Media
VISE affiliate Daiwei Lu receives grant from National Institutes of Health to create models that improve treatment of kidney stones
Nov. 24, 2025—Daiwei Lu, a third-year Ph.D. student in computer science at Vanderbilt, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health for a study that aims to create computer vision and machine learning models to improve endoscopic treatment of kidney stones.
VISE affiliate Xiaoguang Dong leads development of novel robotic valve to address acid reflux, other organ system disorders
Sep. 29, 2025—A team of researchers led by Xiaoguang Dong, assistant professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University, have developed a magnetic robotic valve to provide minimally invasive intervention for gastroesophageal reflux disease and possibly other organ system disorders
VISE affiliates recieve grant to support development of head-mounted augmented reality system to guide tumor resection
Aug. 27, 2025—In a collaboration between Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, investigators have received a $2.5 million grant to develop a head-mounted augmented reality system that can guide surgeons in ensuring complete tumor removal in head and neck cancer surgery and potentially reduce the recurrence...
Researchers including VISE affiliate Yuankai Huo receive $1.2 million NSF grant to develop smart microscope system
Jul. 21, 2025—Vanderbilt researchers have received a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a smart microscope system that uses artificial intelligence to help scientists better understand how cells behave, particularly in diseases like cancer.
VISE affiliate Yayun Du aims to improve detection of sleep disorders with AI-enhanced wearable sleep monitoring device
Jun. 27, 2025—We spend nearly one-third of our lives asleep, yet sleep disorders often go undiagnosed, despite their strong links to cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, and depression. A next-generation wearable device developed by researchers could change that. Yayun Du, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Vanderbilt University, is the lead author of a pioneering study, “A...
VISE Spring Seminar with Jon Heiselman, PhD 4.10.25
Apr. 4, 2025—VISE Spring Seminar to be led by Jon Heiselman, PhD Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Director, Master of Engineering in Surgery and Intervention Program Date: Thursday, April 10, 2025 Location: Stevenson Center 5326 Time: 11:45 am for lunch; noon start Title: Advancing Precision across the Surgical Care Continuum Abstract: In the continuum of surgical care, advances...
VISE Spring Seminar with Yayun Du, PhD
Mar. 10, 2025—VISE Spring Seminar to be led by Yayun Du, PhD Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025 Location: Stevenson Center 5326 Time: 11:45 am for lunch; noon start Title: Advancing Health Monitoring: Wearable and Implantable Bioelectronics for Cardiovascular, Sleep, and Neurological Insights Abstract: Advances in bioelectronic sensors are transforming health monitoring and...
VISE students win esteemed best paper awards at SPIE international medical imaging forum
Mar. 6, 2025—Four Vanderbilt engineering students working in the fields of computer science and electrical and computer engineering won prestigious best paper awards at the 2025 SPIE Medical Imaging conference held Feb. 16-20 in San Diego.
VISE to host screening of ‘Rule Breakers,’ the true story of Afghanistan’s first all-girls robotics team
Mar. 3, 2025—Vanderbilt University’s Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE) is hosting a screening of the upcoming film Rule Breakers, inspired by the true story of an all-girls robotics team from Afghanistan that defied politics and tradition to compete in events around the world.
Michael Miga named as Chair of Department of Biomedical Engineering
Feb. 7, 2025—Following an extensive national search, Prof. Michael Miga has been named as the new chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, effective January 1, 2025. Miga, who had served as the interim chair since the Fall of 2023, and is the Harvie Branscomb Professor of Biomedical Engineering, has accepted a three-year term in this role. Miga also leads the...
Virtuoso Surgical earns up to $12M award as part of robotics and AI program
Jan. 21, 2025—Virtuoso Surgical Inc. yesterday announced that it has participated in a multi-institution award from the federal Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) program. The up to $12 million award brings together robotics and artificial intelligence experts from many of the top surgical robotics and computer science labs in the U.S.
VISE Seminar with Nanshu Lu, PhD
Jan. 10, 2025—Our first Spring 2025 Seminar will be led by Nanshu Lu Carol Cockrell Curran Chair in Engineering The University of Texas at Austin Date: Thursday, January 23, 2025 Location: Stevenson Center 5326 Time: 11:45 am for lunch; noon start Title: Wireless E-Tattoos for Mobile and Comprehensive Cardiovascular Monitoring Abstract: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause...
Quest to develop fully autonomous surgical robot attracts award up to $12 million from ARPA-H
Sep. 24, 2024—A surgical robot capable of performing an entire surgery without human intervention: That’s the goal of a landmark, multi-institution project being led by a Vanderbilt engineer that recently received an award up to $12 million in funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).
Robotic System Aims to Democratize Colonoscopy
Apr. 25, 2024—In the second installment of Discoveries in Medicine’s two-part interview with Keith L. Obstein, M.D., co-developer of a robotic colonoscopy system, he maps the path to the marketplace.
VISE affiliate James Weimer receives NSF CAREER Award to improve safety and efficacy of machine learning, AI systems
Feb. 2, 2024—James Weimer, assistant professor of computer science and noted medical-device entrepreneur, has received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to improve the safety and efficacy of systems that use advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques.
