research
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 Fall Seminar with Angela Crudele, MD 10.2.25
Sep. 25, 2025—VISE welcomes Angela Crudele, MD, to our Fall Seminar Series. Angela Crudele, MD Assistant Professor of Neurology Vanderbilt University Medical Center Date: Thursday, October 2, 2025 Location: SVC 5326 Time: 11:45 am for lunch, 12:00 start Title: “The Thalamus in Epilepsy: A New Target in Neuromodulation” Abstract: Treatment of drug-resistant idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) remains...
VISE Fall Seminar with Jun Chen, PhD
Sep. 11, 2025—VISE welcomes our first guest speaker of the Fall 2025 Semester. Jun Chen, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Bioengineering UCLA Innovation Fellows UCLA Society of Hellman Fellows University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Date: Thursday, September 11 Location: SVC 5326 Time: 11:45 am for lunch, 12:00 start Title: Discovering Magnetoelasticity in Soft Matter for Bioelectronics Abstract: ...
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...
VISE affiliate Jack Noble receives $3.1 million NIH grant to develop an augmented reality surgery system for precision cochlear implant procedures
Aug. 22, 2025—A Vanderbilt engineering professor is working with clinical colleagues to develop and validate an augmented reality (AR) vision guidance system to help surgeons place cochlear implants more precisely. The guidance system leverages emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technology and uses inexpensive, commonly available equipment, making it practical for many operating rooms. For this project— Development and...
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 Xiaoguang Dong receives NSF CAREER Award for research advancing magnetic miniature soft robots in precision medicine
Jul. 8, 2025—Xiaoguang Dong, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER Award that will support research on magnetic miniature soft robots for precision medicine that could facilitate early disease detection and treatment. Magnetic miniature soft robots are unique in their ability to safely and non-invasively navigate complex, enclosed, and confined spaces....
Two VISE affiliates awarded Innovation Catalyst Fund
Jul. 2, 2025—Vanderbilt has announced eleven awardees in the latest round of its Innovation Catalyst Fund, an initiative that supports translational research that has promising commercial potential. This initiative, open to all University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) faculty, addresses pressing real-world challenges. The fund provides essential support in three key areas: proving ideas can be commercialized, supporting early-stage...
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 Alison Pouch, PhD 4.24.25
Apr. 15, 2025—VISE Spring Seminar to be led by Alison Pouch, PhD Assistant Professor of Radiology and Bioengineering University of Pennsylvania Date: Thursday, April 24, 2025 Location: Stevenson Center 5326 Time: 11:45 am for lunch; noon start Title: Computational Image-Based Modeling for Personalized Bicuspid Aortic Valve Surgery Abstract: The bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is a congenital heart defect in...
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.
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...
VISE Fall Seminar with Ilker Hacihaliloglu, Ph.D.,11.7.24
Oct. 8, 2024—Join us for our next Fall Seminar with our guest, Ilker Hacihaliloglu, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Radiology Department of Medicine University of British Columbia, Canada Co-founder of PONS Inc. Date: Thursday, November 7, 2024 Location: Stevenson Center 5326 Time: 11:45 for lunch; noon start Title: AI-integrated point of care ultrasound imaging for decentralized healthcare Abstract: Noncommunicable...
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).
Benoit Dawant elected to Senior Member of global optics and photonics society, SPIE
Aug. 27, 2024—Benoit Dawant has been named a Senior Member of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. He joins a distinguished group of international scholars honored in August at the SPIE Optics + Photonics 2024 conference in San Diego.
Jie Ying Wu research focusing on eye-gaze tracking system could dramatically improve kidney stone surgery training
Aug. 26, 2024—When kidney stone surgery is performed using an endoscope, about a fourth of those patients will require a repeat surgery within 20 months due to residual stone fragments being left behind. These remaining pieces can lead to obstruction, pain, kidney injury and recurrent infections. Gaining and assessing surgical experience in endoscopic kidney stone surgery is...
VISE affiliate Jie Ying Wu one of four Spring 2024 Scaling Success awardees
Aug. 1, 2024—The Spring 2024 cycle of the Scaling Success Grant has concluded, with four new grants made from January to May. The Scaling Success Grant, which began in 2022, aims to transform ambitious research proposals into tangible achievements.
VISE affiliates’ novel catheter-based technology to make endovascular procedures more efficient and safe
Jun. 20, 2024—With hundreds of thousands of people in the United States having a stroke annually, Vanderbilt researchers are developing technology that could revolutionize the way blood clots are removed by allowing surgeons to complete the process more efficiently and safely. The research is led by Nabil Simaan, professor of mechanical engineering, with assistance from graduate student Jared Lawson....
