supervisors in each department, as well as courses in Anatomy, Cell Biology and Biochemistry. Key features of the program are:

Graduate Student Support

Full-time students are encouraged to seek external financial support and are encouraged to apply for NSERC and OGS graduate scholarships. Fellowships and teaching assistantships are available through the University and are automatically considered upon admission.

 

Application Procedure

The program is offered at both the Masters and Doctoral levels. Applications are reviewed by a committee composed of representatives from each of the three participating departments. For further details, interested students are encouraged to contact the representative from the department that is best aligned with their current research interests:

Chemical Engineering:
Lindsay Fitzpatrick

Electrical and Computer Engineering:
Evelyn Morin

Mechanical and Materials Engineering:
Claire Davies

Curriculum

Both Master's and Doctoral students are required to fulfill the course requirements of their Home Department (Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical and Materials). Students enrolled in the Collaborative Program must take CBME 801, which counts as a graduate course requirement within their Home Department. In addition, CBME students are required to attend the Collaborative Program Seminar Series (CBME 802), which is taken in place of their Home Department seminar series.

The course Topics in Biomedical Engineering (CBME 801) is mandatory. The remaining courses can be selected from the following list of suggested courses. Not all courses are offered in all terms; please consult your supervisor.

Course Instructor Term
BME 801 Topics in Biomedical Engineering C. Davies Fall
CBME 802 Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series L. Fitzpatrick Fall/Winter
CHEE 872 Polymeric Biomaterials B. Amsden Winter
CHEE 874 Tissue Engineering L. Fitzpatrick Fall
CHEE 887 Cellular Bioengineering TBD TBD
CHEE 909 Colloid & Surface Science (I) A. Docoslis Fall
CHEE 910 Colloid & Surface Science (II) A. Docoslis Fall
CHEE 912 Applied Lab-on-Chip Technologies C. Escobedo Winter
CHEE 990 Structure-Property Relationships of Polymeric Materials M. Kontopoulou Spring
ELEC 811 Biological Signal Analysis E. Morin Fall
ELEC 824 Machine Vision M. Greenspan
ELEC 823 Signal Processing G. Chan
ELEC 841 Nonlinear Systems: Analysis and Identification M.J. Korenberg Fall
ELEC 843 Control of Discrete-Event Systems K. Rudie Fall
ELEC 861 Probability,Random Variables and Stochastic Processes S. Gazor Winter
MECH 823 Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Y. Lai Fall
MECH 829 Tissue Mechanics T. Bryant Fall
MECH 830 Experimental Fluid Dynamics D. Rival Fall
MECH 844 Selected Topics in Materials Engineering Various Fall
MECH 816 Energetics & Mechanics of Locomotion Q. Li Winter
MECH 827 Biomechanics of Human Joints and Spine G. Dumas Winter
MECH 828 Biomechanics of Human Gait K. Deluzio Winter
MECH 843 Selected Topics in Biomechanical Engineering Various Winter
MECH 857 Robotics L. Notash Winter
MECH 924 Finite Element Analysis of Non-Linear Solids I-Y. Kim Winter
BMED 831 Cell Structure and Basic Tissues F. Kan Fall
BMED 847 Research Projects in Anatomy and Cell Biology L. MacKenzie Winter
BMED 810 Protein Structure and Function Z. Jia Fall
BMED 809 Principles of Drug Discovery and Development L. Winn Winter
BMED 853 Cellular and Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences D. Maurice Winter
BMED 866 Bioinformatics Q. Duan
BMED 877 Immunology S. Basta, K. Gee Fall

Mandatory Core Courses

Topics in Biomedical Engineering (CBME 801)

Many Biomedical Engineering graduate students' programs are heavily skewed towards the technical skills required to do biomedical research, including mathematical methods, theoretical modeling and experimental procedures. Because of this bias, Biomedical Engineering research tends to be poorly planned and presented. The overall aim of this course is to have students learn how to propose and plan scientific research a priori, including using statistical methods to design experiments and develop skills for writing journal articles and research proposals, presenting scientific data and giving scientific talks.

