2002-2003 Biomedical Engineering

Scope and Objectives | Graduate Study | Fields of Study | Upper Division Courses | Graduate Courses

Course Requirements

Biocybernetics can serve as a minor field for other Ph.D. majors if students complete the following courses with a grade-point average of B+: Biomedical Engineering M196B, M296A, and one additional graduate-level elective from the additional foundations or electives list.

Core Courses (Required). Biomedical Engineering M196B, C201, CM202, CM203, M296A.

Additional Foundations Courses. Biomedical Engineering M296B, Electrical Engineering 131A, 141, 142, Mathematics 115A, 115B, 151A, 151B, 170A, Statistics 100A.

Electives. Biomathematics 206, CM208C, 220, M230, Biomedical Engineering M248, M296C, M296D, CM296L, Computer Science 161, 267B, Electrical Engineering 113, 132A, 151DL, 211A, 211B, M214A, 214B, 232E, M250A, M250B, 250C, 260A, 260B, Physics 210B, 231B.

Biomechanics, Biomaterials, and Tissue Engineering

Three subfields -- biomechanics, bio-materials, and tissue engineering -- encompass this broad field. The properties of bone, muscles, and tissues, the replacement of natural materials with artificial compatible and functional materials such as polymer composites, ceramics, and metals, and the complex interactions between implants and the body are studied.

Course Requirements

The Ph.D. preliminary examination assesses the basic understanding of the material covered in the core courses. Students have the option of taking the examination either in the biomechanics, biomaterials, or tissue engineering subfield.

Core Courses (Required). Biomedical Engineering C201, CM202, CM203, and two courses from CM240, CM280, C285.

Electives. Biomedical Engineering C241L, C281, 282, Chemical Engineering 260, Chemistry and Biochemistry 153A, 153B, 153C, CM153G, CM155, M230B, CM253, CM255, M267, Civil and Environmental Engineering 235B, Materials Science and Engineering 150, 151, 160, 190, 223, 243A, 244, 245C, 246A, 246D, 250A, 250B, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 150A, 156A, 166C, M256A, M256B, M256C, 262, 297, Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology CM220, M237, Physiological Science 215, 250A, C250B.

Biomedical Instrumentation

The biomedical instrumentation field trains biomedical engineers in the applications and development of instrumentation used in medicine and biotechnology. Examples include the use of lasers in surgery and diagnostics, sensors for detection and monitoring of disease, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices for controlled drug delivery, surgery, or genetics. The principles underlying each instrument and the specific needs in medical applications are emphasized.

Course Requirements

Core Courses (Required). Biomedical Engineering M150L, C201, CM202, CM203, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 284.

Electives. Biomedical Engineering CM240, M250B, 257, C270, C271, Electrical Engineering 221A, 221B, 221C, 223, 271, 272, Materials Science and Engineering 200, 201, 246D, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 157, 263A, 263D, 280L, 281.

Biomedical Signal and Image Processing and Bioinformatics

The biomedical signal and image processing and bioinformatics field encompasses techniques for the acquisition, processing, classification, and analysis of digital biomedical signals, images, and related information, classification and analysis of biomedical data, and decision support of clinical processes. Sample applications include (1) digital imaging research utilizing modalities such as X-ray imaging, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance (MR), positron emission tomography (PET) and SPECT, optical microscopy, and combinations such as PET/MR, (2) signal processing research on hearing to voice recognition to wireless sensors, and (3) bioinformatics research ranging from image segmentation for content-based retrieval from databases to correlating clinical findings with genomic markers. Graduates of the program integrate advanced digital processing and artificial intelligence technologies with healthcare activities and biomedical research. They are prepared for careers involving innovation in the fields of signal processing, medical imaging, and medical-related informatics in either industry or academia.

Course Requirements

Students selecting biomedical signal and image processing and bioinformatics as a minor field must take three courses, of which at least two must be graduate (200-level) courses.

Core Courses (Required). Biomedical Engineering C201, CM202, CM203, M214A, Electrical Engineering 211A.

Electives. Biomedical Engineering M248, Biomedical Physics 200A, 200B, 219, 222, Biostatistics 420, Computer Science 143, 161, Electrical Engineering 211B, 214B.

Remedial Courses. Electrical Engineering 102, Program in Computing 10A, 10B.

Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering

The field of molecular and cellular bioengineering encompasses the engineering of enzymes, cellular metabolism, biological signal transduction, and cell-cell interactions. Research emphasizes the fundamental basis for diagnosis, disease treatment, and redesign of cellular functions at the molecular level. The field interacts closely with the fields of bioinstrumentation (MEMS), tissue engineering, and neuroengineering. Graduates of the program are targeted principally for employment in academia, in government research laboratories, and in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and biomedical industries.