VISE affiliate Keith Obstein receives inaugural Brock Family Center Innovator of the Year Award
Nov. 22, 2023—Keith Obstein, MD, MPH, professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and professor of Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, has received the inaugural Innovator of the Year Award from the Brock Family Center for Applied Innovation in recognition of his achievements in developing and commercializing a magnetic, flexible colonoscopy system with the potential to...
Audrey Bowden talks about how mentoring makes a vital impact on scientific progress
Oct. 26, 2023—There was a time when Audrey Bowden, Dorothy J. Wingfield Phillips Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow and associate professor of biomedical and electrical engineering, questioned whether to pursue a doctorate. The desire was there, she just needed some guidance. “Nobody in my family had a Ph.D., and I didn’t have any role models of how to do that,”...
VISE affiliate Robert Webster helps develop innovative robotic technology to fight lung cancer
Sep. 21, 2023—Robert J. Webster III, Richard A. Schroeder Professor of Mechanical Engineering and associate professor of medicine and urology at Vanderbilt University, is part of a cross-disciplinary team that has developed novel robotic technology using bronchoscopic steerable needles that could aid in early detection of lung cancer.
VISE Fall Seminar – Summer Fellows Presentations 8.24.23
Aug. 21, 2023—VISE Fall Seminar featuring the 2023 VISE Summer Fellows Date: August 24, 2023 Time: 11:45 am Lunch, Noon start Location: Stevenson Center 5326 Rohan Rashingkar, computer science major, BIEN Lab Research project: Deep Learning Classification of Consciousness-Impairing Seizures in Focal Epilepsy Jiayi Kelly Xu, computer science and mathematics major, MAPLE Lab Research project: Development of an Augmented...
VISE Affiliate Robert Webster’s company makes successful first-in-human clinical study using novel device for endoscopic surgery
Jul. 27, 2023—A medical device company co-founded by a Vanderbilt engineering professor recently announced the completion of a successful first-in-human clinical study using its innovative technology that radically improves minimally invasive endoscopic surgery. Robert J. Webster III, Richard A. Schroeder Professor of Mechanical Engineering and associate professor of medicine and urology at Vanderbilt University, is co-founder and...
Q&A: Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering hosts discussion on intersectionality, gender dynamics and identity
Jun. 16, 2023—The group Women of VISE hosted a discussion on intersectional experiences, gender dynamics in academia and other facets of identity in a “fishbowl” conversation on April 18.
Bennett A. Landman appointed as the next Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Medical Imaging
May. 18, 2023—On 1 January 2024, Bennett A. Landman, Vanderbilt University, will become the new Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Medical Imaging (JMI). Landman, a professor and the department chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Vanderbilt, succeeds the journal’s current Editor-in-Chief, Maryellen Giger, who inaugurated the role in 2014.
VISE affiliate Robert Webster III featured in IEEE Pulse article: Robots to Improve Surgery for All
Mar. 8, 2023—Smaller tools with better maneuverability and more precise control, new imaging approaches, and advanced software applications will improve patient outcomes
Catie Chang is inaugural Sally and Dave Hopkins Faculty Fellow in the School of Engineering
Feb. 28, 2023—Catie Chang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, computer science, and biomedical engineering, has been named the inaugural Sally and Dave Hopkins Faculty Fellow in the Vanderbilt School of Engineering in recognition of her highly collaborative and interdisciplinary research.
Brett Byram named inaugural Hoy Family Faculty Fellow in engineering school
Feb. 28, 2023—Brett Byram, associate professor of biomedical engineering, has been named the inaugural Hoy Family Faculty Fellow in recognition of his advances in medical ultrasound imaging.
Team of VISE experts selected to develop low-cost training tools aimed at expanding global access to minimally invasive surgeries
Feb. 7, 2023—A multidisciplinary team from the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering has received a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract to develop a low-cost simulation tool to train medical personnel in Kenya to perform minimally invasive laparoscopic procedures.
AP News: Vanderbilt professors’ firm develops ‘breakthrough device’
Jan. 17, 2023—NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A company co-founded by Vanderbilt University professors has received a special designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a breakthrough device.
A multidisciplinary team of VISE affiliates has advanced its work to develop new tools for intraoperative imaging during ophthalmic surgery
Jan. 10, 2023—Technology driven by deep-learning model delivers 4D video-rate imaging, improves precision
Company co-founded by VISE affiliate receives distinguished FDA breakthrough device designation for minimally invasive surgical tool
Jan. 10, 2023—A company co-founded by Robert J. Webster III, Richard A. Schroeder Professor of Mechanical Engineering and associate professor of medicine and urology at Vanderbilt University, has received a breakthrough device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that could open the door for new diagnostic and therapeutic applications of flexible endoscopy.
VISE affiliate James Weimer and one other Vanderbilt faculty member win ‘TIME’ Best Inventions of 2022
Dec. 5, 2022—Two Vanderbilt faculty who conducted translational research have received the distinction of Best Invention of 2022 from TIME magazine. “These winning innovations exemplify the transformative potential of university research when it aims to solve society’s most urgent problems, and when universities partner with the broader innovation ecosystem to bring new solutions to market faster,” Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel...