Bioengineering & Life Sciences
A joint initiative of the College of Engineering and College of Science and a key priority in the University’s strategic framework, the Notre Dame Bioengineering & Life Sciences Initiative will advance human health and wellness through interdisciplinary biomedical research and training—from fundamental discoveries through detection, prevention, and treatment of disease. This University-wide initiative represents an investment in science and engineering — unprecedented in scale at Notre Dame — that will create the capacity for transformative discoveries in human health, especially for vulnerable and underserved populations, and enhance research across multiple units.
Status Update
In November, the Office of the Provost partnered with the Colleges of Science and Engineering and the Office of Research in an intensive workshop involving more than 30 campus thought leaders in fields touching on biomedical research to define the critical steps for the new Bioengineering and Life Sciences Initiative.
In February, Paul Bohn, the Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, was named the initiative's inaugural director. Bohn will work closely with an executive committee that includes College of Engineering Dean Patricia Culligan, College of Science Dean Santiago Schnell, and Vice President of Research Jeff Rhoads to direct significant new investments in infrastructure and instrumentation over the next decade; work with academic units across campus to recruit faculty scholars to advance research and training in bioengineering and life sciences disciplines; and implement cross-disciplinary graduate and postdoctoral training programs.
Meet the Initiative's Research Strategy Committee
Members advise the Director on the initiative's research mission and its implementation.
BELS Faculty Information Sessions
Faculty are invited to attend one of three information sessions on Notre Dame's Bioengineering & Life Sciences Initiative, a joint effort of the College of Engineering and College of Science and a key priority in the University's strategic framework. Lunch will be served.
Executive Committee
Partners
Leaders from the following units, or their designees, serve on the initiative's Policy & Guidance Committee.
- College of Engineering
- College of Science
- Notre Dame Research
- Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Department of Biological Sciences
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Bioengineering Graduate Program
- Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health
- Boler-Parseghian Center for Rare and Neglected Diseases
- Eck Institute for Global Health
- Harper Cancer Research Institute
- Warren Center for Drug Discovery
- Lucy Family Institute for Data and Society
Additional partners will be added as work on the initiative continues in the coming months and years.
