2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

WIP: An Undergraduate Neural Tissue Engineering Lab Course

Presented at Biomedical Engineering Division (BED) Poster Session

As the interdisciplinary field of neural engineering has rapidly expanded, its growth has created a strong demand for engineers who are not only conceptually grounded in neuroscience but also trained in hands-on techniques [1]. Laboratory experiments in neural engineering are complex, resource-intensive, and often require specialized facilities and expertise. These challenges are further amplified when designing courses for undergraduates with diverse prior wet lab experiences. Practical constraints also include equipment cost, biosafety considerations, and the difficulty of adapting multi-day protocols into a typical four-hour laboratory session. Nevertheless, authentic laboratory experiences are widely recognized as essential for enabling students to meaningfully engage with the principles and practices of bioengineering [2,3].

Most formal instruction in neural engineering has been offered primarily at the graduate level, but a growing number of programs have recently introduced coursework for undergraduates. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign launched a degreed B.S. in Neural Engineering [4] in 2023. In this Work in Progress paper, we describe the first offering of Neural Cell and Tissue Engineering Laboratory (NE 431) as a research-proximal laboratory experience designed to translate complex neural engineering practices into a feasible undergraduate instructional context for upper-level students in the Neural Engineering program. The course was designed to build students’ competence in core neural cell and tissue engineering techniques while also strengthening experimental skills, quantitative data analysis, and scientific communication. Here, we present preliminary observations and areas of improvement for this lab course.

Authors

Junxi Yi http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5274-9513 University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Junxi Yi is a PhD Candidate in the departments of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Madison Christine Fanning http://orcid.org/0009-0005-8405-1546 University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Madison Fanning is an undergraduate student in the departments of Bioengineering and Chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Matthew Ryan Surburg University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Matthew Surburg is an undergraduate student in the Bioengineering department at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
Mr. Fabian Buranits B.Sc. Technical University Vienna [biography]

Fabian Buranits is a Masters Student in Biomedical Engineering at the Technical University Vienna. He received his B.Sc. in Medical Informatics at the Technical University Vienna.
Peter Wei Hsu University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Peter Hsu is an undergraduate student in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Yueyang Li University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Yueyang (Malina) Li is an undergraduate student in Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Andrew Jose Loarte University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign
Angelos Michailidis University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign [biography]

Angelos Michailidis is a senior undergraduate student in the department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Zaynab Saadia Rehman University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Zaynab Rehman is a senior undergraduate majoring in bioengineering and minoring in psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She intends to pursue a graduate degree in neuroscience or clinical psychology.
Megan Griebel University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Megan Griebel is a Teaching Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She earned her B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University.
Prof. Caroline Cvetkovic http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3035-7313 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign [biography]

Caroline Cvetkovic is a Teaching Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she instructs courses in quantitative physiology, neural engineering, biofabrication, and heat transfer. She earned her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Center for Neuroregeneration and Department of Neurosurgery at the Houston Methodist Research Institute.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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