What Bioengineering does

The Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public university academic department within The Grainger College of Engineering, founded in 2004 and housed in a 124,000 sq ft renovated Everitt Lab facility. It runs undergraduate (B.S. in Bioengineering, B.S. in Neural Engineering — the first undergraduate program of its kind in the U.S. — and a B.S. in CS+BioE) and graduate programs (Ph.D., M.S. thesis, M.Eng. in-person and online, and M.S. in Biomedical Image Computing), serving a current cohort of 576 B.S. students and 204 M.S./M.Eng./Ph.D. students with 75 undergraduate and 61 graduate degrees awarded in 2023-2024. The undergraduate program is ranked #14 and the graduate program #17 nationally.

The department conducts research across six technical focus areas — bio-micro/nanotechnology, multi-scale bioimaging, computational and systems biology, molecular/cellular/tissue engineering, neural engineering, and synthetic bioengineering — producing a portfolio of proprietary technologies including the PRAM Mini portable photonic-resonator microscope, rubbery CMOS stretchable transistors, the self-adhesive RBOES cardiac optoelectronic stimulator, perovskite UV imaging sensors, the SPLICER gene editing tool, nanocoding lipid-nanoparticle cell labeling, and an mRNA cancer vaccine delivery platform. AI/ML is integrated across imaging modalities (e.g., Omni-Mesoscope cancer detection, neural-network infrared spectroscopic diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis at 99% confidence). Total research expenditures were $18.7M in the most recent fiscal year (up 22% YoY), anchored by two ARPA-H grants totaling $54M, NIH and NSF awards, and partnerships with Mayo Clinic, Texas Heart Institute, Beckman Institute, and the NCI-designated Cancer Center at Illinois.

The department's revenue is not commercial — it is funded through a combination of federal research grants (NIH, NSF, ARPA-H), state-set tuition and fees from on-campus and online degree programs, corporate partnerships and capstone sponsorships, and private philanthropy via The Grainger College of Engineering and the Engineering Visionary Scholarship Initiative. Its "customers" are prospective and current students, federal and private funders, industry/clinical collaborators, and the broader academic and medical research community. Operating geographies are anchored in Urbana, Illinois, with global reach via online degree programs and the Global Consortium of Innovation and Engineering in Medicine (70+ member institutions across 22 countries).

Name

Bioengineering

Legal name

Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Website

https://bioengineering.illinois.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public university academic department within The Grainger College of Engineering, delivering B.S., M.S., M.Eng., and Ph.D. programs (ranked Top 20 nationally) and conducting federally funded research across bioimaging, neural engineering, gene editing, and bio-integrated electronics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education / Biomedical Engineering Research

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Synthetic Biology & Genetic Circuit Design Platforms (pathway engineering, chassis development) (HLAAAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biosensors & Lab-on-Chip (BioMEMS) (HDAHALAK), mRNA & Nucleic Acid Manufacturing Services (mRNA/saRNA/Plasmid DNA) (HLAGAGAC), Biology & Life Science Enrichment (Biotech, Genetics, Anatomy) (EDAMABAF), Science & STEM Lab Equipment & Supplies (Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Makerspaces) (EDAEAIAC)

Keywords

• Bioengineering research
• Biomedical education
• Neural engineering
• Biomedical imaging
• Cancer research

Headquarters

HQ city

Urbana

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Federal Research Grants: Primary research funding from federal agencies including NIH, NSF, and ARPA-H for cancer research, imaging technologies, and bioengineering innovations. Two ARPA-H grants totaling $54 million for cancer treatment projects.
2. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from undergraduate and graduate bioengineering programs including B.S., M.S., M.Eng., and Ph.D. degrees.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Industry partnerships and collaborations including Capstone project sponsors and research collaborations with healthcare companies.
4. Private Philanthropy: Donations through The Grainger College of Engineering and Engineering Visionary Scholarship Initiative.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Bioengineering at Illinois is an academic department within The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign that educates undergraduate and graduate students through degree programs (B.S., M.S., M.Eng., Ph.D.) in bioengineering, neural engineering, and computer science + bioengineering, and conducts funded research in bioimaging, biomechanics, cellular engineering, neural engineering, synthetic bioengineering, and computational biology. The department develops proprietary research technologies and prototypes in medical imaging, bio-integrated electronics, gene editing, and cancer therapeutics, while partnering with federal agencies, healthcare institutions, and industry sponsors.

