students from both wpi and umms may also enroll in select courses and participate in research experiences at the two institutions. undergraduate students in wpi’s pre-health program, a track that prepares students for admission to medical school, can gain clinical experience through rotations at umms. graduate students can apply to the premier joint phd program in computational biomedical sciences and engineering.
wpi and the university of massachusetts medical school (umms), located just a few miles from each other near downtown worcester, combine the strengths, expertise, and facilities of our two world-class institutions to solve critical health sciences and engineering problems within the local community and around the world. with a long-term view of diversifying our combined research funding portfolio, expanding student training, and enhancing the impact of our discoveries, wpi looks to collaborate with umms to fuel innovative research ideas and shared funding.
joint academic programs
university of massachusetts medical school project center
each year, dozens of wpi undergraduate students complete their major qualifying projects at wpi’s university of massachusetts medical school project center. the students spend up to a year working alongside umms faculty and graduate students to explore critical problems in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, biomedical engineering, and more. these robust collaborations consistently lead to impressive results, including student awards, presentations at national venues, and future academic and career options.
students from any major are eligible to participate in project opportunities at umms. contact destin heilman. visit the wpi/umms portal for more information.
faculty collaborations
karen troy, assistant professor, biomedical engineering, wpi
ellen gravallese, professor, medicine, umms
professors troy and gravallese are developing advanced imaging methods to measure hand bone deformities in patients with rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis with the goal of identifying treatments that best prevent permanent bone and joint deformities.
dirk albrecht, assistant professor, biomedical engineering, wpi
mark alkema, associate professor, neurobiology, umma
professors albrecht and alkema are using an in vivo calcium imaging approach to rapidly discover candidate compounds for treatment of calcium channelopathies, disorders that cause debilitating neurological disorders such as migraines, epilepsy, and autism.
dmitry korkin, associate professor, computer science, wpi
lyubov titova, assistant professor, physics, wpi
michael green, professor, molecular, cell and cancer biology, umms
professors korkin, titova, and green are using next-generation dna sequencing to investigate how picosecond-duration terahertz laser pulses alter the molecular workings of cancerous cells.