Rice University Bioengineering

📢 Bioengineering postdoctoral fellows and senior PhD students nationwide are invited to apply for the 2026-27 Future Leaders in Bioengineering Seminar Series at Rice University.

This annual seminar series hosts leading postdoctoral and doctoral researchers as they present their research and network with faculty in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice. Travel and lodging support for speakers is provided.

The 2026-27 application deadline is June 30. Read more about the program and application instructions: https://bioengineering.rice.edu/news-events/future-leaders-bioengineering

Rice Bioengineering chair Cynthia Reinhart-King joins Houston’s leaders in the healthcare technology space on June 10 for the MIT Houston Forum 2026: Future of Healthcare Technology.

In addition to Dr. Reinhart-King, panelists include Dr. Timothy Boone (Texas A&M School of Engineering Medicine ), Dr. Robert Satcher (UT MD Anderson Cancer Center), Dr. Tony Lin (Kelsey-Seybold Clinic), and healthcare investors Fred Shane and Eric Chan in this forum hosted by The MIT Club of South Texas at Texas A&M School of Engineering Medicine.

Panelists will explore how innovation, policy, and entrepreneurship are reshaping healthcare—and what it takes to unlock the next generation of breakthroughs. Register today: https://alumcommunity.mit.edu/topics/23422/events/245430

Rice bioengineer Antonios Mikos was recently interviewed by the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology.

In this member profile, he shares highlights from his career in biomaterials and tissue engineering, as well as the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and mentorship within Texas’ thriving scientific community. https://tamest.org/news/tamest-member-profile-dr-antonios-g-mikos/

A Rice team, including Rebecca Richards-Kortum and Emilie Newsham Novak, a former bioengineering doctoral student in Richards-Kortum’s lab, has developed realistic ‘mock’ samples to speed cervical cancer test development.

This study addresses a critical bottleneck in global health: the lack of reliable, real-world samples needed to design and validate next-generation point-of-care screening tools for cervical cancer.

Findings from the study, published in the Journal of Medical Virology, could help researchers build better tests faster by giving them samples that truly reflect what clinicians see in patients.

This work was done in collaboration with Emory University and clinicians at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center and supported by the National Cancer Institute. https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/rice-researchers-develop-realistic-mock-samples-speed-cervical-cancer-test-development

Today was about celebrating bioengineering excellence at Rice.

Congratulations to all who were honored at the Bioengineering Graduate Commencement Reception. We are proud of these outstanding students who are leading the way in research, innovation and service:

Outstanding Early Research Achievement Award: Mehnaz Urbee Jahangir
Excellence in Research Award: Mingming Cao
Outstanding Achievement in Bioengineering Award: Maria Barra
Excellence in Outreach, Engagement, and/or Service Award: Jeffrey Alejandro Vanegas
2026 BIOE Dissertation Award: Tyler Graf
Outstanding MBE (Applied Bioengineering) Student: Kyle Young
Outstanding MBE (Global Medical Innovations) Student: Zachary Huang
Christiaan Scholtz Award: Daniela Najmias Lang