The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering (BSBE) consists of two research groups: the Biosciences and Engineering (BSE) group and the Medical Engineering (MedEngg) group: Research groups.

The BioSciences & Engineering (BSE) Group integrates research across biosciences and bioengineering disciplines for a comprehensive understanding of living systems with a goal to translate discoveries into impactful environmental and healthcare technologies.

Our Biosciences research spans fundamental and applied studies across cellular, viral, bacterial, fungal, plant and animal model systems. Our faculty undertake collaborative research in genetics and genomics, microbiology and infection biology, immunology and cancer, proteomics and metabolism. These efforts aim to foster and encourage pursuits of fundamental discoveries and where appropriate, apply the discoveries to address challenges in healthcare, agriculture and environment.

Our Bioengineering research emphasizes translational efforts to healthcare and medicine through quantitative, computational, and engineering approaches. Faculty undertake research in biophysics, computational biology, biomaterials and tissue engineering, biosensors, nanobiotechnology, medical devices and instrumentation, AI/ML in healthcare, and neural engineering.

Collectively, the BSE Group fosters an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment that bridges discovery-driven science with innovative applications in biotechnology and healthcare.

The Medical Engineering (MedEngg) Group takes a systems-level engineering approach to understand the functioning of the human body and develops technology and devices to assess, treat, and enhance human functioning. While bioengineering as a field generally involves applications of engineering principles to biological phenomena, the MedEngg Group focuses principally on human physiological functioning, addressing the organ, systems, and whole-body levels in health and disease. Towards this, we pursue a rigorous engineering-driven ground-up approach to fundamental research directed at obtaining a quantitative understanding of a) human physiological functioning at the organ-level upwards and b) how engineered systems (such as ultrasound, lasers, and electrical stimulators) interact with and impact the human body. The group’s fundamental research pursuit is further complemented by its translational efforts employing a deep-tech approach to the development of novel protocols, technology, and devices. 

The MedEngg group’s research presently spans four thematic areas: i) Medical Instrumentation and Imaging; ii) Medical Signal and Image Processing; iii) Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation Engineering; and iv) Computational Modeling of Physiological Systems. These four verticals complement and naturally feed into each other, resulting in creation of new knowledge and the development of innovative protocols, devices, and technologies such as non-invasive imaging systems, surgical instrumentation, IoT and wearables for healthcare monitoring, non-invasive medical sensors, electrophysiological systems (EEG, ECG, EMG, non-invasive brain stimulation systems), biomechanical systems (cardiovascular and musculoskeletal biomechanics), assistive technology, orthotics, prosthetics, exoskeletons, rehabilitation robotics, cognitive systems, engineering-informed data-driven clinical decision-making models, and protocols for space rehabilitation.

In order to realize the above objectives, we bring together and train Engineers (e.g., Biomedical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Mechanical, Civil, and Computer engineers), Physicists, Mathematicians, Data-scientists, Neuroscientists, Physiologists, and Clinicians (e.g., Physicians, Physiotherapists, Psychologists, Pharmacologists). The group’s vision of advancing core medical engineering knowledge and its translational efforts are aimed at impacting and enhancing the full spectrum of human well-being and engagement across various domains, in addition to health and disease, such as aging and longevity, disability, sports, and functioning in extreme environments such as defence and space applications.

ELIGIBILITY FOR ADMISSION:

(i) M.Tech./M. E. or equivalent degree in Biotechnology, Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Applied/Computational Mathematics, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science / Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics / Telecommunications Engineering, Instrumentation Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Physics, Optics / Optoelectronics / Photonics, Robotics, Robotics Engineering, Automation and Robotics, Mechatronics, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering Sciences.

(ii) M.Pharm. OR MBBS with MD/MS, MVSc, MDS, MPTh, MOTh, MS/MD Health sciences AYUSH.

(iii) B.Tech./B.E. or equivalent degree in Biotechnology, Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Applied/Computational Mathematics,Chemical Engineering, Computer Science / Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics / Telecommunications Engineering, Instrumentation Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Physics, Optics / Optoelectronics / Photonics, Robotics, Robotics Engineering, Automation and Robotics, Mechatronics, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering Sciences.

(iv) M.Sc. or 5-year Integrated B.S.-M.S. program or equivalent degree in Life Sciences, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Biotechnology, Ceramics, Chemistry, Electronics, Ergonomics, Material Science, Mathematics, Molecular Biology, Physics, Bioinformatics, Data Science,
Physiology, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Photonics / Optics / Optoelectronics, Applied/Computational Mathematics, Psychology, Behavioural Science

(v) Health Sciences (such as MBBS (Medicine) / BDS (Dental), B.Pharm/B.V.Sc., B.P.Th., B.O.Th., B.ASLP, Pharma D (duration 4 years or more). Candidates with these backgrounds and degrees, should have qualified one of the following: All India level postgraduate entrance
examinations for corresponding disciplines such as INI_CET/NEET-PG/NEET MDS/JIPMER/PGI Chandigarh/AFMC-Pune/DNB Part I/AIIPMR for MBBS/ BDS, GPAT/ All India level selection examination for B.Pharm., All India level postgraduate entrance examination such as AIIPMR for M.V.Sc., M.P.Th., M.O.Th. and M.ASLP, GATE examination for all such health science background where applicable. Eligibility/rank certificates for all such All-India level entrance examinations are required. The candidate should have qualified in the entrance exam (as per the qualification criterion of the respective exam for that exam year and category), and the score obtained should be valid (as per the duration of validity for the respective exam) at the time of admission to the Ph.D. program.

