Meet CET’s Dr. Ali Vahdati
CET’s Department of Engineering has a new assistant professor, Dr. Ali Vahdati. He will join the department’s growing biomedical engineering faculty. Born in Iran, Dr. Vahdati joins us after working for a Fortune 500 medical device company and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
Welcome aboard, Dr. Vahdati!
1. What will you teach? Physiology and modeling for engineers and other biomedical and mechanical engineering courses.
2. Why did you choose to come to ECU and CET? My educational background, research and teaching experience are highly interdisciplinary and lie at the nexus of engineering and medicine with a focus on finding innovative solutions for disease prevention and management. ECU offers unique and excellent opportunities for research collaboration between engineers and clinicians. Furthermore, CET leadership’s commitment to student success and training the next generation of skilled engineers were major deciding factors for me to choose ECU. Dean Ploehn and Dr. Muller-Borer did an excellent job communicating their enthusiasm and commitment to excellence in research and teaching during my interview.
3. What are your areas of research? My research combines computer modeling and theoretical mechanics with imaging, mechanical testing and biological approaches. It’s focused in the areas of predictive modeling for precision medicine, tissue engineering and tissue-implant interaction.
4. Why are you excited about these areas? I believe my research has the potential to address some of the health disparities in eastern North Carolina and make a difference in the lives of underserved populations. Additionally, by integrating my research and teaching, I am excited about providing opportunities for students to perform cutting-edge biomedical engineering research and preparing them for the next stage of their careers.
5. What would people be surprised to learn about you? People will be surprised to know I used to work as a movie critic for a student magazine and have reviewed many movies.