Penn Engineering / Department of Bioengineering / Area of Concentration / Orthopaedic Bioengineering

Biofluid Mechanics
Cell and Tissue Engineering
Biomedical Imaging
Injury Biomechanics
Neuroengineering
Orthopaedic Bioengineering

Orthopaedic Bioengineering

Orthopaedic Bioengineering employs biomechanics, biomaterials, and cell and tissue engineering to the study of injury, degeneration, repair, and regeneration of orthopaedic tissues such as bone, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and intervertebral discs. At the University of Pennsylvania, our program encompasses all levels of orthopaedic research from joints, to tissues, to cells and molecules. Examples of ongoing research topics includes:

Structure-function relationships of tendons and ligaments using transgenic mouse models
Etiology of shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis/tendinosis
Wound healing in tendon: repair vs. regeneration
Tendon insertion site injury and repair: role of mechanics, grafts, and tissue engineering
Disc degeneration and mechanical function in a transgenic mouse model
Fiber and matrix interactions in disc and in tendon
Early aging changes as mechanisms of disc degeneration
Transcriptional and genetic determinants of chondrogenesis
Epigenetic control of cellular phenotype
Biomimetic scaffolds for connective tissue repair
Electrical stimulation effects on fracture repair and biomechanical effects on bone cells

Courses from many academic departments reflect this broad spectrum of research activities and constitute the richness of this field.

Penn Research Laboratories involved in Orthopedic Bioengineering:

McKay Orthopaedic Research Laboratory
Bioactive Materials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory
Spine Pain Research Lab
Richard S. Reynolds, Jr. Comparative Orthopaedic Research Laboratory
Synovium and Synovial Fluid Laboratories Division of Rheumatology

Recommended

Math Courses: Students must select at least 1 of the following:
ENM 510	Foundations of Engineering Math
ENM 502	Numerical Methods
ENM 503	Introduction to Probability and Statistics

BE 505	Quantitative Human Physiology
BE 513	Cell Biology and Molecular Structure
BE 510	Biomechanics and Biotransport
BE 512	Biomaterials
BE 567	Modeling Biological Systems
BE 591	Orthopaedic Joint Function and Dysfunction
BE 592	Tissue Engineering in Orthopaedics (under development)
BE 645	Modeling of Viscoelastic Biological Tissues
BIOL 480	Advanced Cell Biology
MEAM 554	Mechanics of Materials
MEAM 630	Continuum Mechanics
(BE 5xx)	Musculoskeletal Tissues: Structure-Function Relationships (under development)
(BE 5zz)	Advanced Topics in Orthopaedic Bioengineering (under development)
(BE 612)	Materials Affecting Cells and Molecules (under development)

Recommended Electives to choose from:

Students may select at least 3 graduate electives.
BE 546/BIOP 546	Quantitative Image Analysis	MEAM 632	Plasticity and Creep
BE 565	Biomedical Instrumentation	MEAM 635	Composite Materials
BE 575	Injury Biomechanics	MEAM 646	Computational Mechanics
BE 602	From Biomedical Science to the Marketplace	MSE 500	Experimental Methods in Materials Science
BE 603	Entrepreneurship in Biomedical Technologies	MSE 520	Structure of Materials
BE 647	Advanced Biomechanics	MSE 530	Thermodynamics and Phase Equilibria
BE 655/MSE 655	Advanced Topics in Biomaterials	MSE 540	Phase Transformations
ENM Selected Math courses	(including those not chosen under Required)	MSE 550	Mechanical Behavior of Materials
ENM 511	Foundations of Engineering Math II	MSE 555	Electrochemistry and Corrosion
BIOC 555	Eukaryotic Gene Expression	MSE 560	Inorganic Solids I: Chemistry, Structure and Bonding
MOLB 421	Molecular Genetics	MSE 565	Processing of Advanced Ceramics
MEAM 519	Introduction to Elasticity	MSE 566	Physical Properties of Ceramics
MEAM 527	Finite Element Analysis	MSE 590	Surface and Thin Film Analysis Techniques
MEAM 536	Viscous Fluid Flow	MSE 610	Electron Microscopy
MEAM 535	Advanced Dynamics	MSE 650	Micromechanisms of Deformation and Fracture
MEAM 555	Membrances, Shells, and Polymers in Biology	MSE 580	Introduction to Polymers
MEAM 631	Advanced Elasticity	MSE 581	Advanced Polymer Physics

Bioengineering industry sectors related to Orthopaedic Bioengineering:

Bioengineering | Penn Engineering Home | Penn Home | City of Philadelphia

Department of Bioengineering
School of Engineering and Applied Science
University of Pennsylvania
210 S. 33rd Street
Room 240 Skirkanich Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone No.: (215) 898-8501
Fax No.: (215) 573-2071
beoffice@seas.upenn.edu

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