NIBIB initiative expands the biomedical engineering, imaging, and technology acceleration aspirations of HBCUs

The opportunity to pursue higher education at one of the country’s 100 or so historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) comes with a caveat for those students wishing to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering. While HBCUs confer as many as 25% of the country’s Black graduates with STEM degrees, only about a third of the schools offer an engineering program, with fewer still offering a biomedical engineering degree program. 

To begin to help HBCUs build and sustain biomedical engineering programs, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) has designed an initiative called Enhancing Biomedical Engineering, Imaging, and Technology Acceleration (eBEITA) at HBCUs. This dual-phase capacity-building award allows institutions time to plan and initiate activities before launching into the program’s full implementation. The eBEITA format encourages HBCUs to develop a unique vision for expanding research capacity, fundings streams, and impact in this fast-growing area of innovation and technology development. Recently, NIBIB made its first round of eBEITA grants to two HBCUs. 

Albert Avila, Ph.D., NIBIB Extramural Scientific Diversity Official, hopes that the first awards are among more that can deepen the scope and range of biomedical engineering offerings and scientific opportunities for undergraduate, graduate students, and faculty at HBCUs. He also sees the eBEITA initiative as a way to help HBCUs continue to address the nation’s urgent STEM-workforce needs. 

“It is critical that we continue to invest in biomedical engineering, imaging, and technology development at HBCUs,” Avila said. “The eBEITA program vision must be sustainable and embedded in the fabric of the institution, even beyond the proposed seven years of the award.” 

The program has several essential elements that promote unique needs at the applicant institution, while helping to establish success and sustainability of the planned activities and goals. Applications for the eBEITA program must propose innovative strategies and milestones to enhance scientific workforce diversity, institutional research capacity, science and technology, and faculty development. Acknowledging their unique strengths, institutions may propose a myriad of approaches to achieving those ends. 

An undergraduate program and a graduate program have received awards this year with the expectation of further funding pending successful progress and available funds. 

Delaware State University (DSU), in Dover, successfully proposed the Center for Research and Education in Multiscale Bioengineering, Bioimaging, and Biosensing. Under the direction of Hacene Boukari, Ph.D., DSU professor of physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science, the center will begin its three-year planning and initiation phase with up to $1.3 million in funding for the first three years. Upon NIBIB review and approval of their progress, the center may proceed into the four-year implementation phase of the program and could receive up to $5.7 million. 

The center has proposed to establish a three-year Bachelor of Science degree program in bioengineering at DSU to be followed by a two-year Master of Science degree program in biomedical engineering at the University of Delaware, Newark, or Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey. Students would be exposed to bioimaging, biosensing, biophotonics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and data-driven methodologies. The center will also develop a hub that promotes bio-entrepreneurship and networking with biomedical professionals at regional facilities, enhancing job opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds in the field of bioengineering. To foster bioengineering research, the center will support DSU early-stage investigators who pursue research at the interface between optical science, engineering, data science, and the life-sciences. This initial support is intended to sustain researchers at a critical stage along the career path toward independent research. 

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T), in Greensboro, proposed the Center for Neurovascular Engineering Research and adVanced Education (NERVE). The center will be led by Yeoheung Yun, Ph.D., NC A&T professor of chemical, biological and bioengineering. NC A&T will receive a total of $1.2 million in funding for the three-year planning and initiation phase and a total of up to $5.5 million for the four-year implementation phase. The NERVE center will serve as a sustainable hub to transform the research activities and technology development of brain science and to prompt the engagement of the next-generation bioengineering workforce. The center will target clinically important brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, and will develop and advance cutting-edge technology, including the integration of nanodevices for vascularized organoids, small animal testing capacity, advanced imaging, and machine learning applications. The award would support the establishment of a standalone bioengineering Ph.D. program — the first such degree program at an HBCU in the country. 

The next deadline to apply for the NIBIB’s HBCU eBEITA initiative is Sept. 30, 2025. For more information about the program and how to apply, visit the NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices item RFA-EB-25-002.

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About the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB): NIBIB’s mission is to improve health by leading the development and accelerating the application of biomedical technologies. The Institute is committed to integrating engineering and physical science with biology and medicine to advance our understanding of disease and its prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment. NIBIB supports emerging technology research and development within its internal laboratories and through grants, collaborations, and training. More information is available at the NIBIB website.