Chair's message
Dear BME Alumni, Colleagues, and Friends,
I am excited to say hello today, as the new Chair of Biomedical Engineering here at Tufts. I joined Tufts Biomedical Engineering on July 1st of 2024, after a more than thirteen-year career in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. My recruitment to Tufts was motivated by several factors: the students here are outstanding; the alumni are wildly successful; the staff are collegial and incredibly skilled; 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. My goals over the next few years are to continue to grow the department while maintaining its collegiality, to continue to diversity the department through strategic hiring and training, and to increase our collaborations and activities with the various Tufts communities and our alumni.
The department is thrilled to welcome Dr. Yu-Ting Dingle as the second teaching faculty in BME at Tufts University. Yu-Ting comes to BME after a PhD in BME from Brown University and her post-doctoral work here at Tufts. Yu-Ting has outstanding teaching and research experience in biomaterials and visual scientific communication. We are actively hiring, with the expectation that three new faculty members will join the department in September of 2025. As we grow our department, 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 us in the winter of 2024, and she previously held positions at Draper labs after her undergraduate degree at Northeastern University in Electrical Engineering. Kasandra supports the BME Department’s DEI Committee, coordinates School-wide initiatives, and works directly with students, faculty, and staff in Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering, the Tufts Gordon Institute, and the Derby Entrepreneurship Center.
The thirteen years I spent at the University of Massachusetts Amherst were an absolute pleasure, and I am ready to embark on this exciting new chapter at Tufts University. The Tufts BME family of students, alumni, staff, and faculty is outstanding, and I am honored to become a part of its rich history and exciting future. Finally, I want to thank outgoing Interim Chair Prof. Sergio Fantini for his stewardship and leadership over these past two years.
Shelly Peyton
Professor and Department Chair
Biomedical Engineering