Greetings

The NUS’ Department of Biomedical Engineering is a University Department which was established in 2002. Our talented academic staff has varied background in engineering, life sciences and medicine. Many of whom has joint appointments with either the YLL School of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Mechanobiology Institute or A*STAR Research Institutes. This is a reflection of the multidisciplinary and integrative approach we take in biomedical engineering research and education.

Broadly speaking, the core research expertise available in the department include Biomaterials, Biomechanics, Bionanotechnology, Biosignal Processing, Biosensors, Biomicrofluidics, Computational Methods with application in areas of Tissue Engineering, Therapeutic Delivery Systems, Biomedical Imaging and Instrumentation, and Medical Devices just to name a few. Last year, the total research funding received was more than S$4.5 million. Several breakthrough projects were undertaken, for example, Professor Zhang Yong led a team to develop a user-friendly method to produce nanocrystals with strong ‘up-conversion’ fluorescence at low temperature which could be used for treating malignant melanoma. Another team led by Associate Professor Chen Nanguang made significant headway in the development of diffuse optical tomography which may lead to a potential clinical imaging tool for applications such as breast cancer detection and brain function study.​

The undergraduate programme while designed to provide students with strong fundamental and broad based learning in engineering and life sciences, its approach is integrative and students are exposed to clinical applications as well. There is strong emphasis in engineering design in the curriculum. In fact students have a choice to enroll in the Design-Centric Curriculum (DCC) under the theme “Engineering in Medicine”. In the final year, students are required to take on individual research projects. Past students had done extremely well, winning regional and international awards. For example, last year Natalie Lim Sheng Jie won the National Research and Innovation Competition’s Best Award held in Universiti Sains Malaysia beating 130 other entries from over 20 universities. Her research work focused on detecting early signs of cartilage damage using microspectroscopy technology.​

Outstanding applicants can apply for the Engineering Scholars Programme (E-Scholars), the premier scholarship programme at the NUS Faculty of Engineering, leading to the award of two degrees in 4 years: a Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) and a Master’s degree (M.SC) at NUS. We also have an excellent PhD graduate programme that aims to train graduate students in multidisciplinary bioengineering research. Highly competitive research scholarships are offered to students that demonstrate potential in research.​

I encourage you to browse through the website for greater details of the educational and research opportunities available in the department.

Once again, welcome to our website, and do not hesitate to contact us.

​Prof Dean Ho

Head, Department of Biomedical Engineering.