
Rashid Bashir
EBICS Leadership Title: Knowledge Transfer Director
Academic Title-Position: Grainger Distinguished Chair of Engineering. Executive Associate Dean and Chief Diversity Officer, Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Department: Bioengineering and Carle Illinois College of Medicine
University: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Research Lab: Bashir Lab | Laboratory of Integrated Bio Medical Micro/Nanotechnology
Research Group Member: Biobots
Current Research
Topic: Biomachines
Contributing Trainee(s) and corresponding trainee projects: Lauren Grant: Engineering Connexins in Skeletal Muscle Cells; Gelson Pagan-Diaz: Forward Design and Modulation of Neural Tissue Using Optogenetics; Jiao Jiao Wang: Higher Order Designs for Muscle Based Biobots
Research Description: Our research aims to forward design soft polymeric biological machines that are driven and controlled by cells. Muscle cells are used to propel and power the devices, and neuron cells are used to sense and compute. The machines could self-heal, self-organize, and learn. We expect these devices and machines would someday have many applications in biology, engineering, medicine, sustainability, and agriculture.