Course Requirements

Master’s Degree. Students’ backgrounds are evaluated to determine if they can proceed directly to the required courses. If their backgrounds are deficient in university-level mathematics, biochemistry, or microbiology, appropriate remedial coursework is assigned and approved by the field chair.

By the end of the first quarter in residence, new students are assigned a thesis adviser. Students present their first and second choices for thesis advisers to the field faculty who then meet to assign advisers based both on student preference and the research program constraints of the faculty. Also by the end of the first quarter in residence, students design a course program in consultation with their thesis adviser and get it approved by the field chair. The course program must include Biomedical Engineering C201, CM202, CM203, and two courses from M215, M225, CM245. Elective courses selected from the electives list (or approved by petition to the field chair) must be included in the course program to satisfy unit requirements.

Doctoral Degree. Students must design a course program in consultation with their dissertation adviser and get it approved by the field chair within one quarter of admission into the Ph.D. program. New students’ backgrounds are evaluated to determine if they can proceed directly to the required courses. The course program must include Biomedical Engineering C201, CM202, CM203, and two courses from M215, M225, CM245. The 24 additional units required for the minor field may be composed of a combination of additional formal coursework and dissertation research units. It is strongly recommended that students include at least one three-course minor in their program.

After students have fulfilled the core course requirements (normally at the end of the first year in residence for students admitted directly to the Ph.D. program), they should petition the field chair to take the written Ph.D. examination administered by the molecular and cellular bioengineering faculty. Students are examined on the material covered in the core courses. Students who have a grade-point average above 3.25 and who are making satisfactory progress toward the degree are eligible to take the examination. Students who fail the examination may petition the field chair to retake the examination one time. Students who fail the examination may be dismissed from the program.

By the end of the third year in residence, Ph.D. students should advance to candidacy by passing the University Oral Qualifying Examination administered by a doctoral committee consisting of at least three field faculty (including the dissertation adviser) and at least one member from outside the field. The doctoral committee is appointed by the dean of the Graduate Division. A written Ph.D. proposition describing the student’s dissertation work to date and plans for completion is presented to the doctoral committee. Subsequently, the student defends the proposition orally to satisfy the oral qualifying examination requirement. On the basis of the written and oral presentations, the doctoral committee assesses the student’s qualifications for advancement to candidacy. Students who fail the examination may be dismissed from the program. A final oral defense of the dissertation is required. All Ph.D. students must complete and file a dissertation.

Core Courses (Required). Biomedical Engineering C201, CM202, CM203, and two courses from M215, M225, CM245.

Electives . Biomathematics 220, M270, Biomedical Engineering M196B, M296A, Chemistry and Biochemistry M230B, CM253, CM255, CM259A, CM259B, 262, M263, C265, M267, Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics C233, CM248, M261, Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology CM220, M234, M237.

Neuroengineering

The neuroengineering field is a joint endeavor between the Neuroscience Interdepartmental Ph.D. Program in the School of Medicine and the Biomedical Engineering Interdepartmental Graduate Program in HSSEAS, with the active involvement of scientists and technologies from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

The objectives of the neuroengineering field are to enable (1) students with a background in engineering to develop and execute projects that address problems that have a neuroscientific base, including locomotion and pattern generation, central control of movement, and the processing of sensory information; (2) students with a background in biological sciences to develop and execute projects that make use of state-of-the-art technology, including MEMS, signal processing, and photonics. In preparing students to use new technology, the program also introduces them to basic concepts in engineering that are applicable to the study of systems neuroscience, including signal processing, communication, and information theory; (3) all trainees to develop the capacity for the multidisciplinary teamwork that is necessary for new scientific insights and dramatic technological progress. Courses and research projects are cosponsored by faculty members in both HSSEAS and the Brain Research Institute (BRI).

Requisites for Admission. Students entering the neuroengineering program have graduated with undergraduate degrees in engineering, physics, chemistry, or one of the life sciences (for example, biology, microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics, molecular, cell, and developmental biology, neuroscience, physiology, or psychology). Engineering students must have taken at least one undergraduate course in biology, one course in chemistry, and a year of physics. Students from nonengineering backgrounds are required to have taken courses in undergraduate calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra, in addition to at least a year of undergraduate courses in each of the following: organic chemistry and biochemistry, physics, and biology. Students lacking one or more requisite courses, if they are otherwise admissible, are provided an opportunity for appropriate coursework or tutorial during the summer before they enter the neuroengineering program.

