Aijun Wang Named Director of Master’s Program in Medical Device Development
Aijun Wang has been appointed the program director of the Master of Engineering in Medical Device Development, or MDD, a nine-month graduate degree in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis. In this role, Wang will help expand the program's connections with clinicians, industry partners and the university's entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Wang is a professor of biomedical engineering at UC Davis and a professor of surgery at UC School of Medicine, making him well-positioned to serve as a liaison between clinical and engineering professionals.
The MDD program integrates clinical needs finding and hands-on engineering design with coursework on regulatory strategy, intellectual property, business planning and commercialization.
MDD students work alongside experienced medical professionals to identify and develop solutions to clinical problems at Aggie Square, the Sacramento innovation district adjacent to the UC Davis Medical Center. Students also have direct access to UC Davis Tech Foundry, an in-house device development facility with state-of-the-art prototyping hardware.
Wang works primarily at Aggie Square, where he also co-leads the biomedical engineering experience in the Quarter at Aggie Square program. The quarter-long experience gives biomedical engineering undergraduates practical insights into product design and development through clinical immersion.
“Aggie Square is not just for teaching or research; it's everything,” he said. “I think this is the perfect timing for us to think big, and I’m envisioning a future where students have direct integration with clinicians, engineers, entrepreneurs and industry partners all in one place.”
Wang sees the MDD program as the hub for those partnerships at Aggie Square. He aims to expand opportunities for the program’s graduate students to work with clinical, engineering and industry mentors. These cross-disciplinary exchanges, he believes, can give students meaningful experience in moving a medical device idea from concept toward clinical use.
“I have surgeon and physician colleagues who encounter important unmet needs every day, but they often lack the time or engineering support to develop a solution,” Wang said. “I think there’s a good opportunity here that we can find very well-matched mentors and mentees for the whole graduate program, where students are working to solve real-life problems.”
In addition to his faculty appointments, Wang is director of the Center for Bioengineering in Medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine and vice chair for translational research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the Department of Surgery. Through these roles, he works with clinicians, engineers and entrepreneurs to advance medical technologies. He plans to draw on this network to broaden mentorship and project opportunities for MDD students.
“Aggie Square is changing the landscape, changing how the two campuses — UC Davis and UC Davis Health — are interacting with one another for the better,” Wang said. “For our students, that means more direct access to clinical insight, prototyping expertise and industry experience. I'm thrilled to be part of this, to help build a program that translates those connections into innovative medical technologies and meaningful careers.”
