$14M from NIH to build digital maps of brain, organs
With $14 million in NIH grants, bioengineers are now building 3D “reference maps” at the level of single cells for the human brain and for the respiratory and urinary systems. “If a patient has Alzheimer’s or chronic kidney disease, we can zoom in and examine what’s happening at the level of individual cells and compare it to the reference map of a normal brain or kidney,” said project lead Kun Zhang, professor and department chair of bioengineering. “This could help us identify biomarkers and better clinical decisions on what treatments to use.” Bioengineering at the Jacobs School ranks #2 in the nation according to the latest US News grad program rankings.