Chair's message
Dear BME Alumni, Colleagues, and Friends,
I am thrilled to say hello as the new Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Tufts. I joined Tufts this year, after a career of more than 13 years at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Although Tufts BME is only 21 years young, its history is rich and exciting, and it is easy to see the incredible opportunities. The students are outstanding; the alumni are wildly successful; the staff are collegial and incredibly skilled; and the faculty are at the top of their research fields, are fierce advocates of their students, and are constantly evolving their teaching approaches to cater to this and the next generation of students.
As you can see, I can’t say enough about how fantastic Tufts BME is. This makes my job easy – to foster and support the positive trajectory and growth of the department. My goals are to continue to grow the department while maintaining its collegiality, to continue to diversify the department through strategic hiring and training, and to increase our collaborations and activities with Tufts communities. Alumni, please reach out to connect! I would enjoy hosting you and giving you a tour of the ever-changing footprint of BME here in Medford.
This past summer, Professor Irene Georgakoudi accepted a position at Dartmouth College,. where she was appointed co-director of the Translational Engineering in Cancer Research Program and she will continue her internationally recognized work in label-free, optical diagnostics. Although we are sad to see Irene leave Tufts after an illustrious 20-year career, we are eternally grateful for her contributions to the department and proud to see her return to her alma mater as a center director.
We are actively looking to fill the position left open by Irene’s departure, and this is an opportunity to bring new research and teaching expertise to the department at the senior level. We are lucky to have bioengineering and imaging expert Maria Savvidou serving as interim director of the Tufts Advanced Medical Imaging Center (TAMIC) As Chair of the department, I look forward to continuing to thoughtfully grow the department through recruiting new talent with innovative pedagogy and research agendas.
The department is thrilled to welcome Yu-Ting Dingle as its second teaching faculty member. Yu-Ting has been appointed a full-time lecturer, after completing her PhD in BME from Brown University and coming to Tufts to conduct her postdoctoral work and teach as a part-time lecturer. Yu-Ting brings outstanding teaching and research experience in biomaterials and visual scientific communication. She will be contributing to many courses in the department over the coming year. We all look forward to her contributions and her leadership in pedagogy.
As we grow, we will continue to diversify our department and ensure that our policies and procedures are equitable for all students, faculty, and staff. Co-leading this effort is one of the newest members of the School of Engineering team: Kasandra Yee. Kasandra joined Tufts’ Center for STEM Diversity in 2024 after previously holding positions at Draper Laboratory. She works directly with students, faculty, and staff in Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Tufts Gordon Institute, and the Derby Entrepreneurship Center.
My 13 years at UMass Amherst were an absolute pleasure, and I am thrilled to embark on this exciting new chapter at Tufts University. The Tufts BME family is outstanding, and I am honored to become a part of its rich history and exciting future. I look forward to continuing to build on the success of the Tufts BME academic and research environment and strengthen our connections with the greater Tufts community. Finally, I want to thank our outgoing interim department chair, Professor Sergio Fantini, for his stewardship and leadership over these past two years.
Here's to an outstanding academic year!
Shelly Peyton
Professor and Department Chair
Biomedical Engineering