Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Agentic Scientific Machine Learning For Autonomous Model Discovery In Systems Pharmacology, Nazanin Ahmadi, George Karniadakis

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Sorption And Thermal Conductivity Of Concrete Containing Aggregates Of E-Waste, Rakesh Kumar Saini, Praveen Kumar

Journal of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies

In many parts of the world, substantial energy is used to maintain comfortable temperatures in inner parts of the buildings for living and working. Construction materials with low thermal conductivity, if used in the exterior walls and façade etc. in such structures can be useful in lowering the energy demand. On the other hand, moisture ingress through sorption is a common factor contributing in degradation of concrete structures with time. Constituents of concrete may be engineered to some extent to get both the desired attributes, lower thermal conductivity and sorption than normal concrete. The rapid increase in electronic waste, or …

The Use Of Tactile Stimulations To Mitigate Somatic Anxiety Responses: A Pilot Study, Abigail C. Robbins

Masters Theses

Anxiety is the body’s response to detected danger or stress. Physiological responses include shallow breathing, increased heart rate, sweating, shaking, and muscle tension. Roughly 33.7% of the population experiences anxiety, with approximately 40 million adults in the United States being affected by the disorder. Anxiety can create severe personal, social, and economic burdens. Traditional treatments of anxiety disorders such as medication and psychotherapy can be effective, but present multiple barriers such as cost, accessibility, and side effects. As a result, there is a growing industry for non-invasive, low-cost solutions that can help individuals regulate their physiological anxiety responses and reduce …

Designing A Wearable Gait Feedback System For Parkinson’S Disease Patients, Heath M. Stevens, Capri H. Lobotzke, Spencer J. George

Honors Theses

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that commonly causes a shortened stride length, reducing mobility and increasing fall risk. While current treatments, such as oral medication, can reduce symptoms, they do not provide real-time feedback to correct gait and often result in “off” periods when symptoms return. Physical therapists report that simple reminders to lengthen stride can help patients recover from “off” periods and maintain normal walking patterns, but there is no current at-home way to simulate this effective therapy. Recognizing this gap in at-home support, our biomedical engineering senior design team at the University of Mississippi sought to …

Hyposense: Multimodal Physiologic And Voc Wearable For Early Hypoglycemia Detection, Nidhi R. Patel

Honors Theses

Hypoglycemia remains a significant safety concern for insulin-dependent individuals, especially when blood glucose declines rapidly during exercise, sleep, or periods of impaired hypoglycemia awareness. Current continuous glucose monitors and automated insulin delivery systems have helped to improve diabetes management, but these technologies primarily respond to glucose trends after they have already started and may not actually provide sufficient warning before symptoms occur. This thesis describes the development of HypoSense, a noninvasive wrist worn wearable concept that is designed to support earlier hypoglycemia risk detection through multimodal physiologic and volatile organic compound emission sensing. HypoSense combines volatile organic compounds/gas sensing with …

Behavioral And Biomechanical Analysis Of Hand Movement Stability In Virtual Reality, M. J. M. Sunny, Dr. Aryabrata Basu

Research and Creative Works Expo

This research investigates fine motor control in virtual reality (VR) using a buzz-wire style precision task. Participants guide a loop along a wire while motion telemetry captures hand stability and movement patterns. Results show that individuals with combined VR, gaming, and athletic experience demonstrate smoother trajectories and reduced jitter, highlighting how prior expertise influences performance in immersive motor tasks.

Response Surface Modelling And Multi-Objective Optimisation Of Asphalt Binder And Mixture Properties Modified With Reclaimed Automotive Lubricants And Waste Glass Bottle Powder, Nura Shehu Aliyu Yaro, Jacob Adedayo Adedeji, Luvuno Nkosinathi Jele, Nasir Khan, Aliyu Usman, Jacob Olumuyiwa Ikotun

Journal of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies

Large volumes of reclaimed automotive lubricant (RAL) and waste glass bottle powder (WGBP) are disposed of inappropriately, causing serious environmental concerns. Furthermore, the paradigm shift towards sustainability in the pavement industry has prompted academics to investigate alternatives to conventional materials. As a result, one possible approach is to use these waste products as alternative materials in the asphalt pavement sector. This study investigated the combined use of RAL and WGBP as complementary modifiers, extending beyond the conventional single-modifier approaches reported in previous studies. Thus, in this study, response surface methodology (RSM) was utilised to optimise and predict the synergistic effects …

A Solution For Safe Pivot Transfers In A Population With Limited Mobility, Elizabeth A. Mitchell, Sean R. Giamportone