Candidates with qualifying degrees in [iii and iv] must fulfill one of the following: a valid GATE score (for TA/TAP/RA/RAP), a valid CSIR/UGC/DBT JRF, or a valid ICMR JRF not linked to ICMR project or any other fellowship that will provide scholarship for five years.
For candidates with qualifying degrees as in (i) to (v), and applying under CT, EX, IS, PS, or SW category, experience as specified earlier in A.5 and A.6 is mandatory.

RESEARCH AREAS:

Biosciences and Engineering (BSE) Group:

BIOSCIENCES

1. Molecular & Structural Biology: Protein structure & dynamics (crystallography, NMR and cryo-EM), Protein folding/misfolding, Enzymology, DNA replication/ repair.
2. Cell & Developmental Biology: Cellular dynamics (cytoskeleton, motor proteins, cell division), GPCR signaling, Cilia biology, Vertebrate development (zebrafish), Aging and Neurodegeneration.
3. Microbiology & Infection Biology: Bacterial pathogenesis, Fungal biology, Virology, Molecular parasitology, Host-pathogen interactions.
4. Genetics, Genomics & Proteomics: Epigenetics, Chromatin biology, Bioinformatics, Proteomics, Evolutionary biology, Molecular genetics.
5. Immunology & Cancer: Tumor immunology, Biomarker discovery, Breast cancer, Autoimmune diseases.
6. Environmental & Industrial Biotechnology: Bioremediation, Environmental microbiology, Bioprocess engineering.

BIOENGINEERING

7. Biophysics & Quantitative Biology: Physical principles of biological systems, Cellular biophysics, Chromatin and cytoskeletal dynamics, Advanced imaging & biophysical methods.
8. Computational Biology and AI in Healthcare: Bioinformatics, Biomolecular modeling, Protein/drug interactions, Protein engineering.
9. Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering: Tissue biomechanics, Nanobiotechnology, Drug delivery systems, Tissue engineering, Regenerative medicine.
10. Biosensors, Medical Devices & Instrumentation: Diagnostic and therapeutic devices, BioMEMS, Microfluidics, Nanoengineered sensors, Robotics, IoT-enabled healthcare systems.
11. Biomedical Informatics & Data Science: Healthcare data modeling, Clinical phenotyping, Physiological modeling, AI/ML in healthcare applications and medical devices.
12. Neurophysiology & Neural Engineering: Clinical neurophysiology, Computational cognitive neuroscience, Noninvasive brain stimulation & imaging, Brain-computer interface (BCI).
13. Translational/ Clinical Bioengineering: Biologics & Biosimilars, Drug Discovery, Stem cells & Organoids, Point-of-care diagnostics, Immunoengineering for cancer therapy.

Medical Engineering (MedEngg) Group: 

(A) Medical Instrumentation: Instrumentation for diagnostics, imaging, movement analysis, wearable medical sensors, IoT for healthcare applications
and devices.
(B) Medical Signal and Medical Image Processing: image processing techniques, nonlinear time-series analysis, spectral analysis, physiological and biomechanical signal processing such as ECG, EMG, EEG, joint kinematic and kinetic signals, neuroimaging signals, vascular tissue images
(C) Computational Modelling of Physiological Systems: computational physiology, cardiac electrophysiology, muscle mechanics, computational neurophysiology, engineering-informed data-driven clinical decision-making models
(D) Data Science for Biomedical Engineering: application of AI/ML in health care applications and devices.
(E) Neuroengineering: computational neurophysiology, neural signal processing, smooth and skeletal muscle neurophysiology, cerebellar circuit modelling, human motor control and motor learning, cognitive neuroscience, systems neurophysiology, neural control of human balance, gait and falls, non-invasive brain stimulation for motor control
(F) Rehabilitation Engineering: movement neuroscience, biomechanics of human movement, design and development of movement rehabilitation interventions and protocols, assistive technology such as robotic exoskeletons, orthotics, prosthetics, and training devices, technology for movement and cognitive disability, telerehabilitation and virtual technology reality systems for rehabilitation, geriatric (aging) and neurological movement rehabilitation
(G) Biomedical Optics: Cerebral blood flow imaging in humans, Laser and diffuse speckle imaging, Microscopy, small animal imaging, functional near-infrared spectroscopy in humans
and animals, Biomedical instrumentation (system development), imaging and other computational aspects, towards commercialization of imaging systems.
(H) Optical and Ultrasound Imaging and Instrumentation: Low-cost, portable Optoacoustic tomography, Optoacoustic microscopy, Ultrasound imaging, Multi-modal biomedical device design, Pre-clinical small-animal imaging, Wearable/smartphone-based point-of-care optoacoustic devices, Image reconstruction, Deep learning/Machine learning in optoacoustic imaging, clinical application areas in breast cancer screening, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, diabetes.
(I) Computational Biomechanics for Healthcare: tissue biomechanics, inverse/optimization problem for biomechanical characterization, physics-informed machine learning for healthcare/biomedical applications (e.g., Cardiovascular risk assessment, and others), ultrasound and MR elastography (theoretical + experimental research), biomedical image processing.