National search yields new leader for UAB Biomedical Engineering

Jianyi Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., a national leader in myocardial bioenergetics, biomaterial and stem cells for cardiac repair, has been named the chair of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, a joint department in the schools of Medicine and Engineering.

Zhang will come to UAB from the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he is the Engdahl Family Foundation Chair in Cardiovascular Regenerative Therapies and a professor of medicine and biomedical, electrical and computer engineering. He was chosen to lead the Department of Biomedical Engineering after a national search.

Zhang will officially join UAB on Oct. 1 and will succeed longtime department chair Timothy M. Wick, Ph.D., who stepped down last year to accept a role as senior associate dean in the School of Engineering.

“I am very excited for this bold opportunity at UAB,” Zhang said. “The university is innovative in its establishment of the department as a joint venture between the schools of Medicine and Engineering. Pairing a top academic medical center and a successful School of Engineering creates the potential for impactful discovery for the field of biomedical engineering, for patient care, and in population health to benefit Alabama and its residents.”

Established in 1979, the Department of Biomedical Engineering became a joint department between the schools of Medicine and Engineering in February 2014 to capitalize on the strengths of UAB faculty in research, education and patient care. The Department has 13 full-time faculty, 44 graduate students and 156 undergraduate students. To date, its faculty has graduated 138 bachelor’s degrees, 278 master’s degrees and 86 doctoral degrees.

Zhang’s research is leading the field in myocardial energetics in hearts with postinfarction left-ventricle remodeling and congestive heart failure, biomaterials, and stem cells for cardiac repair.

The research evaluates myocardial high-energy phosphates using nuclear magnet resonance spectroscopy to examine the mechanisms of energy production, transportation and utilization in the in vivo heart during normal and diseased conditions, as well as in response to different therapeutic interventions. Findings may lead to better diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for patients with heart failure.

“Biomedical engineering is a critical piece to finding new solutions to challenges in population health and health care,” said Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACS, senior vice president for Medicine and dean of the School of Medicine. “Dr. Zhang’s capable leadership will allow for growth and partnership and allow UAB to make significant advances in medical research and patient care through cross-cutting research.”

Both schools have committed significant resources to help ensure Zhang’s success in recruiting key faculty, achieving high-impact research goals and expanding the department’s education mission.

“With a strong background in both engineering and medicine, Dr. Zhang is the ideal person to lead the Department of Biomedical Engineering into this new era of collaboration,” said Iwan Alexander, Ph.D., dean of the School of Engineering. “We are very excited about the potential he brings to open new avenues in research for our engineering faculty and students, as well as for his vision to continue to grow the department as a world-class center for BME education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.”

Born in Shanghai, China, Zhang earned his M.D. from Shanghai Medical University in 1983 and his doctorate in biomedical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1992. He also earned a Master of Science degree in engineering in 1987 and a certificate of business administration in 1987 from Tufts University. Prior to joining the faculty at Minnesota, Zhang completed postdoctoral work in the university’s cardiovascular division.