Product overview

The Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is an academic department focused on education and research, not a commercial product company. Its offerings include academic degree programs (B.S., M.S., M.Eng., and Ph.D. in various bioengineering tracks) and research technologies developed by faculty and students. Key research products include: the PRAM Mini portable microscope, Omni-Mesoscope imaging platform, rubbery CMOS circuits for bio-integrated electronics, RBOES cardiac stimulator, perovskite UV imaging sensors, SPLICER gene editing tool, nanocoding cell labeling technology, mRNA cancer vaccine platform, and spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM). The department also houses research centers including the Cancer Center at Illinois and collaborates with Carle Illinois College of Medicine.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• B.S. in Bioengineering Undergraduate degree program ranked #14 nationally, preparing students for careers at the intersection of engineering, science, and medicine.
• B.S. in Neural Engineering First undergraduate program in Neural Engineering in the nation, exploring brain-computer interfaces, neural prosthetics, and cognitive health technologies.
• B.S. in Computer Science + Bioengineering (CS+BIOE) Integrated degree combining computational thinking and human health, applying algorithms and data analysis for biomedical imaging, diagnostics, and bioinformatics.
• Ph.D. in Bioengineering Research doctoral program preparing students for leadership in academic and industry research settings.
• Master of Engineering in Bioengineering Professional master's program designed for engineers and scientists seeking careers in the healthcare industry, blending rigorous engineering coursework with foundational business skills. Offered in-person and online with concentrations in Bioinstrumentation and General Bioengineering.
• M.S. in Biomedical Image Computing Interdisciplinary program focused on formation and analysis of biomedical images and development of imaging systems using computational and data-driven methods with AI. Offered in-person and online.
• PRAM Mini (Photonic Resonator Absorption Microscope Mini) A portable, low-cost microscope using photonic crystal and gold nanoparticle technology that detects particles at incredibly small scales, providing test results in 30 minutes. Designed for underfunded and rural clinics with applications in COVID-19 detection and cancer biomarker identification.
• Rubbery CMOS Circuits First fully stretchable all-rubber transistors capable of true complementary logic. Retain stable electrical performance when stretched by up to 50%, enabling electronics that mechanically match living tissue for bio-integrated medical devices and implantable applications.
• Rubbery Bio-optoelectronic Stimulator (RBOES) Self-adhesive rubbery bio-optoelectronic stimulator - an ultrathin (300nm) sticky rubber material that conforms to the heart for light-triggered electrical stimulation to help regulate heartbeat in patients with cardiovascular diseases like arrhythmia.
• Perovskite UV Imaging Sensor Bioinspired UV imaging sensor using vertically stacked perovskite nanocrystal-enhanced CMOS technology for wavelength-resolved UV imaging. Enables real-time differentiation of cancerous vs normal cells with 99% confidence via UV autofluorescence.
• Omni-Mesoscope Imaging Platform Optical imaging platform that allows visualization of granular detail over a much larger area than previously possible. Integrates AI for enhanced biomedical research capabilities in cancer detection and treatment.
• SPLICER Gene Editing Tool Gene-editing tool that improves upon CRISPR-Cas9 platform by expanding its target range and enhancing precision. Successfully demonstrated ability to reduce amyloid-beta plaque precursors in Alzheimer's disease mouse model.
• mRNA Cancer Vaccine Platform Novel platform for developing mRNA cancer vaccines using new class of mRNA delivery vehicles that carry tumor-targeting mRNA into dendritic cells and properly activate them to better alert T cells to attack cancer.
• Spatial Light Interference Microscopy (SLIM) Advanced quantitative phase imaging used for investigating neurological disease, traumatic brain injury, and cancer. Enables label-free multi-scale imaging of brain tissue and cellular dynamics.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% of graduates secured first choice destination
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature12 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Texas Heart InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaboration on self-adhesive rubbery bio-optoelectronic stimulator (RBOES) for cardiovascular disease treatment. Collaborators include Abdelgalad Elgalal (senior research investigator) and Camila Hochman-Mendez (director of Biorepository and Cell Profiling Lab) leading cardiac surgery and regenerative medicine research.
• Carle Illinois College of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024World's first engineering-based college of medicine born out of The Grainger College of Engineering. Collaboration integrates engineering, AI, design thinking and clinical practice into medical education. Earned full LCME accreditation in March 2025. Global Consortium of Innovation and Engineering in Medicine launched with 36+ universities joining in first year.
• Mayo ClinicmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance reserves 7+ spots annually for UIUC students in Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. 9 Illinois students participated in 2024 cohort working in Mayo Clinic laboratories on biomedical research projects.
• Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Multi-disciplinary research institute housing Bioengineering faculty labs including Biomedical Imaging Center and Cellular Neuroscience Imaging Lab. Provides state-of-the-art facilities for imaging, computational biology, and bioengineering research.
• National Cancer InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024CCIL submitted Cancer Center Support Grant to NCI for Basic Cancer Center designation. Of 73 designated cancer centers, only seven are basic science laboratories; CCIL seeks first designation since 1987.
• ARPA-H (Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Two prestigious ARPA-H grants totaling $54 million awarded: Professor Stephen Boppart's Margin Diagnostics project (AI-powered cancer surgery imaging) and Professor Bill King's MASCOT initiative (3D tumor models for treatment research).
• University Laboratory High SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership with Yuan Yang's lab to bring MRI data and stroke research into high school curriculum. Teacher Cyndi Smyser developed lesson plans incorporating Yang's research data for anatomy and physiology classes.
• NSF (National Science Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Multiple NSF grants supporting bioengineering research including CAREER award to Yuan Yang for K-12 outreach and education integration, and funding for NSF-funded Industry-University-Collaborative-Research Center on Extended Reality technologies.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Major NIH funding supporting ultrasound cancer treatment research ($2.6M to Michael Oelze), ARPA-H cancer grants, and multiple research initiatives in imaging, gene editing, and drug delivery.
• Elsa U. Pardee FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024$173,665 grant to Sara Pedron-Haba (lead) with Co-PIs Kim Selting and Catherine Best-Popescu for preclinical models for precise radiotherapeutic approaches in Glioblastoma.
• Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011NCI-designated Basic Cancer Center (April 2026) focused on engineering approaches to cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Led by Rohit Bhargava (bioengineering professor and Phillip and Ann Sharp Director). Seeks to become first NCI-Designated Basic Laboratory Cancer Center since 1987.

