Whitaker foundation funds genome-related research

The Whitaker Foundation views biomedical engineering broadly as the application of engineering principles and techniques to solve medical and biological problems and improve human health. But the days in which a traditionally trained engineer can effectively undertake complex problems in the life sciences are fading. Engineering and medicine have converged at the molecular level, demanding a specialized knowledge of the principles and processes common to both. Collaboration between groups of engineers, scientists, and physicians remains a hallmark of biomedical engineering research. Increasingly, however, the biomedical engineer is also an expert in the life sciences. The Whitaker Foundation supports basic and applied research over the whole range of biomedical engineering, including genomics. Three examples of genome-related research supported by the foundation are described.