SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

AUGUST 2026

Dear Colleagues, 

I am thrilled to share Duke Biomedical Engineering's Strategic Vision, the result of a years-long process to define our department's future. Led by Ann Saterbak and Marc Sommer, our Strategic Visioning Committee engaged faculty, staff and other stakeholders through focus groups, panel discussions and other forms of feedback to understand where biomedical engineering is headed and how Duke BME can continue to lead.

Our Strategic Vision establishes new guiding principles and three strategic directions for the future: expanding BME research in rapidly growing, high-impact areas, reimagining education to prepare students for emerging opportunities, and strengthening our community both on and off campus. Together, these priorities will build on Duke BME’s established strengths while opening new opportunities to shape the future of biomedical engineering.

With the creativity and dedication of our community, we are excited to transform this vision into reality and continue advancing research, education and innovation that improve human health.

Sharon Gerecht, PhD
Paul M. Gross Distinguished Professor
Chair, Duke Biomedical Engineering

Our community has identified five research areas that are becoming increasingly prominent in the disciplinary landscape. We will continue to strengthen the talent and resources devoted to these areas to enhance their impact on society. 

Advanced drug delivery, biomaterials and tissue engineering, gene therapies and systems-level biotechnologies are central to our vision, with a focus on integrating automated, computational and high-throughput approaches with clinically focused engineering.

From patient-specific digital twins that model blood flow and disease progression to wearable technologies that continuously monitor health,  computational approaches are opening new possibilities for making medicine more personalized and predictive. 

We will expand our efforts to develop affordable, adaptable technologies that expand access to health care, from low-cost medical devices to shelf-stable medicines designed for use in resource-limited communities worldwide. 

By building a more integrated neuroengineering community, we will support future advances in brain-computer interfaces, therapies for neurological disorders and neurosurgical technologies, driving the translation of discoveries into tangible benefits for human health. 

We will continue to advance the frontiers of biomedical imaging science through technologies including next-generation ultrasound, adaptive microscopes, advanced sensors and computational imaging tools that reveal biology and disease with greater depth, speed and precision. 

We are invested in the success of everyone in our community. Our vision is to prepare our students to thrive, whether they choose to stay in academia or pursue opportunities in industry.

Duke BME is preparing the next generation of biomedical engineering leaders to pair innovation with ethics, ensuring tomorrow’s technologies and discoveries advance human health with purpose and responsibility.

By focusing on hands-on design, prototyping and fabrication, Duke BME students will have the tools to turn ideas into real-world solutions. A low-cost, smartphone-connected tympanometer shows how student innovation can expand access to essential health technologies.

As emerging AI technologies have changed the landscape of teaching and learning, Duke BME will adapt teaching strategies, course content and assignments and evaluation methods to maintain strong technical competencies while embracing modern tools. 

We will create more personalized learning experiences that recognize our students' diverse backgrounds, experiences and goals through flexible curricula and individualized mentorship.

Increasingly, industry opportunities are in medical devices, biotechnology, computational domains, and other emerging specialties. This commitment to industry-focused curricular paths and research thrusts underscores our mission to prepare our students to thrive in diverse post-graduation career paths. 

We know that our community and collaboration are critical to our future as leaders of the field, and our goal is to strengthen and grow that community by increasing our partnerships with alumni and industry, collaborations for commercialization, and cooperative research efforts.

Inclusive excellence will remain central to Duke BME’s future, with a focus on broadening perspectives, expanding professional opportunities and fostering a supportive community for all.

Stronger alumni and industry partnerships will help Duke BME translate research into real-world impact, fuel entrepreneurship and prepare the next generation of innovators. 

We will deepen collaboration across disciplines, leveraging our close partnership with Duke University Medical Center and School of Medicine to tackle increasingly complex biomedical challenges and accelerate discovery.

By expanding STEM education and mentorship across the Triangle, Duke BME will give students hands-on opportunities to explore engineering and biomedical research while building the next generation of innovators. 

International partnerships will expand our community's global impact through shared learning, co-developed solutions and locally focused training that advances health equity and innovation worldwide.

Read the full Strategic Vision and join us in shaping the future of biomedical engineering.