The VCU College of Engineering, an innovation front-runner in academics and research, brings real-world education to Central Virginia. Our collaborative and multidisciplinary partnerships prepare undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students for leadership. Part of a premier research university, the VCU College of Engineering enhances regional and global prosperity through cutting-edge developments in tissue engineering, drug delivery, bioinformatics, cybersecurity, mechanical systems and particle science. We make it real by turning great ideas into breakthrough technologies. Our facilities are hubs of discovery, powered by an expanding student body and faculty committed to excellence.

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Conservative fluid management prevents age-associated ventilator induced mortality

Development and characterization of a naturally derived lung extracellular matrix hydrogel

From here to there, progenitor cells and stem cells are everywhere in lung vascular remodeling

EGRB 511 Cell Mechanics and Mechanobiology

Dr. Rebecca Heise has served as the department chair of biomedical engineering at Virginia
Commonwealth University (VCU) since 2024. In 2023, Dr. Heise was awarded the Inez A Caudill Jr
Distinguished Professorship in Biomedical Engineering. She holds an affiliate appointment in the
Department of Physiology and Biophysics at VCU and is a member of the Massey Cancer Center, the
Institute for Engineering in Medicine, and the Center for Pharmaceutical Engineering. She earned her
B.S. in Chemical Engineering with an additional major in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon
University in 2003. She earned her PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 2008. She
then did her postdoctoral work in the Laboratory of Respiratory Biology at the NIEHS in Research
Triangle Park, NC. She joined the faculty of Biomedical Engineering at VCU in 2010, earned promotion
and tenure at the Associate level in 2017, and became a full Professor in 2024. Dr. Heise’s research
focuses on pulmonary mechanobiology and regenerative medicine. Her laboratory has been consistently
funded by the NIH, NSF, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Lung injury

Pulmonary regenerative medicine

Mechanobiology

Tissue Engineering

Smooth muscle cell signaling

Cellular biomechanics

Pulmonary Mechanobiology Lab Website

Study of Lung Function Sheds Light on Ventilator-Induced Lung Injuries in Elderly Patients

Understanding disease states through math

CAREER: Propagation of Lung Fibrosis through Mechanotransduction CMMI-135162

Age Dependent Mechanical Ventilator-Induced Inflammation: Modeling and Experiments 1R01AG041823-01A1 (MPI)

Department Chair; Inez Caudill, Jr. Distinguished Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering | B.S. Chemical Engineering, B.S. Biomedical and Health Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University | Ph.D. Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh

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