Scale indicators21 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Emerging players

• Moderna: mRNA therapeutics company that commercializes mRNA platforms similar to the department's mRNA cancer vaccine research. Represents a potential commercialization pathway and competitive threat for academic mRNA research talent.

Direct peers

• MIT Department of Biological Engineering: Top-ranked bioengineering department at MIT with comparable research breadth across synthetic biology, biomedical imaging, and tissue engineering. Directly competes for NIH/NSF grants, top faculty, and graduate students.
• UC Berkeley Bioengineering: Top bioengineering program with strength in synthetic biology, biomedical imaging, and computational biology. Directly comparable research portfolio and competes for faculty and students.
• University of Michigan Biomedical Engineering: Midwest peer institution with comparable bioengineering scale, ranked similarly to UIUC. Directly competes for regional students, faculty, and NIH-funded research in biomedical engineering.
• Rice University Bioengineering: Comparable-sized bioengineering department with strong focus on biomedical imaging, neural engineering, and biomaterials. Competes for similar federal grants and graduate students.
• Johns Hopkins Department of Biomedical Engineering: Largest BME department in the US with strong clinical translation focus. Directly comparable in research areas (imaging, neural engineering, regenerative medicine) and competes for similar federal grants and students.
• Georgia Tech/Emory Biomedical Engineering: Joint BME program with strong biomedical research portfolio including imaging, neural engineering, and immunoengineering. Top-10 ranked peer that competes for federal funding and top students.
• Duke Biomedical Engineering: Duke's BME department shares focus areas in biomedical imaging, neural engineering, and biomechanics. Competes for top faculty, graduate students, and federal research funding in bioengineering.
• Stanford Department of Bioengineering: Stanford's bioengineering department offers similar interdisciplinary training at the engineering-medicine interface. Directly competes for federal funding, faculty recruitment, and industry partnerships in biomedical research.

Others

• Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology: Adjacent research institute at UIUC that houses bioengineering faculty labs and provides core imaging/neuroscience facilities. Represents collaborative research infrastructure rather than direct competition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BIOENGatIL
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/illinoisbioe
• Facebookfacebook.com/IllinoisBIOE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/illinoisbioe
• Instagraminstagram.com/illinoisbioe

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Bioengineering