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Advancing Human Health

We improve population health and healthcare through the development of advanced technologies, devices for personalized health monitoring and health informatics.

As we face the global health challenges of a growing and aging population, our ability to design bioinspired, bioresponsive, and biologically integrated devices and therapeutics is evolving rapidly. From wearable monitors to advanced imaging technologies, from pandemic responses to regenerative medicine, we learn from human diversity to design treatments that improve the health of all. 

Connecting Humans and Machines

Through the new UC Davis Center for Neuroengineering and Medicine and projects funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation, mechanical and aerospace engineering faculty members Sanjay Joshi, Jonathon Schofield and Steve Robinson are pushing the boundaries of the developing field of neuroengineering and finding new ways for humans and machines to work together.

A challenge in neuroengineering is that every human and every situation is different, so devices need to be adaptable. Signals the body produces can change with time, and the body can also change after using new devices like the ones Joshi, Schofield and Robinson are developing.

Human and a supernumerary robotic arm

Research in Action

2025 Zuhair A. Munir Award Honors Groundbreaking Dissertation on Extracellular Vesicles

Rachel Mizenko, who earned her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from UC Davis in 2024, has been selected by the College of Engineering to receive the Zuhair A. Munir Award for best doctoral dissertation for her research with extracellular vesicles.

How Aggie Square Is Advancing Innovation in Sacramento

From bioengineering and medical device development, the next chapter of UC Davis' innovation story is set to unfold at Aggie Square. Here is a look at three innovative teams and programs connected to the College of Engineering that are getting ready to call it home.

Combining Signals Could Make for Better Control of Prosthetics

A UC Davis team is combining muscle bulge and electrical signals to make prosthetic hands smarter and more natural. With 97% gesture accuracy, their EMG-FMG fusion could be a game-changer for prosthetics, robotics and virtual reality control.

Engineering a better world calls for solutions of a different caliber, demanding innovation across disciplines using a design-centric approach.

We employ and develop intelligent systems and automation, tools at the nano-and-micro- scales and engineering for all that will revolutionize energy systems, strengthen climate resilience, advance human health and transform mobility to bring a sustainable, healthier and more resilient world within reach.