Bioengineering Center

The Bioengineering Center combines interdisciplinary skills from natural sciences, engineering, and medicine to invent, innovate, and advance technological solutions that enable individualized precision measurements and processing of biological information for the promotion of healthcare. 

The Bioengineering Center combines interdisciplinary skills from natural sciences, engineering, and medicine to invent, innovate, and advance technological solutions that enable individualized precision measurements and processing of biological information for the promotion of healthcare. 

Advancing precision healthcare through bioengineering innovation.

Our Research Areas

High-resolution Mouse Figure

Novel Biomedical Readouts

We enable novel biomedical readouts by reshaping next-generation hardware and theoretical and algorithmic developments for sensors, imaging and microscopy and by engineering biological contrast using genetically expressed chromo proteins and genetic labels.

Magnification of a zebrafish.

Discovery and Validation

We accelerate discovery and validation by employing advanced observation tools for in vivo sensing, imaging, omics and single-cell processing, with a focus on combining dynamic observations in living systems with functional genomics.

Translating advanced imaging for healthcare.

Clinical Translation

We advance prevention of disease, early detection, advanced diagnostics, improved intervention, and precise therapy monitoring by efficiently translating advanced sensors and imaging systems technology toward clinical use.

Our Mission

Our Scientists at the Bioengineering Center

Jian Cui, Cui Lab, PI
Hintergrund: HDC Foyer
Dr. Jian Cui

Head of Research Unit and Principal Investigator, PBT

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Porträt Ali Ertürk
Querformat
Hintergrund: HDC Foyer
Dr. Ali Ertürk

Research Director Institute for Intelligent Biotechnologies, iBIO

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Porträt Vasilis Ntziachristos, tuerkis Version 2
Prof. Dr. Vasilis Ntziachristos

Director of the Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging, Director of the Bioengineering Center, IBMI

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Portrait: Axel Walch / AAP
Prof. Dr. med. Axel Karl Walch

Head of Research Unit Analytical Pathology, AAP

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Prof. Dr. Gil Westmeyer
Prof. Dr. Gil Gregor Westmeyer

Director of the Institute for Synthetic Biomedicine, ISBM

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Discover Our Topics

News

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Whole-body 3D reconstructions, AI segmentations and supplementary videos are available via the interactive online atlas at https://discotechnologies.org/MouseMapper/. High-resolution figures and animations are available on request.

New Research Findings, Diabetes, IDC, Bioengineering, iBIO,

AI Atlas Reveals Hidden Whole-Body-Damage Caused by Obesity

Researchers at Helmholtz Munich, the Ludwig Maximilians University Munich (LMU) and collaborating institutions have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) framework that maps disease-related changes throughout the entire mouse body at cellular…

20190122_Translatum_AH_503608

Bioengineering, ISBM,

Reading Genetic Activity from Living Cells without Destroying Them

Until now, studying the genetic processes in cells required destroying them - making it impossible to observe these processes over extended periods of time. A team from Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a new…

Nanotechnology in Cholesterol Research AdobeStock_822311587

New Research Findings, Bioengineering, IBMI,

Lipid Identification: Chemical Fingerprint Instead of Dye

A team at Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a new microscopy technique that can distinguish lipid species in living cells – in particular cholesterol and sphingomyelin – and map them without the need for…

12.07.2023, Neuherberg: Helmholtz Pioneer Campus Opening. Foto: Matthias Balk/Helmholtz Zentrum München

Stem Cells, IES, Computational Health, ICB, Bioengineering, IBMI, Pioneer Campus,

Three Helmholtz Munich Researchers Elected to Bavarian Academy

At its most recent plenary session, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BAdW) elected 13 distinguished scholars as new members. Among them are three researchers from Helmholtz Munich: Prof. Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla, Prof. Fabian Theis,…

EMBO Workshop Biomedical Engineering

Transfer, Bioengineering, IBMI,

Biomedical Engineering: Science Translation for Future Health

Biomedical engineering applies engineering principles to address challenges in medicine and biology. To explore ways of strengthening biomedical engineering as a driver of innovation and growth in Europe, EMBO and the Helmholtz Bioengineering…

Futuristic biotechnology science background with abstract molecular bioengineering pharmaceutical innovation artificial intelligence processing and healthcare technology

Bioengineering, IBMI,

The High-Tech Agenda Needs a Catalytic Moment for Biomedical Innovation

In a joint guest article published in Table.Media, bioengineering expert Vasilis Ntziachristos and deep-tech specialist Francis de Véricourt examine the key levers needed to sustainably advance biomedical innovation in Germany and Europe. The two…

Recent Publications

J. Am. Chem. Soc., DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c19594 (2026)

Liu, Y. ; Arus, B.A. ; Mishra, K. ; Wang, T. ; Zhang, K. ; Luciano, M.P. ; Bandi, V.G. ; Kumar, A. ; Guo, Z. ; Guan, Y. ; Bick, M.J. ; Xu, M. ; Lingg, J.G.P. ; Bae, J. ; Kang, A. ; Gerben, S.R. ; Bera, A.K. ; Vaughan, J.C. ; Manton, J.D. ; Derivery, E. ; Schnermann, M.J. ; Stiel, A.-C. ; Bruns, O.T. ; Xu, C. ; Baker, D.

De novo design of near-infrared fluorescence-activating proteins.
Cell, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2026.04.048 (2026)

Chayama, Y. ; Rao, N.R. ; Perla, D. ; Zhang, Z. ; Reid, M. ; Nelson, S. ; Wen, X. ; Ding, B. ; Blumenfeld, J. ; Apolonio, A. ; Doddipalli, S. ; Zhou, H. ; Turhan, S.G. ; Shih, P.Y. ; Brendel, M. ; Fu, Y.H. ; Ertürk, A. ; Kolabas, Z.I. ; Huang, Y. ; Yang, A.C.

Physiological brain clearance architecture revealed by neuronal protein tracing.
Atmos. Meas. Tech. 19, 3111-3122 (2026)

Haedrich, L. ; Kousias, N. ; Raptis, I. ; Stahl, U. ; Ntziachristos, L. ; Ntziachristos, V.

A low-maintenance optoacoustic sensor for black carbon monitoring.
J. Diabetes Sci. Technol., DOI: 10.1177/19322968261447289 (2026)

Kang, J.W. ; Causey, J. ; Steenkamp, D. ; Park, S. ; Heise, H.M. ; Weber, A. ; Ntziachristos, V. ; Coutard, J.G. ; Kamath, A. ; Barman, I. ; Mäntele, W. ; Jue, M. ; So, P.T.C.

Workshop on Noninvasive Glucose Monitoring 2025.
Nature, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10535-2 (2026)

Kaltenecker, D. ; Horvath, I. ; Al-Maskari, R. ; Chen, Y. ; Kolabas, Z.I. ; Höher, L. ; Todorov, M.I. ; Minde, D.-P. ; Kapoor, S. ; Turhan, S.G. ; Kuemmerle, L. ; Steinke, H. ; Wohlgemuth, T. ; Ali, M. ; Kofler, F. ; Morigny, P. ; Geppert, J. ; Jeridi, D. ; Wittmann, B. ; Luo ; Shit, S. ; Cigankova, C. ; Kolenic, V.M. ; Gür, N. ; Aydeniz, E. ; Yücecan, A. ; Ertürk, M. ; Simons, L.H.A. ; Pan, C. ; Piraud, M. ; Rueckert, D. ; Rohm, M. ; Hellal, F. ; Elsner, M. ; Bhatia, H.S. ; Bechmann, I. ; Menze, B. ; Herzig, S. ; Paetzold, J.C. ; Diaz, M.B. ; Ertürk, A.

A deep-learning framework reveals whole-body perturbations at cell level.

Contact

Thomas Schwarz-Romond_freigestellt
Thomas Schwarz-Romond, PhD, MBA

Director of Operations, Helmholtz Pioneer Campus