Honors Theses

Sit-to-stand pivot transfers are one of the most frequently performed movements for

individuals with limited mobility. This movement is very often performed in long-term care

facilities and clinics. Despite the commonality, this transfer poses a significant risk of injury to

both the patient and caregiver; falls, musculoskeletal injuries, and the reduction of independence

can result from issues associated with these transfers. Existing assistive devices, Hoyer lifts and

sliding boards, present limitations with cost, size, storage, and usability; thus, caregivers rely on

the hands-on manual transfer that increases the risk of injury. The goal of our team was to

address these …

Cloud-Deployed Rna-Seq Analytics For Identifying Imaging And Therapeutic Targets In Chemotherapy-Induced Toxicities, Zhimu Wang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Chemotherapy has significantly improved cancer survival rates; however, many anticancer agents induce severe acute and chronic side effects that substantially reduce patient quality of life and limit therapeutic efficacy. Despite their clinical importance, the molecular mechanisms underlying chemotherapy-induced toxicities across different organs remain incompletely understood, in part due to the lack of integrated, scalable, and accessible analytical platforms capable of synthesizing large transcriptomic datasets across tissues and experimental models.

This thesis describes the development of a cloud-deployed RNA-seq analytics platform designed to identify candidate imaging biomarkers and therapeutic targets associated with chemotherapy induced toxicities. The platform integrates large-scale transcriptomic datasets …

Optimization Of Refolding, Purification, And Analytical Characterization Of Proinsulin(F25d) Soluble Antigen Array Immunotherapy, Abigail Richardson

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is characterized by autoreactive immune responses to insulin and its precursor, proinsulin. Soluble antigen arrays (SAgAs) displaying the metabolically inactive proinsulin variant, proinsulin(F25D), represent a promising antigen‑specific immunotherapy candidate for T1D. However, the production of these platforms is hindered by substantial practical challenges, including protein aggregation, inefficient refolding, and the lack of sensitive analytical tools to verify quality and dosage. This work establishes an integrated, scalable pipeline for the purification, conjugation, and quantification of a proinsulin(F25D) SAgA. First, we optimized the refolding of recombinant methionine-proinsulin(F25D) (M-PI(F25D)) from inclusion bodies using controlled buffer systems and created a …

Voltage-Sensor–Targeting Modulators Of Iks: Identifying Critical Functional Groups Of C28 Via Electrophysiology And Sar Modeling, Jiacheng Huang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

I_Ks (KCNQ1/KCNE1) channels are essential for cardiac repolarization, and their dysfunction contributes to arrhythmogenic disorders such as Long QT Syndrome type 1 (LQT1). Pharmacological activation of I_Ks has therefore emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy. C28, a recently identified voltage-sensor–targeting activator, has been shown to markedly shift KCNQ1/KCNE1 voltage dependence and enhance current amplitude, validating the voltage-sensing domain (VSD) as a druggable site. However, the structural determinants that underlie C28’s activity remain incompletely understood. In this study, we aimed to identify critical functional groups of C28 by screening a structurally diverse set of C28-like analogs and evaluating their …

Automated Segmentation And Structural Remodeling Analysis Of Ipsc-Derived Cardiomyocyte, Bahareh Bahmani

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle that can change cell structure, protein organization, and overall heart function. Some forms of cardiomyopathy are genetically inherited, including Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), the most common inherited cardiomyopathy affecting nearly 1 in 200 individuals1,2, and Desmin-Related Cardiomyopathy (DRM), a rarer disease that affects approximately 1 in 2000 individuals3. Changes in cardiomyocytes’ cellular structure define cardiomyopathies, and these changes are typically studied with fluorescence microscopy. However, manual image analysis is slow, labor-intensive, and often gives inconsistent results, especially when images are analyzed by non-experts. This thesis presents an automated computational framework for analyzing cardiomyocyte …

Engineering Design And Analysis Using Creo® Cad, Cae, And Manufacturing Applications, Swapnil Moon

Open and Affordable Textbooks

This textbook presents a structured approach to computer-aided design using Creo, integrating CAD, CAE, and CAM workflows within a unified engineering framework. The material emphasizes parametric modeling, design intent, and feature-based modeling as foundations for creating robust and adaptable engineering models. Through progressively structured tutorials, students develop skills in part modeling, assemblies, engineering drawings, mechanism design, simulation, and manufacturing. The text incorporates real-world engineering components and workflows, including structural and thermal analysis, motion simulation, and toolpath generation, reflecting modern engineering practice. Designed for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students, this open educational resource supports hands-on learning and prepares students for industry-relevant …

Design Of Air-Entrained Concrete For Airport Pavements Through Local Aggregate Utilization: Performance Optimization And Economic Analysis, Li Wentao, Rizwan Qadir, Arslan Mushtaq, Hilal Khan, Kamran Jillani

Journal of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies

Airport pavement construction in developing countries faces critical challenges balancing international performance standards with economic constraints, while limited research exists on optimizing air-entrained concrete mixes using locally sourced materials for cost-effective solutions. This study investigated the development of economical air-entrained concrete mix designs for airport pavements utilizing Pakistani aggregates and systematic cement content optimization. Comprehensive experimental evaluation included material characterization through petrographic analysis, alkali-aggregate reactivity assessment via accelerated mortar bar testing, and mechanical property development across cement contents from 360-450 kg/m3. Air entrainment was achieved through controlled admixture dosing while maintaining target slump of 50mm. Results demonstrated that locally sourced …

Equipping Biomedical Engineering Students With Clinical Needs Identification Skills: Insights From A Clinical Immersion Course, Lauren E. Edmunds

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A major goal of biomedical engineering is the development of novel and innovative medical technology that advances and improves healthcare outcomes. An essential component of medical device design is identifying the clinical needs of patients and healthcare providers and applying engineering solutions to meet these needs. Our biomedical engineering department has developed a clinical and industry immersion course, which exposes students to the environment in which physicians and patients practice and engages students in this needs identification process. This study evaluates the impact of clinical immersion on undergraduate biomedical engineering students' confidence and perceived ability to identify and define unmet …

Ihelp Foundation 2025 Uganda Medical Mission, Kade Spencer Robison

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Uganda faces significant barriers to health care access, particularly in rural communities, due to physician shortages and limited resources. As a result, care is concentrated in urban areas, leaving rural populations disproportionately affected by both communicable and noncommunicable diseases.

This Honors Capstone project focused on preparing for and supporting the iHelp Foundation’s 2025 Uganda Medical Mission. The iHelp Foundation works to reduce barriers to care in Uganda by partnering with local hospitals to provide short-term rural clinics and specialized surgical care for advanced otolaryngological conditions.

In this project, I contributed to mission preparation by training volunteers and coordinating physician licensing. …

Strengthening Kidney Dialysis One Membrane At A Time: Enhancing Tempo-Oxidized Nanocellulose And Ionic Liquid Membrane Strength Through The Variation Of Cosolvents, Bailey M. Butler

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Chronic kidney disease occurs when the kidneys lose the ability to effectively filter the blood, which causes waste build up. End-stage kidney disease (ESKD) is the most severe case of kidney disease and requires either dialysis or a kidney transplant. Hemodialysis, the most common form of dialysis, is an extremely time-intensive and physically burdensome process that is currently limited by membrane performance. The polysulfone (PSf) membranes that are widely used for dialysis today have many limitations, including fouling, toxin rejection, and essential protein loss. Recently, new membranes made from TEMPO-Oxidized nanocellulose dissolved in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EMIM-Ac) have shown promising characteristics, …

Modeling Structural Support To Facilitate Novel Treatments Of Degenerative Disc Disease, Jose Luis Calderon

Poster Presentations

Over 600 million people worldwide suffered from low back pain in 2020, with projections for 2050 being over 800 million [1]. Annual costs associated with low back pain total over 450 billion dollars in the US alone [2]. This research serves as a proof-of-concept for the use of structural supports to facilitate intervertebral disc healing. This treatment would involve the implementation of these supports along with existing injection treatments to promote regeneration. In both models, along with the combined model, the ability for these supports to alleviate intervertebral disc height loss is shown. This indicates that these supports would serve …

Central Pattern Generator Test Bench Report, Stephanie Wing-Yee Lee, Dustin Wong, Joseph Hernandez

Electrical Engineering

The project presents the design, fabrication, and implementation of a PCB test bench that interfaces with a custom VLSI chip designed to emulate the neural activity of a Central Pattern Generator (CPG). The test bench provides a precise and reliable platform for supporting signal operations and validating neuromorphic functionality. The design integrates both analog and digital circuitry to provide stable biasing, signal routing, and measurement access for chip characterization. The incorporation of op-amp buffers and adjustable potentiometers enables precise voltage tuning, resulting in controlled neuron-like behavior within the custom IC. The two-layer PCB supports modular interfacing with standard laboratory instruments …

Developing Warning Signage For Harmful Algal Blooms At Lake Fayetteville, Abigail R. Evans

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The presence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) poses many risk factors for human health, and once microcystin concentration has reached a certain level, that water source will be closed for the duration of the bloom. Agencies tend to use static signage with limited information to inform the public about the current status of the water, but a sign similar to the one used by the National Fire Danger Rating System can allow for constant updates detailing specific risk levels for the public. Using previously reported data on Lake Fayetteville, thresholds for risk factors that are easily measurable were determined. The …