Written Preliminary Examination. At the end of the first year, students take a written comprehensive examination in neuroengineering. The examination consists of three parts: (1) systems neuroscience, (2) biomedical engineering, and (3) a take-home 15-page proposal of a research topic, written as a grant proposal, in which students, under the guidance of faculty, propose solutions to a problem in neuroengineering that requires the integration of concepts and principles of engineering and neuroscience. The first two parts are answered in an examination room and are based on a reading list provided by the examination committee.

Oral Qualifying Examination. By the middle of the third year, students choose an individual advisory committee of four members, representing both neuroscience and engineering faculty, who serve as the dissertation committee. The committee provides advice on the conduct of the Ph.D. dissertation and administers the oral and final examinations. For the University Oral Qualifying Examination, students prepare and present a dissertation proposal, which must be approved by the dissertation committee before students advance to candidacy.

Final Oral Examination. When Ph.D. candidates complete dissertation research and write the dissertation, they meet with the committee to defend the thesis in the final oral examination.

Minors. Students have two minor fields of study. Those entering from biomedical engineering must have at least one minor in neuroscience (for example, molecular, cellular, systems, developmental, behavioral, or clinical neuroscience, or imaging in neuroscience), and those entering from neuroscience must have at least one minor in biomedical engineering (for example, biomedical signal and image processing and bioinformatics; bioacoustics, speech, and hearing; biomedical instrumentation; biomechanics, biomaterials, and tissue engineering; molecular and cellular bioengineering; biocybernetics). For all students, the remaining minor must be approved by the neuroengineering advising committee.

Students who select neuroengineering as a minor must take Biomedical Engineering M260 and at least one course from two of the following sets of courses: (1) Biomedical Engineering M214A, Electrical Engineering 210A, (2) Biomedical Engineering M250A, M250B, (3) Biomedical Engineering M263A, M263B, Neuroscience M202.

Required Courses. Biomedical Engineering M260, M263A, M263B, Neuroscience M202. For MEMS emphasis, required courses are Biomedical Engineering M150L, M250A, M250B (course M150L is optional if the requisite for course M250A is met). For signal processing and informatics theory emphasis, required courses are Biomedical Engineering M214A and Electrical Engineering 210A, or two other graduate-level engineering courses approved by the adviser and the neuroengineering field chair. In addition, students are required to take a research seminar and problem-based approaches to neuroengineering seminar.

Recommended Electives. During the first and second years, students take at least three courses selected from a menu of new and existing courses.

Biomedical engineering category: Biomedical Engineering C201.

MEMS category: Biomedical Engineering M150L, M250A, M250B, Electrical Engineering 250C, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 280L, 284.

Neuroscience category: Neuroscience M201, M263, M273, 274.

Signal processing category: Electrical Engineering 210A, M214A, M217. Remedial courses taken as necessary.

Students without previous exposure to MEMS should take Biomedical Engineering M150L; those without previous exposure to neuroscience should take Physiological Science 111A; those without previous exposure to signal processing should take Electrical Engineering 102 and113. Both courses are offered every quarter.

Seminars (First-Year). Two seminars in problem-based approaches to neuroengineering are required. All first-year students take a new graduate seminar series in Winter and Spring Quarters which is co-taught each quarter by one instructor from HSSEAS and one from the Brain Research Institute. Each seminar introduces students to a single area of neuroengineering and challenges them to develop critical skills in evaluating primary research papers and to design new approaches to current problems. Topics include pattern generation, sensory signal processing, initiation and control of movement, microsensors, neural networks, photonics, and robotics.

Research Seminars. In addition to the formal coursework listed above, all students attend a series of weekly research seminars that allow both students and faculty to become more conversant with the broad range of subjects in neuroengineering. In Fall Quarter, a series called "Meet the Professors" consists of informal talks by UCLA faculty and collaborative researchers from the surrounding area. The series introduces the faculty to the students and vice versa, and helps faculty in neuroscience and engineering discover opportunities for collaboration that engage students in the neuroengineering program. In Winter and Spring Quarters, seminar speakers are selected from commercial, academic, and government organizations.

Seminars (Second-Year). All second-year students take a seminar course each quarter specifically designed for the neuroengineering program. Each course is co-taught by one faculty member from the Brain Research Institute and one from HSSEAS and often include outside UCLA faculty speakers or members of the Industrial Advisory Board.