The goals of course are to:

  • help each student to think critically about the research questions of his/her thesis project and to learn how to put these questions in proper context with respect to their discipline
  • introduce students to the process of experimental planning
  • help students develop an appreciation for the components of a clear, well-organized and well reasoned research proposal and journal article and
  • help students to prepare collected data for presentation at a scientific conference.
Calendar Description

This course covers the skills needed to plan and present Biomedical Engineering research. Topics include hypothesis and research question generation, literature reviews, statistical methods to design experiments, proposal writing, data presentation and interpretation, information design, scientific speaking and article writing. Instructors: Biomedical Engineering faculty.


Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series (CBME 802)

The objective of this course is to expose Biomedical Engineering students to the different areas of Biomedical Engineering research and practice, providing a shared learning experience to link students from each of the departments participating in the Biomedical Engineering Program. An additional objective is to provide opportunities to develop and refine presentation skills, the ability to give and receive constructive criticism, and to pose and respond to questions.

The course will emphasize the broad scope and interdisciplinary nature of Biomedical Engineering research and practice, through the preparation, delivery and audience participation in oral presentations.

The CBME 802 Seminar Series schedule can be found here.

Calendar Description

Illustrate all areas of Biomedical Engineering research and practice; emphasis on breadth and interdisciplinary aspects; preparation, delivery and audience participation in oral presentations; the course links students from departments participating in the Collaborative Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering; opportunities are provided to develop and refine presentation skills, to give and receive constructive criticism, and to pose and respond to questions. Instructors: Biomedical Engineering faculty.

Research Areas

Biomaterials

The biomaterials group focuses on the (i) development of natural and synthetic materials used to facilitate the repair of damaged or diseased tissues and organs, and (ii) materials to be used in conjunction with biomedical tools and devices. Specific examples include drug delivery devices, cell encapsulation devices, tissue engineering scaffold materials and synthetic synovial fluid. Current research topics include cell and protein delivery for therapeutic angiogenesis, cell delivery for treatment of damaged articular cartilage and intervertebral disc, cell sheet technology, ocular drug delivery systems, the development of synthetic polymer scaffolds for ligament tissue regeneration, as well as studies into fundamental cell-biomaterial interactions. This group utilizes laboratory experimentation facilities located in the Department of Chemical Engineering, the Biosciences Complex, the Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, and the Human Mobility Research Centre at Kingston General Hospital.


Biomechanics and Prosthetics

The biomechanics and prosthetics group focuses on the study of: (i) whole body and limb biomechanics during daily living and before/after surgical treatment and (ii) the design and development of medical implants and prosthetics (e.g. total joint replacements, lower limb amputee devices) for the industrialized world as well as novel approaches for applications in the developing world. This group utilizes laboratory experimentation and numerical modelling research facilities located in the Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering and the Human Mobility Research Centre at Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu Hospital.


Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

The tissue engineering/regenerative medicine group focuses on the development of new therapeutic approaches to advance healthcare based on improving or replacing the biological function of damaged or diseased tissues and organs. Research in this area is conducted on the development of (i) laboratory grown functional replacement tissues and (ii) cell encapsulation devices. Specific applications include the development articular cartilage, ligament, intervertebral disc, adipose tissue and implantable insulin producing devices. This group utilizes laboratory experimentation research facilities located in the Department of Chemical Engineering, the Biosciences Complex, and the Human Mobility Research Centre at Kingston General Hospital.


Biomedical and Intelligent Systems

The Biomedical and Intelligent Systems group comprises expertise in the areas of robotics, computer vision, discrete-event systems, nonlinear system identification, protein sequence classification, modelling and human performance monitoring. The research on robotic control is focused on the application of control systems in prosthetics, telerobotics, haptics and virtual environments with the integration of processed biological signals in the control structure. Research into computer vision is centred on object recognition, pose determination and 3D tracking with applications to robotics. Discrete-event systems techniques are being used in modelling emergency response to epidemiological outbreaks. Nonlinear system identification is used for protein sequence classification, for analysing gene expression, and for prognosis and diagnosis of disease. Human performance monitoring research is being conducted to assess kinetics, kinematics and energy expenditure during the performance of various tasks. This group utilizes f laboratory experimentation research facilities located in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, the Human Mobility Research Centre at Kingston General Hospital and the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies.

More Collaborative Programs