VISE affiliate Michael Miga receives award for Edward J. White Engineering Faculty Award for Excellence in Service
May. 21, 2024—Roy presented nine faculty awards, four staff awards and one research award based on an outstanding paper written by a graduate student. The Edward J. White Engineering Faculty Award for Excellence in Service: Harvie Branscomb Professor and interim chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering Michael Miga and Julie Johnson, professor of the practice of computer science and associate...
Immersive lab seeks to bridge translational AI across a range of fields to drive discovery
May. 7, 2024—Vanderbilt University has created a transformational lab focused on leveraging immersive translational AI to drive discovery across disciplines ranging from medicine and materials science to the humanities, social science and education. Five VISE faculty affiliates will serve on the steering committee.
MASI Lab: A magic mirror reflects anatomy in an engaging way and enters White House open science challenge
Mar. 27, 2024—Visitors to Nashville’s Adventure Science Center can get a new perspective of themselves with an augmented reality (AR) anatomy that creates the illusion of an X-ray view of the body’s muscles and bones.
VISE Spring Seminar with Nicholas Kavoussi, MD 3.28.24
Mar. 25, 2024—VISE seminar to be led by Nicholas Kavoussi, MD Assistant Professor of Urology Vanderbilt University Medical Center Date: Thursday, March 28, 2024 Time: 11:45 a.m. Lunch, 12:00 p.m. start Location: Stevenson 5326 Title: Leaving No Stone Unturned: Improving Endoscopic Kidney Surgery Abstract: Ureteroscopy for treatment of urinary calculi has been utilized since the development of the pulsed...
VISE Spring Seminar Yuxiao Zhou, PhD, 4.4.24
Mar. 11, 2024—Yuziao Zhou, PhD, Assistant Professor J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering Texas A&M University Date: Thursday, April 4, 2024 Time: 11:45 a.m. Lunch, 12:00 p.m. start Location: Stevenson 5326 Title: Imaging-based orthopaedic surgery planning and multi-scale bone biomechanics Abstract: Bone is a living tissue that senses and responds to external mechanical stimuli by adjusting its...
VISE Spring Seminar – Brett Byram, PhD, 2.15.24
Feb. 8, 2024—VISE Spring Seminar to be led by Brett Byram, PhD, Hoy Family Faculty Fellow Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering Date: Thursday, February 15, 2024 Time: 11:45 a.m. Lunch, 12:00 p.m. start Location: Stevenson 5326 Title: All the data we cannot see—revealing hidden signals in ultrasound data. Abstract: Ultrasound has experienced a recent explosion of new applications and...
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 Spring Seminar – Ross Whitaker, PhD 2.8.24
Jan. 22, 2024—Ross Whitaker, PhD Professor in the School of Computing and the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute University of Utah Date: Thursday, February 8, 2024 Time: 11:45 a.m. Lunch, 12:00 p.m. start Location: Stevenson 5326 Title: An Image-Based, Deep-Phenotyping Analysis Toolset, Repository, and Online Clinician Interface for Craniosynostosis Abstract: Craniosynostosis, or abnormal cranial suture fusion, affects up to...
Nanostructured flat lens uses machine learning to ‘see’ more clearly, while using less power
Jan. 10, 2024—A front-end lens, or meta-imager (see below), created at Vanderbilt University can potentially replace traditional imaging optics in machine-vision applications, producing images at higher speed and using less power.
VISE on the Road: 2023 MICCAI conference
Nov. 21, 2023— Members of six VISE labs affiliated with the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE) traveled to Vancouver to take part in the 26th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention. Like-minded scientists from around the world gather yearly at the MICCAI conference to share their work with one another on a...
VISE expands programming for summer research fellows
Nov. 2, 2023—This past summer, 13 Vanderbilt undergraduates were selected to work on projects focused on epilepsy, miniature soft climbing robots, stroke treatment, kidney disease research, cancer resection and surgical skill assessment as part of the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering’s Summer Fellows Program (VSF).
VISE-affiliated researchers conduct phase 1 trial of novel magnetic endoscope for colonoscopies
Oct. 19, 2023—A Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE) research team is conducting the first phase 1 clinical trial of a magnetic, flexible endoscope that has the potential to provide a safer alternative to standard colonoscopy, particularly for individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).