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In the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering, we develop innovative technologies that apply engineering principles to medicine and biology and prepare students for an exciting career in a thriving industry. Within a short walking distance, students can collaborate with experts in our seven engineering departments, the Colleges of Medicine, Design, Dentistry, and Pharmacy and the top-ranked hospital in the state. It’s no wonder that our graduates rise to leadership positions in the medical device industry, academia and medicine.

$7M Gift to the department from alumnus F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D.

$70,258 Average starting salary (NACE 2023)

Two students working together with a labtop and medical device prototype

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BME Research

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Because of the multidisciplinary nature of the biomedical engineering research projects, the faculty of the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering collaborates with investigators in many units across the University of Kentucky campus, including the Colleges of Engineering, Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Arts & Science; the Centers for Minimally Invasive Surgery, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy and Membrane Science and the Advanced Science and Technology Commercialization Center and Institute For Sustainable Manufacturing.

BME Department News

‘I am a UK Innovator’: Pigman College of Engineering’s Guoqiang Yu

Erin Wickey

Dec 4, 2025

In the final Q&A in this year’s series, UK Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering's Guoqiang Yu, Ph.D., the Jack and Linda Gill professor in the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering, describes his work developing low-cost optical imaging technologies for noninvasive monitoring of the health and function of tissues and organs.

2026 Lighthouse Beacon Foundation Scholars announced

Nov 3, 2025

Thanks to the generous support of Stanley and Karen Pigman and Kentucky’s Research Challenge Trust Fund (RCTF), engineering researchers are receiving additional annual funding to enhance the research priorities and programs of the Pigman College of Engineering. Established in 2024, the Lighthouse Beacon Foundation Endowment supports faculty, research, graduate students, facilities and research infrastructure in the Pigman College of Engineering. This year, the endowment made $235,000 in funds available for distribution.

Lane awarded Charles F. Knapp Faculty Fellowship in Biomedical Engineering

Sep 17, 2025

Brooks A. Lane, assistant professor in the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been awarded the Charles F. Knapp Faculty Fellowship in Biomedical Engineering. Lane’s research focuses on soft tissue mechanics and mechanobiology in cardiovascular disease on-set, progression, and therapeutic or surgical interventions. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina in 2019, focusing on diverse murine aortopathies and experimental methods for biomechanical characterization.

Biomedical bachelor's degree accredited by ABET

Sep 16, 2025

The University of Kentucky Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering’s bachelor’s degree program in biomedical engineering has been accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), a nonprofit, ISO 9001-certified quality assurance organization. Through the accreditation of academic programs, recognition of credentials and assessment of student learning, ABET supports excellence in education worldwide.

TEK announces 2025-26 Faculty Fellows cohort

Jennifer Osterhage

Sep 8, 2025

The University of Kentucky’s Office of Transdisciplinary Educational approaches to advance Kentucky (TEK) has announced the TEK Faculty Fellows for the 2025-26 academic year. A critical mission of TEK is the development of new transdisciplinary courses and the reimagining of existing courses to emphasize one or more essential employability skills. To accomplish this, TEK is leveraging the expertise of a new cohort of TEK Faculty Fellows.

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Department Recognitions

Spotlight

Trisha Sullivan

Q&A with Trisha Sullivan - April 21, 2025

Trisha Sullivan graduated in 2023 with a degree in Biomedical Engineering from the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering. She is currently a Ph.D student studying Chemical Engineering. She is the President of Biomedical Engineering Society, Vice President of Society for Biomaterials and member of the Materials and Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association.

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